DEMOCRACY BREADTH AS AN ESSENTIAL FACTOR FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE

Resumen

This paper investigates the relationship between economic development and democracy. Grounded in Wendy Brown's theoretical framework, which posits political equality as the essence of democracy, the study argues that democratic regimes must be fundamentally driven by social and political inclusion. The text demonstrates that neoliberalism has stripped democracy of its core, precipitating global economic and social crises. Drawing upon Gilberto Bercovici's theory of developmentalism, state intervention is proposed as a structural remedy. These theoretical premises are empirically assessed by benchmarking the 2022 Democracy Index against selected macroeconomic and social indicators. By comparing Brazil to the thirty highest-ranked countries in the index, the research highlights a strong correlation between social development and democratic robustness. Although the direction of causality remains indeterminate, the findings suggest that social policy must be prioritized within state agendas aimed at achieving sustainable economic development.