Politics Against Democracy

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Against Democracy

Jason Brennan
Against Democracy Book PDF

Author : Jason Brennan
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2017-09-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781400888399

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Against Democracy by Jason Brennan Pdf

A bracingly provocative challenge to one of our most cherished ideas and institutions Most people believe democracy is a uniquely just form of government. They believe people have the right to an equal share of political power. And they believe that political participation is good for us—it empowers us, helps us get what we want, and tends to make us smarter, more virtuous, and more caring for one another. These are some of our most cherished ideas about democracy. But Jason Brennan says they are all wrong. In this trenchant book, Brennan argues that democracy should be judged by its results—and the results are not good enough. Just as defendants have a right to a fair trial, citizens have a right to competent government. But democracy is the rule of the ignorant and the irrational, and it all too often falls short. Furthermore, no one has a fundamental right to any share of political power, and exercising political power does most of us little good. On the contrary, a wide range of social science research shows that political participation and democratic deliberation actually tend to make people worse—more irrational, biased, and mean. Given this grim picture, Brennan argues that a new system of government—epistocracy, the rule of the knowledgeable—may be better than democracy, and that it's time to experiment and find out. A challenging critique of democracy and the first sustained defense of the rule of the knowledgeable, Against Democracy is essential reading for scholars and students of politics across the disciplines. Featuring a new preface that situates the book within the current political climate and discusses other alternatives beyond epistocracy, Against Democracy is a challenging critique of democracy and the first sustained defense of the rule of the knowledgeable.

Laboratories Against Democracy

Jacob Grumbach
Laboratories Against Democracy Book PDF

Author : Jacob Grumbach
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2022-07-19
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780691218458

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Laboratories Against Democracy by Jacob Grumbach Pdf

As national political fights are waged at the state level, democracy itself pays the price Over the past generation, the Democratic and Republican parties have each become nationally coordinated political teams. American political institutions, on the other hand, remain highly decentralized. Laboratories against Democracy shows how national political conflicts are increasingly flowing through the subnational institutions of state politics—with profound consequences for public policy and American democracy. Jacob Grumbach argues that as Congress has become more gridlocked, national partisan and activist groups have shifted their sights to the state level, nationalizing state politics in the process and transforming state governments into the engines of American policymaking. He shows how this has had the ironic consequence of making policy more varied across the states as red and blue party coalitions implement increasingly distinct agendas in areas like health care, reproductive rights, and climate change. The consequences don’t stop there, however. Drawing on a wealth of new data on state policy, public opinion, money in politics, and democratic performance, Grumbach traces how national groups are using state governmental authority to suppress the vote, gerrymander districts, and erode the very foundations of democracy itself. Required reading for this precarious moment in our politics, Laboratories against Democracy reveals how the pursuit of national partisan agendas at the state level has intensified the challenges facing American democracy, and asks whether today’s state governments are mitigating the political crises of our time—or accelerating them.

Democracy against Development

Jeffrey Witsoe
Democracy against Development Book PDF

Author : Jeffrey Witsoe
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2013-11-05
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780226063508

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Democracy against Development by Jeffrey Witsoe Pdf

Hidden behind the much-touted success story of India’s emergence as an economic superpower is another, far more complex narrative of the nation’s recent history, one in which economic development is frequently countered by profoundly unsettling, and often violent, political movements. In Democracy against Development, Jeffrey Witsoe investigates this counter-narrative, uncovering an antagonistic relationship between recent democratic mobilization and development-oriented governance in India. Witsoe looks at the history of colonialism in India and its role in both shaping modern caste identities and linking locally powerful caste groups to state institutions, which has effectively created a postcolonial patronage state. He then looks at the rise of lower-caste politics in one of India’s poorest and most populous states, Bihar, showing how this increase in democratic participation has radically threatened the patronage state by systematically weakening its institutions and disrupting its development projects. By depicting democracy and development as they truly are in India—in tension—Witsoe reveals crucial new empirical and theoretical insights about the long-term trajectory of democratization in the larger postcolonial world.

The Case against Democracy

Steven Michels
The Case against Democracy Book PDF

Author : Steven Michels
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 442 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2013-02-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9798216058199

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The Case against Democracy by Steven Michels Pdf

The case for democracy is an intrinsic part of our political culture. This non-partisan book provides the other side of the story via well-researched history and current events that illuminate the theory and practice of democracy. Are the politics of the United States to blame for its current unsteady footing in the 21st century? This book aims to answer this uncomfortable but relevant question by examining the strengths and weaknesses of democracy, addressing complex topics such as the history of liberalism, the relationship between democracy and capitalism, the nature of representation, and the difference between government and politics. Each of the book's chapters focuses on a recognized shortcoming of popular government, such as inefficiency, self-interestedness, and non-participation. Each section begins by focusing on current events and tracing issues back through history—through to the American founding, and in many instances, to antiquity. In the conclusion, the author proposes a series of thought-provoking fixes.

Democracy and Political Ignorance

Ilya Somin
Democracy and Political Ignorance Book PDF

Author : Ilya Somin
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Page : 277 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2013-10-02
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780804789318

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Democracy and Political Ignorance by Ilya Somin Pdf

One of the biggest problems with modern democracy is that most of the public is usually ignorant of politics and government. Often, many people understand that their votes are unlikely to change the outcome of an election and don't see the point in learning much about politics. This may be rational, but it creates a nation of people with little political knowledge and little ability to objectively evaluate what they do know. In Democracy and Political Ignorance, Ilya Somin mines the depths of ignorance in America and reveals the extent to which it is a major problem for democracy. Somin weighs various options for solving this problem, arguing that political ignorance is best mitigated and its effects lessened by decentralizing and limiting government. Somin provocatively argues that people make better decisions when they choose what to purchase in the market or which state or local government to live under, than when they vote at the ballot box, because they have stronger incentives to acquire relevant information and to use it wisely.

Against Elections

David Van Reybrouck
Against Elections Book PDF

Author : David Van Reybrouck
Publisher : Seven Stories Press
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2018-04-17
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781609808112

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Against Elections by David Van Reybrouck Pdf

A small book with great weight and urgency to it, this is both a history of democracy and a clarion call for change. "Without drastic adjustment, this system cannot last much longer," writes Van Reybrouck, regarded today as one of Europe's most astute thinkers. "If you look at the decline in voter turnout and party membership, and at the way politicians are held in contempt, if you look at how difficult it is to form governments, how little they can do and how harshly they are punished for it, if you look at how quickly populism, technocracy and anti-parliamentarianism are rising, if you look at how more and more citizens are longing for participation and how quickly that desire can tip over into frustration, then you realize we are up to our necks." Not so very long ago, the great battles of democracy were fought for the right to vote. Now, Van Reybrouck writes, "it's all about the right to speak, but in essence it's the same battle, the battle for political emancipation and for democratic participation. We must decolonize democracy. We must democratize democracy." As history, Van Reybrouck makes the compelling argument that modern democracy was designed as much to preserve the rights of the powerful and keep the masses in line, as to give the populace a voice. As change-agent, Against Elections makes the argument that there are forms of government, what he terms sortitive or deliberative democracy, that are beginning to be practiced around the world, and can be the remedy we seek. In Iceland, for example, deliberative democracy was used to write the new constitution. A group of people were chosen by lot, educated in the subject at hand, and then were able to decide what was best, arguably, far better than politicians would have. A fascinating, and workable idea has led to a timely book to remind us that our system of government is a flexible instrument, one that the people have the power to change.

Counter-Democracy

Pierre Rosanvallon,Arthur Goldhammer
Counter Democracy Book PDF

Author : Pierre Rosanvallon,Arthur Goldhammer
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2008-11-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1139474715

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Counter-Democracy by Pierre Rosanvallon,Arthur Goldhammer Pdf

Democracy is established as a generally uncontested ideal, while regimes inspired by this form of government fall under constant criticism. Hence, the steady erosion of confidence in representatives that has become one of the major political issues of our time. Amidst these challenges, the paradox remains that while citizens are less likely to make the trip to the ballot box, the world is far from entering a phase of general political apathy. Demonstrations and activism abound in the streets, in cities across the globe and on the internet. Pierre Rosanvallon analyses the mechanisms used to register a citizen's expression of confidence or distrust, and then focuses on the role that distrust plays in democracy from both a historical and theoretical perspective. This radical shift in perspective uncovers a series of practices - surveillance, prevention, and judgement - through which society corrects and exerts pressure.

Democracy for Realists

Christopher H. Achen,Larry M. Bartels
Democracy for Realists Book PDF

Author : Christopher H. Achen,Larry M. Bartels
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 408 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2017-08-29
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781400888740

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Democracy for Realists by Christopher H. Achen,Larry M. Bartels Pdf

Why our belief in government by the people is unrealistic—and what we can do about it Democracy for Realists assails the romantic folk-theory at the heart of contemporary thinking about democratic politics and government, and offers a provocative alternative view grounded in the actual human nature of democratic citizens. Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels deploy a wealth of social-scientific evidence, including ingenious original analyses of topics ranging from abortion politics and budget deficits to the Great Depression and shark attacks, to show that the familiar ideal of thoughtful citizens steering the ship of state from the voting booth is fundamentally misguided. They demonstrate that voters—even those who are well informed and politically engaged—mostly choose parties and candidates on the basis of social identities and partisan loyalties, not political issues. They also show that voters adjust their policy views and even their perceptions of basic matters of fact to match those loyalties. When parties are roughly evenly matched, elections often turn on irrelevant or misleading considerations such as economic spurts or downturns beyond the incumbents' control; the outcomes are essentially random. Thus, voters do not control the course of public policy, even indirectly. Achen and Bartels argue that democratic theory needs to be founded on identity groups and political parties, not on the preferences of individual voters. Now with new analysis of the 2016 elections, Democracy for Realists provides a powerful challenge to conventional thinking, pointing the way toward a fundamentally different understanding of the realities and potential of democratic government.

Against Democracy:Literary Experience in the Era of Emancipations

Simon During
Against Democracy Literary Experience in the Era of Emancipations Book PDF

Author : Simon During
Publisher : Fordham Univ Press
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2012-07-13
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780823242542

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Against Democracy:Literary Experience in the Era of Emancipations by Simon During Pdf

This book argues that political democracy has not fulfilled its promise and that we should therefore re-examine literature's long conservative hostility to it. It offers new accounts of the ethos of refusing political democracy, as well as innovative readings of writers including Tocqueville, Disraeli, George Eliot, E.M. Forster and Saul Bellow.

Strong Democracy

Benjamin Barber
Strong Democracy Book PDF

Author : Benjamin Barber
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : History
ISBN : 0520242335

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Strong Democracy by Benjamin Barber Pdf

"One of the chosen few: an enduring contribution to democratic thought."—Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale University

State Crimes Against Democracy

A. Kouzmin,M. Witt,A. Kakabadse
State Crimes Against Democracy Book PDF

Author : A. Kouzmin,M. Witt,A. Kakabadse
Publisher : Springer
Page : 408 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2012-12-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781137286987

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State Crimes Against Democracy by A. Kouzmin,M. Witt,A. Kakabadse Pdf

Assembles leading theorists of a new paradigm of political theory, State Crimes Against Democracy , undertaking judicious and devoted hacking exposing the elusive nodes and circuitry that propagate elite dominance in world affairs, and what can be done to restore the demos to democracy.

Development Against Democracy

Irene L. Gendzier
Development Against Democracy Book PDF

Author : Irene L. Gendzier
Publisher : Pluto Press (UK)
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2017-08-20
Category : Developing countries
ISBN : 0745337295

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Development Against Democracy by Irene L. Gendzier Pdf

This new, updated edition of the influential Development Against Democracy is a critical guide to postwar studies of modernisation and development. In the mid-twentieth century, models of development studies were products of postwar American policy. They focused on newly independent states in the Global South, aiming to assure their pro-Western orientation by promoting economic growth, political reform and liberal democracy. However, this prevented real democracy and radical change.Today, projects of democracy have evolved in a radically different political environment that seems to have little in common with the postwar period. Development Against Democracy, however, testifies to a revealing continuity in foreign policy, including in justifications of 'humanitarian intervention' that echo those of counterinsurgency decades earlier in Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.Irene L. Gendzier argues that the fundamental ideas on which theories of modernisation and development rest have been resurrected in contemporary policy and its theories, representing the continuity of postwar US foreign policy in a world permanently altered by globalisation and its multiple discontents, the proliferation of 'failed states,' the unprecedented exodus of refugees, and Washington's declaration of a permanent war against terrorism.

The Case against Democracy

Steven Michels
The Case against Democracy Book PDF

Author : Steven Michels
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 329 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2013-02-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781440802836

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The Case against Democracy by Steven Michels Pdf

The case for democracy is an intrinsic part of our political culture. This non-partisan book provides the other side of the story via well-researched history and current events that illuminate the theory and practice of democracy. Are the politics of the United States to blame for its current unsteady footing in the 21st century? This book aims to answer this uncomfortable but relevant question by examining the strengths and weaknesses of democracy, addressing complex topics such as the history of liberalism, the relationship between democracy and capitalism, the nature of representation, and the difference between government and politics. Each of the book's chapters focuses on a recognized shortcoming of popular government, such as inefficiency, self-interestedness, and non-participation. Each section begins by focusing on current events and tracing issues back through history—through to the American founding, and in many instances, to antiquity. In the conclusion, the author proposes a series of thought-provoking fixes.

Democracy in Retreat

Joshua Kurlantzick
Democracy in Retreat Book PDF

Author : Joshua Kurlantzick
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 404 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2013-03-19
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780300188967

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Democracy in Retreat by Joshua Kurlantzick Pdf

DIVSince the end of the Cold War, the assumption among most political theorists has been that as nations develop economically, they will also become more democratic—especially if a vibrant middle class takes root. This assumption underlies the expansion of the European Union and much of American foreign policy, bolstered by such examples as South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and even to some extent Russia. Where democratization has failed or retreated, aberrant conditions take the blame: Islamism, authoritarian Chinese influence, or perhaps the rise of local autocrats./divDIV /divDIVBut what if the failures of democracy are not exceptions? In this thought-provoking study of democratization, Joshua Kurlantzick proposes that the spate of retreating democracies, one after another over the past two decades, is not just a series of exceptions. Instead, it reflects a new and disturbing trend: democracy in worldwide decline. The author investigates the state of democracy in a variety of countries, why the middle class has turned against democracy in some cases, and whether the decline in global democratization is reversible./div

Democracy in Question

Alan Keenan
Democracy in Question Book PDF

Author : Alan Keenan
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0804738653

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Democracy in Question by Alan Keenan Pdf

This book explores the theoretical paradoxes and practical dilemmas that flow from the still radical idea that in a democracy it is the people who rule, and argues that accepting the open and uncertain character of democratic politics can lead to more sustainable and widespread forms of democratic engagement. The author engages theorists from a range of democratic thought—Rousseau, Arendt, Benhabib, Sandel, Laclau, and Mouffe—to show how each either ignores or downplays the difficulties that democratic principles pose. Though there can be no entirely valid solution to the paradoxes that plague democracy, the author nonetheless argues that democratic politics—particularly under contemporary conditions of social fragmentation and insecurity—urgently requires new practical and rhetorical strategies. The book concludes by addressing the American context, elaborating the need for a language of democratic engagement less ensnared in the anti-political logic of moralism and resentment that now characterizes the American political spectrum.