Wrestling with Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
ISBN 13 : 1442613505
Total Pages : 409 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (426 download)

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Book Synopsis Wrestling with Democracy by : Dennis Pilon

Download or read book Wrestling with Democracy written by Dennis Pilon and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2013-01-01 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though sharing broadly similar processes of economic and political development from the mid-to-late nineteenth century onward, western countries have diverged greatly in their choice of voting systems: most of Europe shifted to proportional voting around the First World War, while Anglo-American countries have stuck with relative majority or majority voting rules. Using a comparative historical approach, Wrestling with Democracy examines why voting systems have (or have not) changed in western industrialized countries over the past century. In this first single-volume study of voting system reform covering all western industrialized countries, Dennis Pilon reviews national efforts in this area over four timespans: the nineteenth century, the period around the First World War, the Cold War, and the 1990s. Pilon provocatively argues that voting system reform has been a part of larger struggles over defining democracy itself, highlighting previously overlooked episodes of reform and challenging widely held assumptions about institutional change.

Wrestling with Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
ISBN 13 : 1442662743
Total Pages : 409 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (426 download)

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Book Synopsis Wrestling with Democracy by : Dennis Pilon

Download or read book Wrestling with Democracy written by Dennis Pilon and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though sharing broadly similar processes of economic and political development from the mid-to-late nineteenth century onward, western countries have diverged greatly in their choice of voting systems: most of Europe shifted to proportional voting around the First World War, while Anglo-American countries have stuck with relative majority or majority voting rules. Using a comparative historical approach, Wrestling with Democracy examines why voting systems have (or have not) changed in western industrialized countries over the past century. In this first single-volume study of voting system reform covering all western industrialized countries, Dennis Pilon reviews national efforts in this area over four timespans: the nineteenth century, the period around the First World War, the Cold War, and the 1990s. Pilon provocatively argues that voting system reform has been a part of larger struggles over defining democracy itself, highlighting previously overlooked episodes of reform and challenging widely held assumptions about institutional change.

Wrestling with Democracy

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781442662735
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (627 download)

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Book Synopsis Wrestling with Democracy by : Dennis Pilon

Download or read book Wrestling with Democracy written by Dennis Pilon and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this first single-volume study of voting system reform covering all western industrialized countries, Dennis Pilon reviews national efforts in this area over four timespans: the nineteenth century, the period around the First World War, the Cold War, and the 1990s. Pilon provocatively argues that voting system reform has been a part of larger struggles over defining democracy itself, highlighting previously overlooked episodes of reform and challenging widely held assumptions about institutional change."--Pub. desc.

Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 0834825740
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (348 download)

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Book Synopsis Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy by : Susan Griffin

Download or read book Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy written by Susan Griffin and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2009-11-10 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does is it mean to be a citizen of the United States? Susan Griffin’s provocative investigation of that question takes us from the Declaration of Independence to the Iraq War, with many stops in between. Her conclusion: democracy is nothing less than a revolution of consciousness, and the revolution has just begun.

Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780761854616
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (546 download)

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Book Synopsis Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey by : James C. Harrington

Download or read book Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey written by James C. Harrington and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The political trial of Fethullah Gülen, a moderate Turkish religious leader, helped to greatly expand civil liberties and strengthen democracy in Turkey. The trial began in 2000 in an Ankara state security court (now disbanded) and ended in 2008 in an appeals court in Gülen's favor. This book explores Gülen's trial, examines the evolving process of Turkey's efforts to enter the European Union, and discusses ways that the EU's insistence on expanding civil liberties in Turkey and reforming the judicial system affected the outcome of the trial (and vice versa). As a coda, the book considers unsuccessful efforts to block Gülen's application for immigrant status in the United States as a religious scholar, which occurred during the same time as his political trial in Turkey.

FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY

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Author :
Publisher : BookLocker.com, Inc.
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 530 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (853 download)

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Book Synopsis FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY by : Thomas E. Brymer

Download or read book FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY written by Thomas E. Brymer and published by BookLocker.com, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-10-15 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our democracy is now under attack from within and without as it has never been since the Civil War. Yet, the evidence is clear that Americans are, as a whole, civically illiterate, and woefully unprepared for the assault our democracy is undergoing. For Americans to be prepared to function effectively as constructive citizens in their democracy in the 21st century and beyond, they must be equipped with knowledge and a skill set that is not effectively taught today. Fighting for Democracy is a call to deconstruct our civics education in this country and reconstruct it to meet the complex needs and pressures our democracy faces today. Certainly, the civics of tomorrow must include continuing what we teach today about the structure, organization, and how (at least in theory) our government is supposed to function. But there is far, far more that must be taught to deal with the siege our democracy is now under. Fighting for Democracy provides a roadmap for improving our civic education so we can withstand this anti-democratic movement now underway here. We must teach Americans about servant leadership and how to recognize counterfeit leaders who wish to lead us with leadership styles that are toxic and antithetical to democracy including autocracy, fascism, kleptocracy, and populism. We must return to a national consensus as to the importance in a democracy of a free news media that is an arbiter of truth and not simply a funnel for one-sided biased opinions and editorials masquerading as factual news. Americans must relearn how to think critically, recognize major change in the public square, as well as readily identify when we are not being told the truth, are being gaslighted, and worse, becoming willing to accept conspiracy theories and radicalization of our political parties as being normative. We must gain a clearer understanding of the multi-dimensional concept of freedom, democratic norms and values, our history, as well as to once again value public service. We must reconnect with a love for the idea of democracy itself which includes a keen appreciation for the “glue” that holds it together- the common good. At the same time, we must rediscover why our Founders believed democracy, while sometimes “messy”, was ultimately the one form of government that could truly serve We the People and provide Americans with the best means possible for pursuing as a nation our hopes, dreams, our freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. All these concepts, ideas, truths, and more, are a must for Americans to know in order to be able to fight, and for us to keep, our democracy in today’s increasingly anti-democratic world. That is the purpose of Fighting for Democracy. Make no mistake about our democracy, We the People must learn now, and quickly, how to improve our civically literacy, including how to become better informed and more constructively engaged citizens. If we do not, we will not be able to effectively fight to keep our democracy and risk losing everything we have fought for since our nation’s birth. And American democracy is indeed worth fighting for- not just for us today, but most importantly for our children, grandchildren, and all future generations of Americans. Fighting for Democracy was written to equip us to do exactly that.

Deficits, Debt, and Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781781007051
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Deficits, Debt, and Democracy by : Richard E. Wagner

Download or read book Deficits, Debt, and Democracy written by Richard E. Wagner and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2013-08-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely book reveals that the budget deficits and accumulating debts that plague modern democracies reflect a clash between two rationalities of governance: one of private property and one of common property. The clashing of these rationalities at various places in society creates forms of societal tectonics that play out through budgeting. The book demonstrates that while this clash is an inherent feature of democratic political economy, it can nonetheless be limited through embracing once again a constitution of liberty. Not all commons settings have tragic outcomes, of course, but tragic outcomes loom large in democratic processes because they entail conflict between two very different forms of substantive rationality; the political and market rationalities. These are both orders that contain interactions among participants, but the institutional frameworks that govern those interactions differ, generating democratic budgetary tragedies. Those tragedies, moreover, are inherent in the conflict between the different rationalities and so cannot be eliminated. They can, as this book argues, be reduced by restoring a constitution of liberty in place of the constitution of control that has taken shape throughout the west over the past century. Economists interested in public finance, public policy and political economy along with scholars of political science, public administration, law and political philosophy will find this book intriguing. Contents: Preface 1. Budgeting: The Elusive Quest for Fiscal Responsibility 2. Budgeting and Political Economy: A Theoretical Framework 3. Budget Deficits, Ricardian Equivalence, and Macro-Micro Supervenience 4. Property Rights, Societal Tectonics, and the Fiscal Commons 5. Parliamentary Assemblies as Peculiar Market Bazaars 6. Taxation, Fiscal Politics, and Political Pricing 7. Regulation as Alternative Taxation 8. Public Finance for a Constitution of Liberty Bibliography Index

The Democracy Fix

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Author :
Publisher : The New Press
ISBN 13 : 1620973901
Total Pages : 204 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (29 download)

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Book Synopsis The Democracy Fix by : Caroline Fredrickson

Download or read book The Democracy Fix written by Caroline Fredrickson and published by The New Press. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The former special assistant for legislative affairs to President Clinton, president of the American Constitution Society, and author of the "damn fine" (Elle) Under the Bus shows how the left can undo the right's damage and take the country back Despite representing the beliefs of a minority of the American public on many issues, conservatives are in power not just in Washington, DC, but also in state capitals and courtrooms across the country. They got there because, while progressives fought to death over the nuances of policy and to bring attention to specific issues, conservatives focused on simply gaining power by gaming our democracy. They understood that policy follows power, not the other way around. Now, in a sensational new book, Caroline Fredrickson—who has had a front-row seat on the political drama in DC for decades while working to shape progressive policies as special assistant for legislative affairs to President Clinton, chief of staff to Senator Maria Cantwell, deputy chief of staff to Senator Tom Daschle, and president of the American Constitution Society—argues that it's time for progressives to focus on winning. She shows us how we can learn from the Right by having the determination to focus on judicial elections, state power, and voter laws without stooping to their dishonest, rule-breaking tactics. We must be ruthless in thinking through how to change the rules of the game to regain power, expand the franchise, end voter suppression, win judicial elections, and fight for transparency and fairness in our political system, and Fredrickson shows us how.

Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (134 download)

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Book Synopsis Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey by : James C. Harrington

Download or read book Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey written by James C. Harrington and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Why the New Deal Matters

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Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300252005
Total Pages : 231 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Why the New Deal Matters by : Eric Rauchway

Download or read book Why the New Deal Matters written by Eric Rauchway and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A look at how the New Deal fundamentally changed American life, and why it remains relevant today" The New Deal was America's response to the gravest economic and social crisis of the twentieth century. It now serves as a source of inspiration for how we should respond to the gravest crisis of the twenty-first. There's no more fluent and informative a guide to that history than Eric Rauchway, and no one better to describe the capacity of government to transform America for the better."--Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley The greatest peaceable expression of common purpose in U.S. history, the New Deal altered Americans' relationship with politics, economics, and one another in ways that continue to resonate today. No matter where you look in America, there is likely a building or bridge built through New Deal initiatives. If you have taken out a small business loan from the federal government or drawn unemployment, you can thank the New Deal. While certainly flawed in many aspects--the New Deal was implemented by a Democratic Party still beholden to the segregationist South for its majorities in Congress and the Electoral College--the New Deal was instated at a time of mass unemployment and the rise of fascistic government models and functioned as a bulwark of American democracy in hard times. This book looks at how this legacy, both for good and ill, informs the current debates around governmental responses to crises.

Contemporary Far-Right Thinkers and the Future of Liberal Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000431967
Total Pages : 295 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (4 download)

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Book Synopsis Contemporary Far-Right Thinkers and the Future of Liberal Democracy by : A. James McAdams

Download or read book Contemporary Far-Right Thinkers and the Future of Liberal Democracy written by A. James McAdams and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-27 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first systematic analysis of the efforts of a broad range of contemporary far-right thinkers to popularize their critiques of liberal-democratic norms and institutions and make their ideas the subjects of sustained political and academic debate. The book focuses on outspoken thinkers in western and eastern Europe, Russia, the United States, Canada, and Australia. They include Alain de Benoist, Guillaume Faye, Götz Kubitschek, Pat Buchanan, Fróði Midjord, Jason Jorjani, contributors to the online magazine Quillette, and the elusive personality known as the Bronze Age Pervert. The book explores the diverse intellectual foundations of these thinkers’ positions, the similarities and differences in their ideas, and their prospects for influencing attitudes about democratic politics within their respective countries. It examines diverse movements and schools of thought, including the European New Right, Paleoconservatism, the Alt-right, Identitarianism, White nationalism, and antifeminism. Providing a much-needed global perspective, this book will be of considerable interest to students and scholars of populism, right-wing extremism, identity politics, fascism, racism, and conservatism.

Are We Done Fighting?

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Publisher : New Society Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1771422971
Total Pages : 401 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (714 download)

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Book Synopsis Are We Done Fighting? by : Matthew Legge

Download or read book Are We Done Fighting? written by Matthew Legge and published by New Society Publishers. This book was released on 2019-05-28 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Powerful tools for spreading peace in your community Unfounded beliefs and hateful political and social divisions that can cascade into violence are threatening to pull the world apart. Responding to fear and aggression strategically and with compassion is vital if we are to push back against the politics of hate and live in greater safety and harmony. But how to do it? Are We Done Fighting? is brimming with the latest research, practical activities, and inspirational stories of success for cultivating inner change and spreading peace at the community level and beyond. Coverage includes: An explanation of the different styles of conflict Cognitive biases that help explain polarized and lose-lose positions Practical methods and activities for changing our own and others' minds When punishment works and doesn't, and how to encourage discipline in children without using violence The skill of self-compassion and ways to reduce prejudice in ourselves and others Incredible programs that are rebuilding trust between people after genocide. Packed with inspiration and cutting-edge findings from fields including neuroscience, social psychology, and behavioural economics, Are We Done Fighting? is an essential toolkit for activists, community and peace groups, and students and instructors working to build dialogue, understanding, and peace as the antidote to the politics of hate and division. AWARDS SILVER | 2019 Nautilus Book Awards: Social Change & Social Justice

Healing the Heart of Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118970365
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (189 download)

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Book Synopsis Healing the Heart of Democracy by : Parker J. Palmer

Download or read book Healing the Heart of Democracy written by Parker J. Palmer and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-07-31 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hope for American democracy in an era of deep divisions In Healing the Heart of Democracy, Parker J. Palmerquickens our instinct to seek the common good and gives us thetools to do it. This timely, courageous and practicalwork—intensely personal as well as political—is notabout them, "those people" in Washington D.C., or in ourstate capitals, on whom we blame our political problems. It's aboutus, "We the People," and what we can do in everyday settingslike families, neighborhoods, classrooms, congregations andworkplaces to resist divide-and-conquer politics and restore agovernment "of the people, by the people, for the people." In the same compelling, inspiring prose that has made him abestselling author, Palmer explores five "habits of the heart" thatcan help us restore democracy's foundations as we nurture them inourselves and each other: An understanding that we are all in this together An appreciation of the value of "otherness" An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways A sense of personal voice and agency A capacity to create community Healing the Heart of Democracy is an eloquent andempowering call for "We the People" to reclaim ourdemocracy. The online journal Democracy & Educationcalled it "one of the most important books of the early 21stCentury." And Publishers Weekly, in a Starred Review, said"This beautifully written book deserves a wide audience that willbenefit from discussing it."

Deficits, Debt, and Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0857934600
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (579 download)

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Book Synopsis Deficits, Debt, and Democracy by : Richard E. Wagner

Download or read book Deficits, Debt, and Democracy written by Richard E. Wagner and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely book reveals that the budget deficits and accumulating debts that plague modern democracies reflect a clash between two rationalities of governance: one of private property and one of common property. The clashing of these rationalities at various places in society creates forms of societal tectonics that play out through budgeting. The book demonstrates that while this clash is an inherent feature of democratic political economy, it can nonetheless be limited through embracing once again a constitution of liberty. Not all commons settings have tragic outcomes, of course, but tragic outcomes loom large in democratic processes because they entail conflict between two very different forms of substantive rationality; the political and market rationalities. These are both orders that contain interactions among participants, but the institutional frameworks that govern those interactions differ, generating democratic budgetary tragedies. Those tragedies, moreover, are inherent in the conflict between the different rationalities and so cannot be eliminated. They can, as this book argues, be reduced by restoring a constitution of liberty in place of the constitution of control that has taken shape throughout the west over the past century. Economists interested in public finance, public policy and political economy along with scholars of political science, public administration, law and political philosophy will find this book intriguing.

Fighting Tyranny: From Dictatorship to Democracy and The Anti-Coup

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780648531517
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Fighting Tyranny: From Dictatorship to Democracy and The Anti-Coup by : Gene Sharp

Download or read book Fighting Tyranny: From Dictatorship to Democracy and The Anti-Coup written by Gene Sharp and published by . This book was released on 2021-12 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fighting Tyranny combines two of Gene Sharp's books in a single pocket-sized volume - From Dictatorship to Democracy and The Anti-Coup. At a time when governments around the world are becoming increasingly authoritarian and aggressive towards their citizens, this book offers ideas and nonviolent methods of action to successfully defend or establish democratic systems. From Dictatorship to Democracy - A conceptual Framework for Liberation is a practical exploration of the techniques of nonviolent struggle against totalitarian regimes. This book has been used successfully by activists from all sides of the political spectrum, by grassroots activists and state-backed colour revolutionaries alike, to overthrow governments and effect political change. The Anti-Coup - co-authored with Bruce Jenkins - explores the possibilities of nonviolent defence against coups d'état. Coups may happen to a functioning democracy, or in the power vacuum that occurs after a government has been ousted. The Anti-Coup describes methods to block coups and putsch attempts which can be used by citizens and governments.

Democracy and Political Ignorance

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Author :
Publisher : Stanford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0804789312
Total Pages : 277 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (47 download)

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Book Synopsis Democracy and Political Ignorance by : Ilya Somin

Download or read book Democracy and Political Ignorance written by Ilya Somin and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-02 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Rethinking Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 1583676716
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (836 download)

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Book Synopsis Rethinking Democracy by : Leo Panitch

Download or read book Rethinking Democracy written by Leo Panitch and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2017-12-22 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For years, intellectuals have argued that, with the triumph of capitalist, liberal democracy, the Western World has reached “the end of history.” Recently, however, there has been a rise of authoritarian politics in many countries. Concepts of post-democracy, anti-politics, and the like are gaining currency in theoretical and political debate. Now that capitalist democracies are facing seismic and systemic challenges, it becomes increasingly important to investigate not only the inherent antagonism between liberalism and the democratic process, but also socialism. Is socialism an enemy of democracy? Could socialism develop, expand, even enhance democracy? While this volume seeks a reappraisal of existing liberal democracy today, its main goal is to help lay the foundation for new visions and practices in developing a real socialist democracy. Amid the contradictions of neoliberal capitalism today, the responsibility to sort out the relationship between socialism and democracy has never been greater. No revival of socialist politics in the twenty-first century can occur without founding new democratic institutions and practices.