Democracy and the Limits of Self-Government

by Adam Przeworski

• ISBN13: 9780521140119
• ISBN10: 0521140110
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-14
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The book addresses central issues in democratic theory by analyzing the sources of widespread dissatisfaction with democracies around the world. The focus is on the generic limits of democracy in promoting equality, effective participation, control of governments by citizens, and liberty. The conclusion is that although some of the dissatisfaction has good reasons, some is based on an erroneous understanding of how democracy functions. Hence, although the analysis identifies the limits of democracy, it also points to directions for feasible reforms.

"The book analyzes the sources of widespread dissatisfaction with democracies around the world and identifies directions for feasible reforms"--Provided by publisher."The political institutions under which we live today evolved from a revolutionary idea that shook the world in the second part of the eighteenth century: that a people should govern itself. Yet if we judge contemporary democracies by the ideals of self-government, equality, and liberty, we find that democracy is not what it was dreamt to be. This book addresses central issues in democratic theory by analyzing the sources of widespread dissatisfaction with democracies around the world. With attention throughout to historical and cross-national variations, the focus is on the generic limits of democracy in promoting equality, effective participation, control of governments by citizens, and liberty.

The conclusion is that although some of this dissatisfaction has good reasons, some is based on an erroneous understanding of how democracy functions. Hence, although the analysis identifies the limits of democracy, it also points to directions for feasible reforms"--Provided by publisher.

Author Biography

Adam Przeworski is the Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor of Politics at New York University.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Democracy and ôDemocracyö	p. 3
Ideals, Actions, and Interests	p. 9
Equality, Participation, Representation, and Liberty	p. 12
Self-Government of the People	p. 17
The Ideal of Self-Government	p. 17
ôSelf-Government of the Peopleö	p. 18
Self-Government in the Presence of Heterogeneity	p. 24
Democracy as a Method of Processing Conflicts	p. 24
Self-Government and Rotation in Office	p. 29
Second-Best Self-Government	p. 31
Two Theorems	p. 32
A Caveat	p. 39
Beyond Social Choice Theory	p. 42
A Brief History of Representative Institutions	p. 44
From Representative Institutions to Democracy	p. 44
The Rise of Representative Institutions	p. 47
Suffrage	p. 48
Electoral Participation	p. 53
Legislative-Executive Relations	p. 59
Equality	p. 66
Introduction	p. 66
Pedigree: Aristocracy and Democracy	p. 68
Democracy and Equality	p. 71
Do Suffrage Restrictions Violate Democratic Ideology?	p. 74
Democracy and Property	p. 80
Democracy and Income Distribution	p. 84
Closing the Circle	p. 92
Choice and Participation	p. 99
Introduction	p. 99
Choice in Elections	p. 101
Democracy and Participation	p. 109
The Role of the People Between Elections	p. 111
Voting, Electing, and Civil Peace	p. 117
Voting and Electing	p. 117
Elections and Civil Peace	p. 122
Agency	p. 125
Introduction	p. 125
The Structure of Government	p. 127
The Problem to be Solved	p. 127
Functions and Powers	p. 128
The Balance of Powers	p. 131
Divided Implies Limited?	p. 136
Protecting the Status Quo	p. 138
Neutrality and Supermajority	p. 138
Bicameralism and Supermajority Rule	p. 139
Some Facts	p. 142
Democracy and Majority Rule	p. 143
Citizens and Governments	p. 145
Liberty	p. 149
Introduction	p. 149
Disabling Is Enabling	p. 151
ôLiberty Is Everythingö	p. 151
Liberty as Enumerated Rights	p. 153
Democracy as an Implementation of Self-Government in Our Times	p. 161
References	p. 173
Name Index	p. 191
Subject Index	p. 197
Country Index	p. 199
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