Escape from Democracy

Escape from Democracy PDF

Author: David M. Levy

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 1107142393

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This text interrogates the role of experts in governing and proposes a viable alternative: governing by democratic discussion.

The Decline and Rise of Democracy

The Decline and Rise of Democracy PDF

Author: David Stasavage

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-08-24

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 0691228973

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"Historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. The Decline and Rise of Democracy draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer--democratic practices were present in many places, at many other times, from the Americas before European conquest, to ancient Mesopotamia, to precolonial Africa. Delving into the prevalence of early democracy throughout the world, David Stasavage makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished--and when and why they declined--can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but also about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future."--

Democracy Incorporated

Democracy Incorporated PDF

Author: Sheldon S. Wolin

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2017-08-29

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 0691178488

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Democracy is struggling in America--by now this statement is almost cliché. But what if the country is no longer a democracy at all? In Democracy Incorporated, Sheldon Wolin considers the unthinkable: has America unwittingly morphed into a new and strange kind of political hybrid, one where economic and state powers are conjoined and virtually unbridled? Can the nation check its descent into what the author terms "inverted totalitarianism"? Wolin portrays a country where citizens are politically uninterested and submissive--and where elites are eager to keep them that way. At best the nation has become a "managed democracy" where the public is shepherded, not sovereign. At worst it is a place where corporate power no longer answers to state controls. Wolin makes clear that today's America is in no way morally or politically comparable to totalitarian states like Nazi Germany, yet he warns that unchecked economic power risks verging on total power and has its own unnerving pathologies. Wolin examines the myths and mythmaking that justify today's politics, the quest for an ever-expanding economy, and the perverse attractions of an endless war on terror. He argues passionately that democracy's best hope lies in citizens themselves learning anew to exercise power at the local level. Democracy Incorporated is one of the most worrying diagnoses of America's political ills to emerge in decades. It is sure to be a lightning rod for political debate for years to come. Now with a new introduction by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Chris Hedges, Democracy Incorporated remains an essential work for understanding the state of democracy in America.

Healing the Heart of Democracy

Healing the Heart of Democracy PDF

Author: Parker J. Palmer

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2014-07-31

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1118970365

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Hope for American democracy in an era of deep divisions In Healing the Heart of Democracy, Parker J. Palmer quickens our instinct to seek the common good and gives us the tools to do it. This timely, courageous and practical work—intensely personal as well as political—is not about them, "those people" in Washington D.C., or in our state capitals, on whom we blame our political problems. It's about us, "We the People," and what we can do in everyday settings like families, neighborhoods, classrooms, congregations and workplaces to resist divide-and-conquer politics and restore a government "of the people, by the people, for the people." In the same compelling, inspiring prose that has made him a bestselling author, Palmer explores five "habits of the heart" that can help us restore democracy's foundations as we nurture them in ourselves 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 and empowering call for "We the People" to reclaim our democracy. The online journal Democracy & Education called it "one of the most important books of the early 21st Century." And Publishers Weekly, in a Starred Review, said "This beautifully written book deserves a wide audience that will benefit from discussing it."

Bread and Democracy in Germany

Bread and Democracy in Germany PDF

Author: Alexander Gerschenkron

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780801495861

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A classic in its field, Bread and Democracy in Germany has been widely praised since its publication in 1943 for its account of German political and economic development. In his preface, Alexander Gerschenkron states: "The primary purpose of this study is to show, first, how, before 1914, the machinery of Junker protectionism is agriculture, coupled with the Junker philosophy... delayed the development of democratic institutions in Germany; and second, how the Junkers contrived to escape almost unscathed from the German revolution of 1918 and how this fact contributed to the constitutional weakness and subsequent disintegration of the Weimar Republic." Emphasizing the importance of the problem of German agriculture in its relation to democratic reconstruction, Gerschenkron asserts that "the political attitude of farmers in several European countries had a decisive influence on the fate of European democracy. Nowhere is this more true than in Germany. The German farmers bear their full share of responsibility for the advent of fascism in that country."

Escape Velocity

Escape Velocity PDF

Author: Christopher Stasheff

Publisher: Stasheff Literary Enterprises

Published: 2012-12-27

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 0984862374

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Democracy is crumbling in the Interstellar Dominion Electorates and the LORDS party are preparing a coup. If Dar and Samantha can't get their message to Terra in time, a dictatorship is inevitable. What's more, every police ship in space has just been alerted that Dar and Samantha are dangerous telepaths to be shot on sight. Along the way, they meet up with a colorful cast of characters who join their quest: a tech-savvy monk, a wandering poet, and a wealthy medieval reenactor, to name just a few. Suspense and adventure abound as Dar and friends are chased through the galaxy as they race to save the world from itself.

Threat to Democracy

Threat to Democracy PDF

Author: Fathali M. Moghaddam

Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781433830709

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2020 PROSE Award Finalist This book explores the recent international decline in democracy and the psychological appeal of authoritarianism in the context of rapid globalization. The rise of populist movements and leaders across the globe has produced serious and unexpected challenges to human rights and freedoms. By understanding the psychological foundations of the surge in populism and authoritarian leadership, we can better develop ways to nurture and safeguard democracy. Why and how do authoritarian leaders gain popular support? In this book, social psychologist Fathali M. Moghaddam discusses the stages of political development on the continuum from absolute dictatorship to the ideal of actualized democracy. He explains how "fractured globalization" - by which technological and economic forces push societies toward greater global unification, while social identity needs pull individuals back into tribal identification - can produce a turn toward dictatorship, even in previously democratic societies. The book concludes with potential solutions to the rise of authoritarian leaders and ways to strengthen democracy.