American Democracy - Selected Essays on Theory, Practice, and Critique

"These essays spanning a period of four decades all belong to the political science subfield of "democratic theory." Though published independently, mostly in professional journals, they make a connected argument against minimalist versions of "democracy." The first group of essays, on the work of various contempoary political theorists, analyze the ways in which the nature of class in the corporate capitalist order limits the applicability of the concepts upon which traditional democratic theory has depended. In the essays grouped under the heading of "really existing democracy" I propose the concept of "representative oligarchy" as the appropriate rubric for understanding American politics; these essays incorporate a topic often avoided on the Left, namely the problem of illiberal mass opinion in liberal democracies, and ask the question whether the representative element in representative oligarchy may be beyond recuperation. The final two essays examine how, and through what forms of political action, a citizenry might truly implement representative government as political equality"--

List of contents

PART I: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: THEORY, PRACTICE AND CRITIQUE 1. Introduction: I Have a Philosophy, You Have an Ideology 2. Science, Government, and the Case of Rand: A Singular Pluralism 3. In Defense of the State 4. Equality Since Rawls: Objective Philosophers, Subjective Citizens, and Rational Choice 5. A Few Kind Words for Liberalism PART II: 'REALLY EXISTING DEMOCRACY' 6. Rethinking Democratic Theory: the American Case (with Drucilla Cornell) 7. Immigration: Myths and Principles 8. On-Screen Barbarism: Violence in U.S. Visual Culture 9. Farewell to Democracy? PART III: 'IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA' 10. Prologomena to a Democratic Theory of the Division of Labor 11. Postscript: Democracy a s a Contested Idea

Product details

• Authors: P Green, P. Green, Philip Green
• Publisher: Palgrave UK
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 17.12.2014
• EAN: 9781137382870
• ISBN: 978-1-137-38287-0
• No. of pages: 229
• Series: Political Philosophy and Public Purpose; Political Philosophy and Publi; Political Philosophy and Public Purpose; Political Philosophy and Publi
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political theories and the history of ideas; B, Sociology, History: specific events & topics, Society, Society & social sciences, Law, Democracy, Political Science, Political Philosophy, Political Theory, Social Sciences, Social & political philosophy, Political science & theory, Political structures: democracy, Political History, Social Sciences, general, Fundamentals of Law, Jurisprudence & general issues, World Politics, Law—Philosophy, Palgrave Political Science Collection