Democracy's Values (Contemporary Political Theory)

Shapiro, Ian [Editor]; Hacker-Cordón, Casiano [Editor];

ISBN 10: 0521643880 / ISBN 13: 9780521643887

Published by Cambridge University Press, 1999

About this Item

[From the library of noted scholar William E. Connolly.] Softcover. Shelf wear. Small tear to head of spine. Clean, unmarked pages. "William E. Connolly is Krieger-Eisenhower Professor in the political science department at Hopkins where he teaches political theory. His early book, The Terms of Political Discourse, was awarded the Benjamin Lippincott Award in 1999 as 'a work of exceptional quality that is still considered significant at least 15 years after publication.' In a poll of American political theorists published in PS in 2010, he was ranked the fourth most influential political theorist in America over the last twenty years, after Rawls, Habermas, and Foucault. His work focuses on the issues of democratic pluralism, capitalism, inequality, fascism, and bumpy intersections between capitalism and planetary amplifiers in climate change." - Johns Hopkins University.

Seller Inventory # 2211020006

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Democracy's Values (Contemporary Political Theory)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521643880
• ISBN 13: 9780521643887
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 13 ounces
• Seller catalogs:
  • Political Science

About this title

Synopsis

Democracy has been a flawed hegemony since the fall of communism. Its flexibility, its commitment to equality of representation, and its recognition of the legitimacy of opposition politics are all positive features for political institutions. But democracy has many deficiencies: it is all too easily held hostage by powerful interests; it often fails to advance social justice; and it does not cope well with a number of features of the political landscape, such as political identities, boundary disputes, and environmental crises. Although democracy is valuable it fits uneasily with other political values and is in many respects less than equal to the demands it confronts. In this volume (and its companion Democracy's Edges) prominent political theorists and social scientists present original discussions of such central issues. Democracy's Values deals with the nature and value of democracy, particularly the tensions between it and such goods as justice, equality, efficiency, and freedom.

Review

'What is democracy good for? Even if it did no more than ensure the orderly and peaceful transfer of power from one government to another, that would be enough to make it attractive in comparison to the alternatives. But many people have hoped for more. They would like to think that there can (with the right institutions) be some reliable connection between democracy and other values such as freedom, social justice, or prosperity. The editors are to be congratulated on having assembled a first rate collection of sharply-argued essays that ask what we can realistically expect of democracy.' Brian Barry, Columbia University