Democracy's ValuesIan Shapiro, Casiano Hacker-Cordón Cambridge University Press, 1999 M08 19 - 201 pages 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. |
Contents
Promises and disappointments reconsidering democracys value | 1 |
Minimal democracy | 21 |
Minimalist conception of democracy a defense | 23 |
Does democracy engender justice? | 56 |
Democracy and other goods | 69 |
Beyond minimalism | 91 |
Democracy and development a complex relationship | 93 |
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Common terms and phrases
activities Adam Przeworski arbitrary argue argument authoritarian Cambridge University Press capacity citizens civic association civil society claim coercive Cohen common compliance conception conflict contestation contestatory democracy correct decision Dahl Dasgupta deadweight losses decision-making deliberative deliberative democracy demand democ democracy's democratic democratic institutions domination economic effects egalitarian elections electoral equality Eric Maskin example extraction freedom as non-domination freedom as non-interference freedom-friendly government actors groups ideal impartial important income incumbent individual inequality interference Levi libertarian liberty majoritarian majority rule Margaret Levi Maskin means ment norms organization Oxford Pareto principle Partha Dasgupta particular perceived interests Pettit Philip Pettit Philippe Van Parijs policies politicians poor countries preferences problem procedures promote Przeworski question rational real freedom reasons redistribution representative representative democracy republican freedom requires Roemer rulers self-development Shapiro social justice theory tion values voluntary associations voters voting rule welfare York