Democratic rights : the substance of self-government / Corey Brettschneider.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brettschneider, Corey.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy.

Civil rights.

Citizenship.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (192 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

When the Supreme Court in 2003 struck down a Texas law prohibiting homosexual sodomy, it cited the right to privacy based on the guarantee of "substantive due process" embodied by the Constitution. But did the court act undemocratically by overriding the rights of the majority of voters in Texas? Scholars often point to such cases as exposing a fundamental tension between the democratic principle of majority rule and the liberal concern to protect individual rights. Democratic Rights challenges this view by showing that, in fact, democracy demands many of these rights. Corey Brettschneider argues that ideal democracy is comprised of three core values--political autonomy, equality of interests, and reciprocity--with both procedural and substantive implications. These values entitle citizens not only to procedural rights of participation (e.g., electing representatives) but also to substantive rights that a "pure procedural" democracy might not protect. What are often seen as distinctly liberal substantive rights to privacy, property, and welfare can, then, be understood within what Brettschneider terms a "value theory of democracy." Drawing on the work of John Rawls and deliberative democrats such as Jürgen Habermas, he demonstrates that such rights are essential components of--rather than constraints on--an ideal democracy. Thus, while defenders of the democratic ideal rightly seek the power of all to participate, they should also demand the rights that are the substance of self-government.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

CHAPTER 1. The Value Theory of Democracy

CHAPTER 2. Paradigmatic Democratic Rights and Citizens as Addressees of Law

CHAPTER 3. Democratic Contractualism: A Framework for Justifiable Coercion

CHAPTER 4. Public Justification and the Right to Privacy

CHAPTER 5. The Rights of the Punished

CHAPTER 6. Private Property and the Right to Welfare

CHAPTER 7. Judicial Review: Balancing Democratic Rights and Procedures

CONCLUSION. Democratic Rights and Contemporary Politics

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-168) and index.

ISBN:

9786612935497

9786612087448

9781282087446

1282087444

9781282935495

1282935496

9781400828104

1400828104

OCLC:

368315169