Real democracy : the New England town meeting and how it works / Frank M. Bryan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bryan, Frank M.

Series:

American politics and political economy.

American politics and political economy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Local government--New England.

Local government.

Democracy--New England.

Democracy.

Political participation--New England.

Political participation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (332 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Relying on an astounding collection of more than three decades of firsthand research, Frank M. Bryan examines one of the purest forms of American democracy, the New England town meeting. At these meetings, usually held once a year, all eligible citizens of the town may become legislators; they meet in face-to-face assemblies, debate the issues on the agenda, and vote on them. And although these meetings are natural laboratories for democracy, very few scholars have systematically investigated them. A nationally recognized expert on this topic, Bryan has now done just that. Studying 1,500 town meetings in his home state of Vermont, he and his students recorded a staggering amount of data about them-238,603 acts of participation by 63,140 citizens in 210 different towns. Drawing on this evidence as well as on evocative "witness" accounts-from casual observers to no lesser a light than Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn-Bryan paints a vivid picture of how real democracy works. Among the many fascinating questions he explores: why attendance varies sharply with town size, how citizens resolve conflicts in open forums, and how men and women behave differently in town meetings. In the end, Bryan interprets this brand of local government to find evidence for its considerable staying power as the most authentic and meaningful form of direct democracy. Giving us a rare glimpse into how democracy works in the real world, Bryan presents here an unorthodox and definitive book on this most cherished of American institutions.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Democrat

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction: The Methodology of Starting from Scratch

2. Town Meeting: An American Conversation

3. Democracy as Public Presence: Walking the Bounds

4. Attendance: The Architecture of Governance

5. Attendance: The Context of Community

6. Democracy as Public Talk: Walking the Bounds

7. Democracy as Public Talk: Exploring the Contexts

8. The Question of Equality: Women's Presence

9. The Question of Equality: Women's Participation

10. If You Build It, Let Them Play

11. The Best Democracy, the Worst Democracy

12. Conclusion: A Lovers' Quarrel

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612538292

9781282538290

1282538292

9780226077987

0226077985

OCLC:

609863540