Why democracy? / Paul Fairfield.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fairfield, Paul, 1966-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy.

Political science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (175 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

While much of the world now embraces the democratic idea—that the people must rule—the philosophical case for democracy has yet to be made convincingly. Why Democracy? not only reexamines the current debates in normative democratic theory, but also challenges popular conceptions that tend toward an uncritical idealization of popular rule. It is not enough to call for more extensive public deliberation, or for greater participation and inclusion in the democratic process, or for a radical extension of the scope of the process. Making the case for democracy requires examining its imaginative and rhetorical dimensions as well. The democratic idea of "rule by the people" must be understood less as a definition than as an aspiration, a trope, and the beginning of a narrative that includes, while extending beyond, the domain of government.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Posing the Question

"The Fountainhead of Justice"?

Democracy

Deliberative Democracy

A Modest Phenomenology of Democratic Speech

Why Democracy?

Between the Market and the Forum

Conclusion and Prognosis

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-148) and index.

ISBN:

9780791478950

0791478955

9781435633018

1435633016

OCLC:

213329419