The Promise of Party in a Polarized Age / Russell Muirhead.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Muirhead, Russell, 1965- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ).

Democratic Party (U.S.).

Political parties--United States.

Political parties.

Two-party systems--United States.

Two-party systems.

Political culture--United States.

Political culture.

Divided government--United States.

Divided government.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (332 p.)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

At the root of America's broken politics is hyperbolic partisanship. It distorts perceptions, inflames disagreements, and poisons the democratic process. Citizens pine for a time when liberals and conservatives compromised with one another-or they yearn for a post-partisan future when the common good trumps ideology and self-interest. Russell Muirhead argues that better partisanship, not less partisanship, is the solution to America's political predicament. Instead of striving to overcome our differences, we should learn how to engage them. The political conflicts that provide fodder for cable news shows are not simply manufactured from thin air. However sensationalized they become in the retelling, they originate in authentic disagreements over what constitutes the common welfare. Republicans vest responsibility in each citizen for dealing with bad decisions and bad luck, and want every individual and family to enjoy the benefits of good decisions and good luck. Democrats ask citizens to stand together to insure one another against the worst consequences of misfortune or poor judgment, and especially to insure children against some of the consequences of their parents' bad decisions or lack of opportunities. These are fundamental differences that fantasies of bipartisan consensus cannot dissolve. Disagreement without parties is disempowering, Muirhead says. The remedy is not for citizens and elected officials to learn to "just get along" but for them to bring a skeptical sensibility even to their own convictions, and to learn to disagree as partisans and govern through compromise despite those disagreements.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

1. THE PARTY PROBLEM

2. The Partisan Threat

3. The Partisan Community

4. Reasonable Partisans

5. Loyal Partisans

6. The Primary Problem

7. Partisanship at Home: The Legislature

8. Partisanship beyond the Legislature

9. Can the Government Govern?

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9780674745247

0674745248

9780674736023

0674736028

OCLC:

1013957072