Systemic corruption : constitutional ideas for an anti-oligarchic republic / Camila Vergara.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vergara, Camila (Vergara González), author.

Series:

Princeton scholarship online.

Princeton scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy.

Representative government and representation.

Oligarchy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (307 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2021.

Summary:

This text reveals how the majority of modern liberal democracies have become increasingly oligarchic, suffering from a form of structural political decay first conceptualized by ancient philosophers. The book argues that the problem cannot be blamed on the actions of corrupt politicians but is built into the very fabric of our representative systems. The book provides a compelling and original genealogy of political corruption from ancient to modern thought, and shows how representative democracy was designed to protect the interests of the already rich and powerful to the detriment of the majority.

Contents:

Introduction. Crisis of the representative republic

Corruption as political decay

Elitist interpretations of the republic

On material constitutional thought

Machiavelli on the plebeian power to create and punish

Condorcet on primary assemblies

Luxemburg on popular emancipation

Arendt on the republic of parties and councils

Contemporary plebeian thought

Constitutionalizing the power of those who do not rule

Epilogue what is to be done?

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2020.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on May 5, 2021).

ISBN:

9780691208732

0691208735

OCLC:

1181774016