Placeholder text

Go to cart

Dispersion of Power

By Bagg, Samuel Ely

Dispersion of Power

By Bagg, Samuel Ely

0 - Default Title
Description
The Dispersion of Power is an urgent call to rethink centuries of conventional wisdom about what democracy is, why it matters, and how to make it better. Drawing from history, social science, psychology, and critical theory, it explains why elections do not and cannot realize the classic ideal of popular rule, and why prevailing strategies of democratic reform often make things worse. Instead, Bagg argues, we should see democracy as a way of protecting public power from capture-an alternative vision that is at once more realistic and more inspiring. Despite their many shortcomings, real-world elections do prevent the most extreme forms of tyranny, and are therefore indispensable. In dealing with the vast inequalities that remain, however, we cannot rely on standard solutions such as electoral reform, direct democracy, deliberation, and participatory governance. Instead, Bagg shows, protecting and enriching democracy requires addressing underlying inequalities of power directly. In part, this entails substantive policies attacking the advantages of wealthy elites. Even more crucially, deepening democracy requires the organization of oppositional, countervailing power among ordinary people. Neither task is easy, but historical precedents exist in both cases-and if democracy is to survive contemporary crises, leaders and citizens alike must find ways to revive and reinvent these essential democratic practices for the 21st century.
Product details
Number of Pages:
296
Release Date:
2024-03-11
Publication Date:
2024-03-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press(UK)
Languages:
Original: English
ISBN10:
0192848828
ISBN13:
9780192848826
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
[email protected]
Weight:
611 g
Height:
161 cm
Width:
240 cm
Thickness:
21 cm
Buy on Amazon
Currently sold out