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The Struggle for Democracy
By Meckstroth
0 - Default Title
Description
This book defends a new theory of democratic legitimacy and change that provides an answer. Christopher Meckstroth shows why familiar views that identify democracy with timeless principles or institutions fall into paradox when asked to make sense of democratic founding and change. Solving the problem, he argues, requires shifting focus to the historical conditions under which citizens work out what it will mean to govern themselves in a democratic way. The only way of sorting out disputes without faith in progress is to show, in Socratic fashion, that some parties' claims to speak for "the people" cannot hold up even on their own terms.
Meckstroth builds his argument on provocative and closely-argued interpretations of Plato, Kant, and Hegel, suggesting that familiar views of them as foundationalist metaphysicians misunderstand their debt to a method of radical doubt pioneered by Socrates. Recovering this tradition of antifoundational argument requires rethinking the place of German idealism in the history of political thought and opens new directions for contemporary democratic theory. The historical and Socratic theory of democracy the book defends makes possible an entirely new way of approaching struggles over contested notions of progress, popular sovereignty, political judgment and democratic change.
Product details
Edition:
1
Number of Pages:
288
Release Date:
2015-07-01
Publication Date:
2010-08-27
Publisher:
ACADEMIC
Languages:
Original:
English
ISBN10:
0190213922
ISBN13:
9780190213923
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
Weight:
599 g
Height:
161 cm
Width:
240 cm
Thickness:
20 cm
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