Ebook327 pages8 hours
Representative Democracy: Principles and Genealogy
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
()
About this ebook
It is usually held that representative government is not strictly democratic, since it does not allow the people themselves to directly make decisions. But here, taking as her guide Thomas Paine’s subversive view that “Athens, by representation, would have surpassed her own democracy,” Nadia Urbinati challenges this accepted wisdom, arguing that political representation deserves to be regarded as a fully legitimate mode of democratic decision making—and not just a pragmatic second choice when direct democracy is not possible.
As Urbinati shows, the idea that representation is incompatible with democracy stems from our modern concept of sovereignty, which identifies politics with a decision maker’s direct physical presence and the immediate act of the will. She goes on to contend that a democratic theory of representation can and should go beyond these identifications. Political representation, she demonstrates, is ultimately grounded in a continuum of influence and power created by political judgment, as well as the way presence through ideas and speech links society with representative institutions. Deftly integrating the ideas of such thinkers as Rousseau, Kant, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, Paine, and the Marquis de Condorcet with her own, Urbinati constructs a thought-provoking alternative vision of democracy.
As Urbinati shows, the idea that representation is incompatible with democracy stems from our modern concept of sovereignty, which identifies politics with a decision maker’s direct physical presence and the immediate act of the will. She goes on to contend that a democratic theory of representation can and should go beyond these identifications. Political representation, she demonstrates, is ultimately grounded in a continuum of influence and power created by political judgment, as well as the way presence through ideas and speech links society with representative institutions. Deftly integrating the ideas of such thinkers as Rousseau, Kant, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, Paine, and the Marquis de Condorcet with her own, Urbinati constructs a thought-provoking alternative vision of democracy.
Related to Representative Democracy
Related ebooks
Creating Political Presence: The New Politics of Democratic Representation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mandate of Dignity: Ronald Dworkin, Revolutionary Constitutionalism, and the Claims of Justice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe State of Democratic Theory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDemocratic Equality Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Limits of Constitutional Democracy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Democracy and Vision: Sheldon Wolin and the Vicissitudes of the Political Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDemocracy Ancient and Modern Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Representation: Elections and Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Return of the Political Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Justice and the Politics of Difference Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Setting the People Free: The Story of Democracy, Second Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary Of "Theory Of Democracy" By Méndez Parnes & Negri: UNIVERSITY SUMMARIES Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHuman Rights for Pragmatists: Social Power in Modern Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAuthoritarianism: Three Inquiries in Critical Theory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Idea of a Liberal Theory: A Critique and Reconstruction Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Can Democracy Work?: A Short History of a Radical Idea, from Ancient Athens to Our World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Democracy and the Welfare State Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmergency Politics: Paradox, Law, Democracy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Building the Judiciary: Law, Courts, and the Politics of Institutional Development Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy Deliberative Democracy? Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts since Plato - Revised and Expanded Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Democratic Rights: The Substance of Self-Government Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political Theory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPopular Democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDecentralization, Democratization, and Informal Power in Mexico Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHuman Rights and the Uses of History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Democratic Governance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Age of Risk: Politics and Economy in Early Modern Britain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Politics For You
The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fear: Trump in the White House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on the U.S.-Israeli War on the Palestinians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Capitalism and Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ever Wonder Why?: and Other Controversial Essays Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The U.S. Constitution with The Declaration of Independence and The Articles of Confederation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Reset: And the War for the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Closing of the American Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Representative Democracy
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
Representative Democracy - Nadia Urbinati
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1