Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy

Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy PDF Author: Richard A. Posner
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674042292
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
A liberal state is a representative democracy constrained by the rule of law. Richard Posner argues for a conception of the liberal state based on pragmatic theories of government. He views the actions of elected officials as guided by interests rather than by reason and the decisions of judges by discretion rather than by rules. He emphasizes the institutional and material, rather than moral and deliberative, factors in democratic decision making. Posner argues that democracy is best viewed as a competition for power by means of regular elections. Citizens should not be expected to play a significant role in making complex public policy regarding, say, taxes or missile defense. The great advantage of democracy is not that it is the rule of the wise or the good but that it enables stability and orderly succession in government and limits the tendency of rulers to enrich or empower themselves to the disadvantage of the public. Posner’s theory steers between political theorists’ concept of deliberative democracy on the left and economists’ public-choice theory on the right. It makes a significant contribution to the theory of democracy—and to the theory of law as well, by showing that the principles that inform Schumpeterian democratic theory also inform the theory and practice of adjudication. The book argues for law and democracy as twin halves of a pragmatic theory of American government.

Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy

Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy PDF Author: Richard A. Posner
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674042292
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
A liberal state is a representative democracy constrained by the rule of law. Richard Posner argues for a conception of the liberal state based on pragmatic theories of government. He views the actions of elected officials as guided by interests rather than by reason and the decisions of judges by discretion rather than by rules. He emphasizes the institutional and material, rather than moral and deliberative, factors in democratic decision making. Posner argues that democracy is best viewed as a competition for power by means of regular elections. Citizens should not be expected to play a significant role in making complex public policy regarding, say, taxes or missile defense. The great advantage of democracy is not that it is the rule of the wise or the good but that it enables stability and orderly succession in government and limits the tendency of rulers to enrich or empower themselves to the disadvantage of the public. Posner’s theory steers between political theorists’ concept of deliberative democracy on the left and economists’ public-choice theory on the right. It makes a significant contribution to the theory of democracy—and to the theory of law as well, by showing that the principles that inform Schumpeterian democratic theory also inform the theory and practice of adjudication. The book argues for law and democracy as twin halves of a pragmatic theory of American government.

Law Pragmatism

Law Pragmatism PDF Author: Richard Allen Posner
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788175344587
Category : Democracy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy

Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy PDF Author: Richard A. Posner
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780674018495
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
Making a significant contribution to the theory of democracy, this reference maintains that the advantage of democracy is not that it is the rule of the wise or the good, but that it enables stability and orderly succession in government and limits the tendency of rulers to empower themselves to the disadvantage of the public.

Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy

Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy PDF Author: Richard A. Posner
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674042298
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
A liberal state is a representative democracy constrained by the rule of law. Richard Posner argues for a conception of the liberal state based on pragmatic theories of government. He views the actions of elected officials as guided by interests rather than by reason and the decisions of judges by discretion rather than by rules. He emphasizes the institutional and material, rather than moral and deliberative, factors in democratic decision making. Posner argues that democracy is best viewed as a competition for power by means of regular elections. Citizens should not be expected to play a significant role in making complex public policy regarding, say, taxes or missile defense. The great advantage of democracy is not that it is the rule of the wise or the good but that it enables stability and orderly succession in government and limits the tendency of rulers to enrich or empower themselves to the disadvantage of the public. Posner’s theory steers between political theorists’ concept of deliberative democracy on the left and economists’ public-choice theory on the right. It makes a significant contribution to the theory of democracy—and to the theory of law as well, by showing that the principles that inform Schumpeterian democratic theory also inform the theory and practice of adjudication. The book argues for law and democracy as twin halves of a pragmatic theory of American government.

Legal Pragmatism

Legal Pragmatism PDF Author: Michael Sullivan
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253116988
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
In Legal Pragmatism, Michael Sullivan looks closely at the place of the individual and community in democratic society. After mapping out a brief history of American legal thinking regarding rights, from communitarianism to liberalism, Sullivan gives a rich and nuanced account of how pragmatism worked to resolve conflicts of self-interest and community well-being. Sullivan's view of pragmatism provides a comprehensive framework for understanding democracy, as well as issues such as health care, education, gay marriage, and illegal immigration that will determine its character in the future. Legal Pragmatism is a bold, carefully argued book that presents a unique understanding of contemporary society, law, and politics.

Pragmatism, Democracy, and the Necessity of Rhetoric

Pragmatism, Democracy, and the Necessity of Rhetoric PDF Author: Robert Danisch
Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press
ISBN: 9781570036903
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
In Pragmatism, Democracy, and the Necessity of Rhetoric, Robert Danisch examines the search by America's first generation of pragmatists for a unique set of rhetorics that would serve the needs of a developing democracy. Digging deep into pragmatism's historical development, Danisch sheds light on its association with an alternative but significant and often overlooked tradition. He draws parallels between the rhetorics of such American pragmatists as John Dewey and Jane Addams and those of the ancient Greek tradition. Danisch contends that, while building upon a classical foundation, pragmatism sought to determine rhetorical responses to contemporary irresolutions. rhetoric, including pragmatism's rejection of philosophy with its traditional assumptions and practices. Grounding his argument on an

A Pragmatist Philosophy of Democracy

A Pragmatist Philosophy of Democracy PDF Author: Robert B. Talisse
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135196400
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
In this book, Robert B. Talisse advances a series of pragmatic arguments against Deweyan democracy. Drawing upon the epistemology of the founder of pragmatism, Charles S. Peirce, Talisse develops a conception of democracy that is anti-Deweyan but nonetheless pragmatist. The result is a new pragmatist option in democratic theory.

The Priority of Democracy

The Priority of Democracy PDF Author: Jack Knight
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400840333
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
Why democracy is the best way of deciding how decisions should be made Pragmatism and its consequences are central issues in American politics today, yet scholars rarely examine in detail the relationship between pragmatism and politics. In The Priority of Democracy, Jack Knight and James Johnson systematically explore the subject and make a strong case for adopting a pragmatist approach to democratic politics—and for giving priority to democracy in the process of selecting and reforming political institutions. What is the primary value of democracy? When should we make decisions democratically and when should we rely on markets? And when should we accept the decisions of unelected officials, such as judges or bureaucrats? Knight and Johnson explore how a commitment to pragmatism should affect our answers to such important questions. They conclude that democracy is a good way of determining how these kinds of decisions should be made—even if what the democratic process determines is that not all decisions should be made democratically. So, for example, the democratically elected U.S. Congress may legitimately remove monetary policy from democratic decision-making by putting it under the control of the Federal Reserve. Knight and Johnson argue that pragmatism offers an original and compelling justification of democracy in terms of the unique contributions democratic institutions can make to processes of institutional choice. This focus highlights the important role that democracy plays, not in achieving consensus or commonality, but rather in addressing conflicts. Indeed, Knight and Johnson suggest that democratic politics is perhaps best seen less as a way of reaching consensus or agreement than as a way of structuring the terms of persistent disagreement.

Pragmatism, Feminism, and Democracy

Pragmatism, Feminism, and Democracy PDF Author: James Livingston
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135955727
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Pragmatism, Feminism, and Democracy is James Livingston's virtuoso reflection on the period between 1890 and 1930, a primal scene of American history during which a wave of intellectual currents came together--and fell apart--to reorient society. Tying in critical insights on corporate capitalism, consumer culture, populism, and the American Left, Livingston analyzes the intersections and similarities of pragmatism and feminism to yield an original, provocative blend of historiography, feminist theory, and American intellectual history.

Pragmatic Fashions

Pragmatic Fashions PDF Author: John J. Stuhr
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253018978
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
John J. Stuhr, a leading voice in American philosophy, sets forth a view of pragmatism as a personal work of art or fashion. Stuhr develops his pragmatism by putting pluralism forward, setting aside absolutism and nihilism, opening new perspectives on democracy, and focusing on love. He creates a space for a philosophy that is liable to failure and that is experimental, pluralist, relativist, radically empirical, radically democratic, and absurd. Full color illustrations enhance this lyrical commitment to a new version of pragmatism.