On Justifying Democracy

On Justifying Democracy PDF Author: William Nelson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135027137
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
This book analyzes and assesses theories of democracy emanating from studies in a variety of disciplines, and proposes answers to a wide range of questions in moral and political philosophy, philosophy of law and democratic theory. Taken together, these answers constitute the basis for a theory that justifies political democracy.

On Justifying Democracy

On Justifying Democracy PDF Author: William Nelson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135027137
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
This book analyzes and assesses theories of democracy emanating from studies in a variety of disciplines, and proposes answers to a wide range of questions in moral and political philosophy, philosophy of law and democratic theory. Taken together, these answers constitute the basis for a theory that justifies political democracy.

On Justifying Democracy

On Justifying Democracy PDF Author: William N. Nelson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780415491112
Category : Democracy
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description


Democracy

Democracy PDF Author: Albert Weale
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312220921
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
Defining democracy as a system of government in which important choices in public policy depend, in a systematic way, upon public opinion, Albert Weale argues that its key justification is its capacity to enable members of society to advance their common interests as political equals in a situation of human fallibility. Contrasting this justification with accounts of democracy based on the idea of autonomy, he argues that a satisfactory theory of democracy must presuppose the existence, at least to some degree, of common purpose among the citizens. The book elaborates this account of democratic government in relation to models of democracy ranging from accounts of direct democracy, inspired by Rousseau, to liberal constitutionalist theories that stress the importance of limited government.

The Cambridge Companion to Liberalism

The Cambridge Companion to Liberalism PDF Author: Steven Wall
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110708007X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 473

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Book Description
An expert survey of liberal approaches and liberal responses to diverse topics and controversies in contemporary political thought and practice.

The Right to Justification

The Right to Justification PDF Author: Rainer Forst
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231147082
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
Contemporary philosophical pluralism recognizes the inevitability and legitimacy of multiple ethical perspectives and values, making it difficult to isolate the higher-order principles on which to base a theory of justice. Rising up to meet this challenge, Rainer Forst, a leading member of the Frankfurt School's newest generation of philosophers, conceives of an "autonomous" construction of justice founded on what he calls the basic moral right to justification. Forst begins by identifying this right from the perspective of moral philosophy. Then, through an innovative, detailed critical analysis, he ties together the central components of social and political justice--freedom, democracy, equality, and toleration--and joins them to the right to justification. The resulting theory treats "justificatory power" as the central question of justice, and by adopting this approach, Forst argues, we can discursively work out, or "construct," principles of justice, especially with respect to transnational justice and human rights issues. As he builds his theory, Forst engages with the work of Anglo-American philosophers such as John Rawls, Ronald Dworkin, and Amartya Sen, and critical theorists such as Jürgen Habermas, Nancy Fraser, and Axel Honneth. Straddling multiple subjects, from politics and law to social protest and philosophical conceptions of practical reason, Forst brilliantly gathers contesting claims around a single, elastic theory of justice.

Justifying Democracy: the Case for Deliberative Democracy

Justifying Democracy: the Case for Deliberative Democracy PDF Author: Laura Miriam Piker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Democracy Without Shortcuts

Democracy Without Shortcuts PDF Author: Cristina Lafont
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198848188
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
This book articulates a participatory conception of deliberative democracy that takes the democratic ideal of self-government seriously. It aims to improve citizens' democratic control and vindicate the value of citizens' participation against conceptions that threaten to undermine it. The book critically analyzes deep pluralist, epistocratic, and lottocratic conceptions of democracy. Their defenders propose various institutional ''shortcuts'' to help solve problems of democratic governance such as overcoming disagreements, citizens' political ignorance, or poor-quality deliberation. However, all these shortcut proposals require citizens to blindly defer to actors over whose decisions they cannot exercise control. Implementing such proposals would therefore undermine democracy. Moreover, it seems naive to assume that a community can reach better outcomes 'faster' if it bypasses the beliefs and attitudes of its citizens. Unfortunately, there are no 'shortcuts' to make a community better than its members. The only road to better outcomes is the long, participatory road that is taken when citizens forge a collective will by changing one another's hearts and minds. However difficult the process of justifying political decisions to one another may be, skipping it cannot get us any closer to the democratic ideal. Starting from this conviction, the book defends a conception of democracy ''without shortcuts''. This conception sheds new light on long-standing debates about the proper scope of public reason, the role of religion in politics, and the democratic legitimacy of judicial review. It also proposes new ways to unleash the democratic potential of institutional innovations such as deliberative minipublics.

The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy

The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy PDF Author: David Estlund
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195376692
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
This volume includes 22 new pieces by leading political philosophers, on traditional issues (such as authority and equality) and emerging issues (such as race, and money in politics). The pieces are clear and accessible will interest both students and scholars working in philosophy, political science, law, economics, and more.

Democracy

Democracy PDF Author: Ross Harrison
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134790686
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Democracy surrounds us like the air we breath, and is normally taken very much for granted. Across the world democracy has become accepted as an unquestionably good thing. Yet upon further examination the merits of democracy are both paradoxical and problematic, and the treasured values of liberty and equality can be used to argue both for and against it. In the historical section of the book, Ross Harrison clearly traces the history of democracy by examining the works of, amongst others, Plato and Aristotle, Hegel and Marx. Informed by facts and detailed knowledge of these famous thinkers, Harrison provides a clear and cogent justification of democracy.

A System of Rights

A System of Rights PDF Author: Rex Martin
Publisher: Clarendon Press
ISBN: 0191520810
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description
The justification of political authority is one of the long-standing issues of political philosophy, and one which persistently defies satisfactory solution. In this paperback edition of a highly successful study, Professor Martin sets out to provide an original justification by establishing a background framework for dealing with the problem. He begins by identifying the main elements of political authority, arguing that they need to be linked in order to create a political authority that can be described as justified. He then sketches a framework - a sample system of political institutions and conceptions which is internally coherent - to link these elements. The rest of the book fills in this outline. Professor Martin argues that rights are established patterns of acting or of being treated and are hence essentially institutional in character. The institutions that tend to be the most supportive and productive of individual rights are, he believes, democratic, and the central section of the book is devoted to the connection of rights with majority rule, democratic political institutions and conceptions. From this nexus, secondary lines are traced to political obligation (or allegiance) and to an eligible justification for using punishment to enforce the rights of individuals. Thus Professor Martin's analysis forms a distinctive and systematic approach to one particular style of government. This rethinking of some of the main topics in political theory is long overdue; it yields some striking conclusions about both the nature of rights and the nature of political authority itself. Reviews for the hardback edition: `analytical political theory at its best...thoroughly worked through, illuminating, and persuasive' Political Studies `he dicusses knowledgeably yet imaginatively one sort of political and legal system...I unreservedly assert that his institutional conception of rights deserves to be taken seriously as a very plausible alternative to the more familiar theories of Hart, Feinberg, Dworkin and Raz. Equally important are his discussions of the nature of democracy and the internal justification of punishment. Most impressive of all is his detailed demonstration of the internal coherence of the system of rights sketched in this book' Ethics `his book is valuable for presenting a distinctively political view of rights...the book is impressively scholarly, with references, when relevant, to most of the voluminous literature on rights. In this respect A System of Rights is a model work of philosophy: at once thoroughly steeped in the literature on its topic and rising above that literature to propose a novel, distinctive view' Mind `a rewarding and impressive book, which deals with a wide range of issues central to political philosophy in an interesting and original way. In this carefully argued examination and justification of a particular political system, Rex Martin offers an original account of rights, and links these rights with other political conceptions and institutions...to forms what he calls a "system of rights"...his discussion is rich and nuanced, and provides the philosophical groundwork for clearer thinking about the difficult and elusive relationship between rights and democracy' Canadian Journal of Political Science `What makes Martin's book so trenchant is that it can be read with great profit from different points of view...The broad scope and provocative arguments of Martin's work assure that it will be a focal point in philosophically-orientated debate on rights' Ratio Juris `Rex Martin has written the most important analysis and justification of political authority and obligation since T. H. Green's Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation... [A System of Rights is] rich in argument and unorthodox conclusions' Gerald F. Gaus, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research