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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political activism > Pressure groups & lobbying

Regulating Lobbying - A Global Comparison, 2nd Edition (Paperback): Raj Chari, John Hogan, Gary Murphy, Michele Crepaz Regulating Lobbying - A Global Comparison, 2nd Edition (Paperback)
Raj Chari, John Hogan, Gary Murphy, Michele Crepaz
R765 Discovery Miles 7 650 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Governments worldwide are developing sunshine policies that increase transparency in politics, where a key initiative is regulating lobbyists. Building on the pioneering first edition, this book updates its examination of all jurisdictions with regulations, from the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Unlike any book, it offers unique insights into how the regulations compare and contrast against each other, offering a revamped theoretical classification of different regulatory environments and situating each political system therein. This edition innovatively considers different measurements to capture the robustness of lobbying laws in terms of promoting transparency and accountability. And, based on the authors' experience of advising governments globally, it closes with a no-nonsense guide on how to make a lobbying law. This is of value to policymakers seeking to introduce or amend regulations, and lobbyists seeking to influence this process. -- .

Reviving the Social Compact - Inclusive Citizenship in an Age of Extreme Politics (Hardcover): Naomi Zack Reviving the Social Compact - Inclusive Citizenship in an Age of Extreme Politics (Hardcover)
Naomi Zack; Foreword by Ruth Sample
R1,872 Discovery Miles 18 720 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

Naomi Zack's Reviving the Social Compact: Inclusive Citizenship in an Age of Extreme Politics addresses current political and social upheaval and distress with new concepts for the relationship between citizens and government. Politics has become turbo-charged as a form of agonistic contest where candidates and the public become more focused on winning than on governing or holding the government accountable for the benefit of the people. This failure of the government to fulfill its part of the social contract calls for a new social compact wherein citizens as a collective whole make long-term resolutions outside of government institutions. Analyzing present and evolving events, Zack reveals how race has exceeded intersection after formal rights have failed to correct ongoing discrimination; how class is no longer based on real life interests and has been manufactured and manipulated for political contest; how women have made spectacular progress but how the fame of elite women has left out poor, non-white women, transgender people, and sex workers; how natural disasters have not been (and perhaps cannot be) adequately prepared for or responded to by government; how environmental preservation becomes politicized; how homelessness could be fixed through capitalism; and how immigration reform has pivoted from inclusion to expulsion and why hospitality is an important civic virtue. Reviving the Social Compact is a call for good citizenship. Voting is the first step-because in a divided two-party system, a change from one party to the other is tantamount to revolution-and a new understanding of the social compact can lead to the stable civic life we need at this time.

The Responsive Union - National Elections and European Governance (Hardcover): Christina J. Schneider The Responsive Union - National Elections and European Governance (Hardcover)
Christina J. Schneider
R3,072 Discovery Miles 30 720 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The EU faces a serious crisis of democratic legitimacy. Citizens believe that the EU is run by distant and non-responsive political elites. The EU's perceived lack of responsiveness to ordinary citizens poses a threat to its very survival. This timely book presents a comprehensive account of how EU governments signal responsiveness to the interests of their citizens over European policies. Schneider develops and tests a theoretical framework of the intergovernmental dimension of responsive governance in the European Union, using evidence amassed over nearly ten years of multi-method research. The findings show that European cooperation in the Council of the European Union takes place in the shadow of national elections. Governments signal responsiveness to their publics by taking positions that are in the interests of politically relevant voters at the national level, defending these positions throughout negotiations in the Council, and seeking appropriate policy outcomes at the EU level.

Seeking the Right to Food - Food Activism in South Africa (Hardcover): Bright Nkrumah Seeking the Right to Food - Food Activism in South Africa (Hardcover)
Bright Nkrumah
R2,309 R1,953 Discovery Miles 19 530 Save R356 (15%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Despite a constitutional right to food, a comprehensive social security structure, being a net exporter of agricultural products and maintaining a rising GDP, freedom from hunger remains a pipedream for millions of South Africans. With a constant surge in food prices, the availability of sustenance is often seriously threatened for all of South Africa's population. While the underprivileged majority residing in townships often demonstrate their discontent for poor service delivery on the streets, they rarely channel this strategy into taming food inflation. This study seeks to understand this irony and examine ways in which this trend could be reversed. Proposing a compelling argument for food activism, Bright Nkrumah suggests ways of mobilising disempowered groups to reclaim this inherent right. Presented alongside historical and contemporary case studies to illustrate the dynamics of collective action and food security in South Africa, he draws from legal, social and political theory to make the case for 'activism' as a force for alleviating food insecurity.

Asia's Environmental Movements - Comparative Perspectives (Paperback, Revised): Lee F. Yok-Shiu, Alvin Y. So, Lily... Asia's Environmental Movements - Comparative Perspectives (Paperback, Revised)
Lee F. Yok-Shiu, Alvin Y. So, Lily Xiao-Hong Lee
R1,384 Discovery Miles 13 840 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Adopting a comparative perspective, this book traces the social, political, economic and cultural conditions under which environmental movements have emerged, and assesses the transformative capacities of these movements.

Civic Engagement in Food System Governance - A comparative perspective of American and British local food movements... Civic Engagement in Food System Governance - A comparative perspective of American and British local food movements (Paperback)
Alan R. Hunt
R1,553 Discovery Miles 15 530 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The local food movement is one of the most active of current civil engagement social movements. This work presents primary evidence from over 900 documents, interviews, and participant observations, and provides the first descriptive history of local food movement national policy achievements in the US, from 1976 to 2013, and in the UK, from 1991 to 2013, together with reviews of both the American and British local food movements. It provides a US-UK comparative context, significantly updating earlier comparisons of American, British and European farm and rural policies. The comparative perspective shows that, over time, more effective strategies for national policy change required social-movement building strategies, such as collaborative policy coalitions, capacity-building for smaller organizations, and policy entrepreneurship for joining together separate rural, farming, food, and health interests. In contrast, narrowly-defined single issue campaigns often undermined long-term policy change, even if short-term wins emerged. By profiling interviews of American and English movement leaders, policymakers, and funders, the book demonstrates that democratic participation in food policy is best supported when funders incentivize groups to work together and overcome their differences.

Masses, Classes, Ideas - Studies on Politics and Philosophy Before and After Marx (Paperback): Etienne Balibar Masses, Classes, Ideas - Studies on Politics and Philosophy Before and After Marx (Paperback)
Etienne Balibar; Translated by James Swenson
R1,267 Discovery Miles 12 670 Ships in 10 - 15 working days


Insiders versus Outsiders - Interest Group Politics in Multilevel Europe (Hardcover): Andreas D'Ur, Gemma Mateo Insiders versus Outsiders - Interest Group Politics in Multilevel Europe (Hardcover)
Andreas D'Ur, Gemma Mateo
R3,014 Discovery Miles 30 140 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

What explains differences in the lobbying behaviour of interest groups? And what consequences do these differences have for the access that interest groups can gain to decision-makers and the influence that they can exert on policy outcomes? Building on an unprecedented amount of empirical evidence on lobbying in Europe, this book puts forward a distinction between lobbying insiders and lobbying outsiders. Lobbying insiders, most prominently business interests, try to establish direct contacts with decision-makers, enjoy good access to executive institutions, and manage to shape policy outcomes when mobilizing the public on an issue is difficult. Lobbying outsiders, in particular citizen groups such as consumer, environmental or health non-governmental organizations, put greater emphasis on mobilizing the public or changing public attitudes, find it easier to gain access to legislative decision-makers, and have the greatest impact on outcomes on issues that are amenable to an outside lobbying campaign. The book shows that a single argument, building on group type as the main variable, can explain variation across interest groups in their choice of strategy, their access to decision-makers, and the conditions under which they can exert influence. The existence of lobbying insiders and lobbying outsiders has important implications for both our understanding of political decision-making and the normative appraisal of contemporary democracy.

#FeesMustFall and Youth Mobilisation in South Africa - Reform or Revolution? (Paperback): Musawenkosi Ndlovu #FeesMustFall and Youth Mobilisation in South Africa - Reform or Revolution? (Paperback)
Musawenkosi Ndlovu
R1,373 Discovery Miles 13 730 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book examines the historical FeesMustFall (FMF) university student protests that took place in South Africa and shows how the enduring historical construction, representation and conceptualisation of South African youth (as typically radical and political) contributed to the (mis)interpretation of FMF protests, and led to a discourse on an African National Congress-toppling revolution. Arguing that the student protests were not the revolutionary movement they have been represented as, Ndlovu demonstrates that ideological divisions amongst the protestors, the declining economy, and reduced youth participation in the political public sphere cannot lead to a new revolution in South African politics. This book will be of interest to students and scholars interested in South African politics, higher education, democracy and protest movements.

The Infinite City - Utopian Dreams on the Streets of London (Hardcover): Niall Kishtainy The Infinite City - Utopian Dreams on the Streets of London (Hardcover)
Niall Kishtainy
R751 R656 Discovery Miles 6 560 Save R95 (13%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

London is a city of dreamers. A city of possibility and experiment. A city of fervent imaginings and courageous aspirations. For centuries, it has been the capital of utopian thought. The Infinite City tells this history for the first time. In his soaring new book, Niall Kishtainy draws us into the imaginative worlds of Thomas More, the Diggers, William Morris and Extinction Rebellion protestors. He introduces us to thinkers like Thomas Spence who threw coins stamped with the words ‘YOU FOOLS’ into the alleys of Holborn. To Ada Salter who was the first woman borough councillor in London and ignited the Bermondsey Revolution. To ninety-two-year-old Dolly Watson who became the queen of Claremont Road in Leytonstone during the Reclaim the Streets protests in the 1990s. These are inspiring tales of people who drew might from the city around them and fought for their ideologies in an increasingly transforming world. Beginning in the sixteenth century and stretching from the contemporary transformation of the East End docklands to the COVID lockdowns, The Infinite City shows how London’s spirit has been one of visionary imagination amid relentless change and innovation.

Charged - How the Police Try to Suppress Protest (Hardcover): Matt Foot, Morag Livingstone Charged - How the Police Try to Suppress Protest (Hardcover)
Matt Foot, Morag Livingstone
R538 Discovery Miles 5 380 Ships in 9 - 17 working days

Charged is an essential investigation into the role of policing protest in Britain today. As the UK government tries to suppress all forms of dissent, in their pursuit of more control, how do the police manage crowds, provoke violence and even break the law? Since the 1980s under successive governments the police have been allowed to suppress protests, using aggressive tactics - from batons to horse charges to kettling. The landscape of how police deal with protest changed following criticism of the police during the 1981 Brixton riots. New military-style tactics were sanctioned by the Thatcher government, in secret. Over the next forty years those protesting against racism, unfair job losses, draconian laws, or for environmental protection were subject to brutal tactics. In the aftermath, media attention denigrates protesters while the police are praised and continue to act with impunity. Looking through these moments of conflict widens our understanding of policing public order to reveal the true character of the state. Since the 1980s successive governments, from Thatcher to Johnson, covertly plot to suppress protests, using standardised aggressive tactics - from batons to horse charges to kettling. Through undisclosed documents and eyewitness accounts the authors reveal organised police violence against miners at Orgreave, print workers at Warrington, anti poll tax campaigners, student protestors and Black Lives Matter. The voices of protesters however have been undeterred.

Viral Lobbying - Strategies, Access and Influence During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Paperback): Michele Crepaz, Wiebke Marie Junk,... Viral Lobbying - Strategies, Access and Influence During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Paperback)
Michele Crepaz, Wiebke Marie Junk, Marcel Hanegraaff, Joost Berkhout
R750 R707 Discovery Miles 7 070 Save R43 (6%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

Pandemic policies have been the focus of fierce lobbying competition by different social and economic interests. In Viral Lobbying a team of expert authors from across the social and natural sciences analyse patterns in and implications of this 'viral lobbying'. Based on elite surveys and focus group interviews with selected groups, the book provides new evidence on the lobbying strategies used during the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as the resulting access to and lobbying influence on public policy. The empirical analyses reach across eight European countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom), as well as the EU-level. In particular, the book draws on responses from approximately 1,600 interest organisations in two waves of a cross-country survey (in 2020 and 2021, respectively). This quantitative data is supplemented by qualitative evidence from a series of 12 focus groups with organised interests in Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands conducted in spring 2021.

A People's History of the German Revolution - 1918-19 (Hardcover): William A. Pelz A People's History of the German Revolution - 1918-19 (Hardcover)
William A. Pelz; Foreword by Mario Kessler
R2,470 Discovery Miles 24 700 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

In October 1918, war-weary German sailors mutinied when the Imperial Naval Command ordered their engagement in one final, fruitless battle with the British Royal Navy. This revolt, in the dying embers of the First World War, quickly erupted into a full scale revolution that toppled the monarchy and inaugurated a period of radical popular democracy. The establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1919 ended the revolution, relegating all but its most prominent leaders to a historical footnote. In A People's History of the German Revolution, William A. Pelz cuts against the grain of mainstream accounts that tend to present the revolution as more of a 'collapse', or just a chaotic interregnum that preceded the country's natural progression into a republic. Going beyond the familiar names of Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg or Clara Zetkins, Pelz explores the revolution from the bottom up, focusing on the active role that women, rank-and-file activists, and ordinary workers played in its events. Rejecting the depiction of agency as exclusively in the hands of international actors like Woodrow Wilson or in those of German elites, he makes the compelling case that, for a brief period, the actions of the common people shaped a truly revolutionary society.

Millennial Dreams and Apocalyptic Nightmares - The Cold War Origins of Political Evangelicalism (Hardcover, New): Angela M. Lahr Millennial Dreams and Apocalyptic Nightmares - The Cold War Origins of Political Evangelicalism (Hardcover, New)
Angela M. Lahr
R2,604 Discovery Miles 26 040 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The Religious Right came to prominence in the early 1980s, but it was born during the early Cold War. Evangelical leaders like Billy Graham, driven by a fierce opposition to communism, led evangelicals out of the political wilderness they'd inhabited since the Scopes trial and into a much more active engagement with the important issues of the day. How did the conservative evangelical culture move into the political mainstream? Angela Lahr seeks to answer this important question. She shows how evangelicals, who had felt marginalized by American culture, drew upon their eschatological belief in the Second Coming of Christ and a subsequent glorious millennium to find common cause with more mainstream Americans who also feared a a 'soon-coming end, ' albeit from nuclear war.
In the early postwar climate of nuclear fear and anticommunism, the apocalyptic eschatology of premillennial dispensationalism embraced by many evangelicals meshed very well with the "secular apocalyptic" mood of a society equally terrified of the Bomb and of communism. She argues that the development of the bomb, the creation of the state of Israel, and the Cuban Missile Crisis combined with evangelical end-times theology to shape conservative evangelical political identity and to influence secular views. Millennial beliefs influenced evangelical interpretation of these events, repeatedly energized evangelical efforts, and helped evangelicals view themselves and be viewed by others as a vital and legitimate segment of American culture, even when it raised its voice in sharp criticism of aspects of that culture. Conservative Protestants were able to take advantage of this situation to carve out a new space for theirsubculture within the national arena. The greater legitimacy that evangelicals gained in the early Cold War provided the foundation of a power-base in the national political culture that the religious right would draw on in the late seventies and early eighties. The result, she demonstrates, was the alliance of religious and political conservatives that holds power today.

Pressure Group Politics in Modern Britain (Paperback): Secrett Waldegrave Pressure Group Politics in Modern Britain (Paperback)
Secrett Waldegrave
R285 Discovery Miles 2 850 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
The Empowered Citizens Guide - 10 Steps to Passing a Law that Matters to You (Paperback): Pat Libby The Empowered Citizens Guide - 10 Steps to Passing a Law that Matters to You (Paperback)
Pat Libby
R613 Discovery Miles 6 130 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

For years, Pat Libby has been teaching everyday citizens how to pass laws. Most of them knew next to nothing about the legislative process when they got started, yet many surprised themselves by passing a law on their first try. The Empowered Citizens Guide provides an easy, 10-step framework that breaks down the legislative process into bite-sized pieces. For those who are passionate about creating change in their communities, cities, or states this book provides a simple recipe to make a difference. Libby provides an explanation of terms related to advocacy and lobbying as well as the legal rules for public charities that want to lobby. A detailed overview of the ten steps is illustrated by a real-life example of how a mother, whose son's addiction was fueled by over-the-counter drugs, fought alongside a few friends to pass a law that addressed a root of the problem. The Empowered Citizens Guide is the perfect text for those who want to create meaningful change.

British Business and Protection 1903-1932 (Hardcover): Andrew Marrison British Business and Protection 1903-1932 (Hardcover)
Andrew Marrison
R1,895 Discovery Miles 18 950 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This is the first in-depth study of the involvement of businessmen in the campaign for Tariff Reform, the most important and pervasive political debate on economic policy in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Previously published work on Tariff Reform has concentrated on its political or 'social-imperialist' dimensions, and our knowledge of businessmen's motivations, objectives, and strategies has been under-developed. The book is organized around an analysis of the pressure and propaganda groups directed, or supposedly directed, by protectionist businessmen themselves. Detailed treatment of Joseph Chamberlain's Tariff Commission before the Great War, and of successor organizations such as the Empire Development Union and the Empire Industries Association, provide a thread of continuity from Chamberlain's Birmingham speech in 1903 to the Import Duties Act in 1932. Less overtly political bodies, such as the Federation of British Industries, the National Union of Manufacturers, and the chambers of commerce, are also studied. The book includes the first detailed investigation into the development of protectionism during the First World War, and presents a new analysis of the turbulent events of 1929-1932. Andrew Marrison gives particular attention to the questions of economic motivation and industry-alignment - areas where oversimplification and generalization have been common - and to the relationship between business participants and their political mentors. The general conclusion is one of a 'primacy of politics', a fragmentation of the corporate ideal, in which the lack of influence of the businessman, and especially of the manufacturer, in British politics and Britishsociety meant that the Edwardians' fear of protectionist vested interests was highly exaggerated. The cunning, grasping businessman of legend is found to be little more than a fiction.

Contemporary Nigerian Politics - Competition in a Time of Transition and Terror (Hardcover): A. Carl LeVan Contemporary Nigerian Politics - Competition in a Time of Transition and Terror (Hardcover)
A. Carl LeVan
R2,525 Discovery Miles 25 250 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

In 2015, Nigeria's voters cast out the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Here, A. Carl LeVan traces the political vulnerability of Africa's largest party in the face of elite bargains that facilitated a democratic transition in 1999. These 'pacts' enabled electoral competition but ultimately undermined the party's coherence. LeVan also crucially examines the four critical barriers to Nigeria's democratic consolidation: the terrorism of Boko Haram in the northeast, threats of Igbo secession in the southeast, lingering ethnic resentments and rebellions in the Niger Delta, and farmer-pastoralist conflicts. While the PDP unsuccessfully stoked fears about the opposition's ability to stop Boko Haram's terrorism, the opposition built a winning electoral coalition on economic growth, anti-corruption, and electoral integrity. Drawing on extensive interviews with a number of politicians and generals and civilians and voters, he argues that electoral accountability is essential but insufficient for resolving the representational, distributional, and cultural components of these challenges.

Policy Networks in British Government (Hardcover): David Marsh, R.A.W. Rhodes Policy Networks in British Government (Hardcover)
David Marsh, R.A.W. Rhodes
R4,714 Discovery Miles 47 140 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Policy is not made in the electoral arena or in the gladiatorial confrontations of Parliament, but in the netherworld of committees, civil servants, professions, and interest groups. This collection explores the private world of public policy. It provides a survey of the literature on the concept of policy networks and demonstrates its importance for understanding specific policy areas. The case studies cover policy-making in agriculture, civil nuclear power, youth employment, smoking, heart disease, sea defences, information technology, and exchange rate policy. Finally the editors attempt an overall assessment of the utility of the concept, focusing on such questions as why networks change, which interests dominate and benefit from networks, and the consequences of the present system for representative democracy. To describe policy networks is not to condone political oligopoly. Britain has witnessed the substitution of private government for public accountability. The analysis of policy networks draws attention to this erosion of representative democracy and exposes the private government of Britain to public gaze.

Accountability without Democracy - Solidary Groups and Public Goods Provision in Rural China (Paperback): Lily L. Tsai Accountability without Democracy - Solidary Groups and Public Goods Provision in Rural China (Paperback)
Lily L. Tsai
R970 Discovery Miles 9 700 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Examines the fundamental issue of how citizens get government officials to provide them with the roads, schools, and other public services they need by studying communities in rural China. In authoritarian and transitional systems, formal institutions for holding government officials accountable are often weak. The state often lacks sufficient resources to monitor its officials closely, and citizens are limited in their power to elect officials they believe will perform well and to remove them when they do not. The answer, Lily L. Tsai found, lies in a community's social institutions. Even when formal democratic and bureaucratic institutions of accountability are weak, government officials can still be subject to informal rules and norms created by community solidary groups that have earned high moral standing in the community.

Fight Like a Mother - How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World (Paperback): Shannon... Fight Like a Mother - How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World (Paperback)
Shannon Watts
R392 Discovery Miles 3 920 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
Political Protest in Contemporary Africa (Hardcover): Lisa Mueller Political Protest in Contemporary Africa (Hardcover)
Lisa Mueller
R2,419 Discovery Miles 24 190 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

From spray-painted slogans in Senegal to student uprisings in South Africa, twenty-first century Africa has seen an explosion of protests and social movements. But why? Protests flourish amidst an emerging middle class whose members desire political influence and possess the money, education, and political autonomy to effectively launch movements for democratic renewal. In contrast with pro-democracy protest leaders, rank-and-file protesters live at a subsistence level and are motivated by material concerns over any grievance against a ruling regime. Through extensive field research, Lisa Mueller shows that middle-class political grievances help explain the timing of protests, while lower-class material grievances explain the participation. By adapting a class-based analysis to African cases where class is often assumed to be irrelevant, Lisa Mueller provides a rigorous yet accessible explanation for why sub-Saharan Africa erupted in unrest at a time of apparent economic prosperity.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Hardcover): Eleanor Roosevelt Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Hardcover)
Eleanor Roosevelt
R282 R259 Discovery Miles 2 590 Save R23 (8%) Ships in 18 - 22 working days

In 1948, Eleanor Roosevelt served as chairwoman of the United Nations committee to create this declaration of moral conscience, now used by Amnest International as their founding document. This hardcover edition contains the international document in six languages: English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic.

Interest Groups in Italian Politics (Hardcover): Joseph LaPalombara Interest Groups in Italian Politics (Hardcover)
Joseph LaPalombara
R5,511 Discovery Miles 55 110 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

The author examines both structurally and functionally the General Confederation of Italian Industry, Italian Catholic Action, the Christian Democrats, the Italian Liberal Party, the monarchist Italian Republican Party, the neo-Fascist Italian Social Movement, and many more interest groups. The book is based on several years of field research in Italy, including interviews with scores of political figures, bureaucrats, and interest group leaders. Originally published in 1964. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Disenchantment of Secular Discourse (Hardcover): Steven D. Smith The Disenchantment of Secular Discourse (Hardcover)
Steven D. Smith
R1,235 Discovery Miles 12 350 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

Prominent observers complain that public discourse in America is shallow and unedifying. This debased condition is often attributed to, among other things, the resurgence of religion in public life. Steven Smith argues that this diagnosis has the matter backwards: it is not primarily religion but rather the strictures of secular rationalism that have drained our modern discourse of force and authenticity.

Thus, Rawlsian public reason filters appeals to religion or other comprehensive doctrines out of public deliberation. But these restrictions have the effect of excluding our deepest normative commitments, virtually assuring that the discourse will be shallow. Furthermore, because we cannot defend our normative positions without resorting to convictions that secular discourse deems inadmissible, we are frequently forced to smuggle in those convictions under the guise of benign notions such as freedom or equality.

Smith suggests that this sort of smuggling is pervasive in modern secular discourse. He shows this by considering a series of controversial, contemporary issues, including the Supreme Court s assisted-suicide decisions, the harm principle, separation of church and state, and freedom of conscience. He concludes by suggesting that it is possible and desirable to free public discourse of the constraints associated with secularism and public reason.

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