A powerful case for democracy and how it can adapt and survive—if
we want it to Is democracy in trouble, perhaps even dying? Pundits
say so, and polls show that most Americans believe that their
country’s system of governance is being “tested” or is
“under attack.” But is the future of democracy necessarily so
dire? In The Civic Bargain, Brook Manville and Josiah Ober push
back against the prevailing pessimism about the fate of democracy
around the world. Instead of an epitaph for democracy, they offer a
guide for democratic renewal, calling on citizens to recommit to a
“civic bargain” with one another to guarantee civic rights of
freedom, equality, and dignity. That bargain also requires them to
fulfill the duties of democratic citizenship: governing themselves
with no “boss” except one another, embracing compromise,
treating each other as civic friends, and investing in civic
education for each rising generation. Manville and Ober trace the
long progression toward self-government through four key moments in
democracy’s history: Classical Athens, Republican Rome, Great
Britain’s constitutional monarchy, and America’s founding.
Comparing what worked and what failed in each case, they draw out
lessons for how modern democracies can survive and thrive. Manville
and Ober show that democracy isn’t about getting everything we
want; it’s about agreeing on a shared framework for pursuing our
often conflicting aims. Crucially, citizens need to be able to
compromise, and must not treat one another as political enemies.
And we must accept imperfection; democracy is never finished but
evolves and renews itself continually. As long as the civic bargain
is maintained—through deliberation, bargaining, and
compromise—democracy will live.
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