John C. Calhoun may be best known for his stature in the U.S.
Senate and his controversial defense of slavery, but he is also a
key figure in American political thought. The staunchest advocate
of the consensus model of government as an alternative to majority
rule, he proposed government not by one, by few, or by many, but by
all: each key group enjoying veto rights over collective decisions.
Some consider consensus preferable to majority rule in deeply
divided societies, and consensus theory has been advocated in such
contemporary works as Lani Guinier's The Tyranny of the Majority.
James Read's book, the first historically informed, theoretically
sophisticated critique of Calhoun's political thought, goes beyond
other studies to ask key questions about the feasibility of
consensus. Read critically examines Calhoun's arguments,
considering both their antebellum context--including Calhoun's
spirited defense of slavery--and modern-day attempts to apply
consensus models in Northern Ireland, the former Yugoslavia, and
South Africa.
Read sheds new light on the crisis leading up to the Civil War
by exploring Calhoun's conviction that his uncompromising defense
of slavery would help preserve the Union. He also juxtaposes
Calhoun's thought with that of Jefferson and Madison, whose
legacies Calhoun invoked to support his claim that states had the
right to nullify federal law, and he contrasts Madison's ultimate
faith in majority rule with Calhoun's ultimate rejection of it.
Read argues that, although Calhoun's critique of majority rule
deserves careful attention, his remedy is unworkable and in the end
unjust. Read demonstrates that governments ruled by consensus tend
to be ineffective, that they are better at preventing common action
than achieving common goods, and that they privilege strategically
placed minorities rather than producing genuine consensus.
"Majority Rule versus Consensus" is a provocative work that
sheds new light on the promise and limitations of democracy,
showing that, despite the failure of Calhoun's remedy, his
diagnosis of the potential injustice of majority rule must be taken
seriously. It discourages uncritical celebrations of democracy in
favor of reflection on how committed democrats can better address
the problems that Calhoun attempted to solve.
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