(S)electing the President - The Perils of Democracy (Paperback)

Selecting political leaders by popular election is an unquestioned hallmark of representative democracies-the institutional manifestation of Lincoln's promise of a government of the people and by the people. But in 2016, Lincoln's promise seems to have given way to Hamilton's nightmare-with his worries that popular elections would produce demagogues who paid an "obsequious court to the people," appealing to their passions and prejudices rather than to their reason. This book examines the commitment to the widest level of participation among the largest number of citizens in the selection of the president. It looks at two salient characteristics of our current presidential election environment that bring the wisdom of this commitment into question: the declining influence of political parties and the communication revolution in the form of the internet, social media, and cable television. Ultimately, Mezey asks whether our now fully democratized presidential selection process has in fact diminished the quality of our presidential candidates and the campaigns they run, whether the turn to demagoguery that the founders feared has materialized, what the consequences of our presidential selection process have been for American government, and whether or not it would be valuable to rethink our wholehearted commitment to popular election of the president. His answers do not topple our commitment to popular elections but rather point the way toward improving the quality of both participation and democracy.

General

Imprint:	Routledge
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	July 2017
First published:	2018
Authors:	Michael L. Mezey
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 15mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	184
ISBN-13:	978-1-138-21226-8
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Elections & referenda Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Political leaders & leadership
LSN:	1-138-21226-1
Barcode:	9781138212268

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!