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Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Social & political philosophy
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Good Government - Democracy beyond Elections (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R955
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Good Government - Democracy beyond Elections (Hardcover)
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Few would disagree that Western democracies are experiencing a
crisis of representation. In the United States, gerrymandering and
concentrated political geographies have placed the Congress and
state legislatures in a stranglehold that is often at odds with
public opinion. Campaign financing ensures that only the affluent
have voice in legislation. Europeans, meanwhile, increasingly see
the European Union as an anti-democratic body whose "diktats" have
no basis in popular rule. The response, however, has not been an
effective pursuit of better representation. In Good Government,
Pierre Rosanvallon examines the long history of the alternative to
which the public has gravitated: the empowered executive.
Rosanvallon argues that, faced with everyday ineptitude in
governance, people become attracted to strong leaders and bold
executive action. If these fail, they too often want even stronger
personal leadership. Whereas nineteenth-century liberals and
reformers longed for parliamentary sovereignty, nowadays few
contest the "imperial presidency." Rosanvallon traces this history
from the Weimar Republic to Charles De Gaulle's "exceptional"
presidency to the Bush-Cheney concentration of executive power.
Europeans rebelling against the technocratic EU and Americans fed
up with the "administrative state" have turned to charismatic
figures, from Donald Trump to Viktor Orban, who tout personal
strength as their greatest asset. This is not just a right-wing
phenomenon, though, as liberal contentment with Obama's drone war
demonstrates. Rosanvallon makes clear that contemporary
"presidentialism" may reflect the particular concerns of the
moment, but its many precursors demonstrate that democracy has
always struggled with tension between popular government and
concentrated authority.
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