The Principles of Representative Government
$66.99 USD
Part of Themes in the Social Sciences
- Author: Bernard Manin, New York University
- Date Published: March 2011
- availability: This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
- format: Adobe eBook Reader
- isbn: 9780511884382
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The thesis of this original and provocative book is that representative government should be understood as a combination of democratic and undemocratic, aristocratic elements. Professor Manin challenges the conventional view that representative democracy is no more than an indirect form of government by the people, in which citizens elect representatives only because they cannot assemble and govern in person. The argument is developed by examining the historical moments when the present institutional arrangements were chosen from among the then available alternatives. Professor Manin reminds us that while today representative institutions and democracy appear as virtually indistinguishable, when representative government was first established in Europe and America, it was designed in opposition to democracy proper. Drawing on the procedures used in earlier republican systems, from classical Athens to Renaissance Florence, in order to highlight the alternatives that were forsaken, Manin brings to the fore the generally overlooked results of representative mechanisms. These include the elitist aspect of elections and the non-binding character of campaign promises.
Read more- Surveys and contrasts modern representative democracies with their antecedents
- Offers an original account of the establishment of representative assemblies with stress on the 1787 US constitution
- Investigates hitherto overlooked aspects of democratic institutions
Reviews & endorsements
'Manin's book is scholarly written, thought-provoking, a pleasure to read and challenging to modern representative democracy.' Manfred Holler, Homo oeconomicus XV
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×Product details
- Date Published: March 2011
- format: Adobe eBook Reader
- isbn: 9780511884382
- contains: 1 table
- availability: This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Direct democracy and representation: selection of officials in Athens
2. The triumph of election
3. The principle of distinction
4. A democratic aristocracy
5. The verdict of the people
6. Metamorphoses of representative government
Conclusion
Index.
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