Breaking Democracy’s Spell
John Dunn
Abstract
This book argues that democracy is not synonymous with good government. It explores the labyrinthine reality behind the basic concept of democracy, demonstrating how the political system that people in the West generally view as straightforward and obvious is, in fact, deeply unclear and, in many cases, dysfunctional. It sketches the path by which democracy became the only form of government with moral legitimacy, analyzes the contradictions and pitfalls of democracy in modern America, and challenges the academic world to take responsibility for giving the world a more coherent understanding o ... More
This book argues that democracy is not synonymous with good government. It explores the labyrinthine reality behind the basic concept of democracy, demonstrating how the political system that people in the West generally view as straightforward and obvious is, in fact, deeply unclear and, in many cases, dysfunctional. It sketches the path by which democracy became the only form of government with moral legitimacy, analyzes the contradictions and pitfalls of democracy in modern America, and challenges the academic world to take responsibility for giving the world a more coherent understanding of this widely misrepresented political institution. Suggesting that the supposedly ideal marriage of liberal economics with liberal democracy can neither ensure its continuance nor even address the problems of contemporary life, the book shows how we came to be so gripped by democracy’s spell and why we must now learn to break it.
Keywords:
democracy,
good government,
moral legitimacy,
America,
liberal economics,
liberal democracy
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2014 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780300179910 |
Published to Yale Scholarship Online: January 2015 |
DOI:10.12987/yale/9780300179910.001.0001 |