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"Is it meaningful to call oneself a democrat? And if so, how do you interpret the word?" In responding to this question, eight iconoclastic thinkers prove the rich potential of democracy, along with its critical weaknesses, and reconceive the practice to accommodate new political and cultural realities. Giorgio Agamben traces the tense history of constitutions and their coexistence with various governments. Alain Badiou contrasts current democratic practice with democratic communism. Daniel Bensaid ponders the institutionalization of democracy, while Wendy Brown discusses the democratization of society under neoliberalism. Jean-Luc Nancy measures the difference between democracy as a form of rule and as a human end, and Jacques Rancière highlights its egalitarian nature. Kristin Ross identifies hierarchical relationships within democratic practice, and Slavoj Zizek complicates the distinction between those who desire to own the state and those who wish to do without it. Concentrating on the classical roots of democracy and its changing meaning over time and within different contexts, these essays uniquely defend what is left of the left-wing tradition after the fall of Soviet communism. They confront disincentives to active democratic participation that have caused voter turnout to decline in western countries, and they address electoral indifference by invoking and reviving the tradition of citizen involvement. Passionately written and theoretically rich, this collection speaks to all facets of modern political and democratic debate.

Democracy --- Philosophy --- Democracy - Philosophy

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Pragmatism and its consequences are central issues in American politics today, yet scholars rarely examine in detail the relationship between pragmatism and politics. In The Priority of Democracy, Jack Knight and James Johnson systematically explore the subject and make a strong case for adopting a pragmatist approach to democratic politics--and for giving priority to democracy in the process of selecting and reforming political institutions. What is the primary value of democracy? When should we make decisions democratically and when should we rely on markets? And when should we accept the decisions of unelected officials, such as judges or bureaucrats? Knight and Johnson explore how a commitment to pragmatism should affect our answers to such important questions. They conclude that democracy is a good way of determining how these kinds of decisions should be made--even if what the democratic process determines is that not all decisions should be made democratically. So, for example, the democratically elected U.S. Congress may legitimately remove monetary policy from democratic decision-making by putting it under the control of the Federal Reserve. Knight and Johnson argue that pragmatism offers an original and compelling justification of democracy in terms of the unique contributions democratic institutions can make to processes of institutional choice. This focus highlights the important role that democracy plays, not in achieving consensus or commonality, but rather in addressing conflicts. Indeed, Knight and Johnson suggest that democratic politics is perhaps best seen less as a way of reaching consensus or agreement than as a way of structuring the terms of persistent disagreement.

Democracy --- Political science --- Philosophy --- Democracy - Philosophy

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Démocratie --- --Philosophie --- --Democracy --- Philosophy --- Political Philosophy --- Democracy --- Philosophie --- Democracy - Philosophy

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This volume collects some of the leading essays in contemporary democratic theory published since 1970. The anthology presents the work of a select group of contributors and covers many foundational approaches defended by scholars from a range of different disciplines.

Democracia --- Filosofía política --- Libros electrónicos --- Democracy --- Philosophy. --- Democracy - Philosophy.

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La démocratie est aujourd'hui une valeur sacrée, une véritable religion. Dans un ouvrage " passionné, passionnant (...) où toute l'histoire de la pensée politique moderne et contemporaine est citée à comparaître " (P. Magnard), Maxence Hecquard revisite les fondements et la genèse de cette religion séculière. L'antique ordre du monde s'est écroulé. La mort de Dieu définitive depuis Darwin, fait place à un Etat de droit fondé sur une " vérité scientifique " : le progrès. Qui contesterait un tel régime ? La cohérence remarquable du système apparaît ainsi à l'énoncé de la métaphysique sous-jacente : celle d'un univers en évolution peint par Condorcet et Teilhard de Chardin, mais véritablement pansé par Kant, Hegel et Darwin. La démocratie est le moment politique de ce progrès. Hasard et Liberté, droit et morale, intérêt et bien commun forment désormais autant de couples indissolubles. Le lien social devient essentiellement économique...

Democracy - Philosophy - History --- Démocratie --- Philosophie --- Histoire. --- Democracy