Theories of Democracy
A Reader
Contributions by John Locke, Thomas Paine, James Madison, Alexis Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill, John Rawls, Aristotle, Niccolo Machiavelli, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Winthrop, Horace Mann, Robert Bellah, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Arthur Bentley, Robert Dahl, Joseph Schumpeter, Anthony Downs, John Dewey, Benjamin Barber, Max Weber, Noberto Bobbio, Michel Foucault, William Connolly, Chantal Mouffe, Jurgen Habermas, "Liberal/Democratic Divide, " Sheldon Wolin, Anne Phillips, Cornel West, Iris Marion Young, Mahatma Gandhi, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Aung San Suu Kyi, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Jean-bertrand Aristide Edited by Ronald J. Terchek, Thomas C. Conte
Not available to order
Publication date:
31 July 2000Length of book:
400 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781461646143
Theories of Democracy builds on Robert Dahl's observation that there is no single theory of democracy; only theories. Beyond the broad commitment to rule by the majority, democracy involves a set of contentious debates concerning the proper function and scope of power, equality, freedom, justice, and interests. In this anthology, Ronald J. Terchek and Thomas C. Conte have brilliantly assembled the works of classical, modern, and contemporary commentators to illustrate the deep and diverse roots of the democratic ideal, as well as to provide materials for thinking about the way some contemporary theories build on different traditions of democratic theorizing. The arguments addressed in Theories of Democracy appear in the voices of authors who have championed influential theories concerning the opportunities and dangers associated with democratic politics. In this collection, Terchek and Conte have selected excerpts not as a means for promoting a particular way of looking at democracy, but rather they have wisely chosen works that will enable students to carry on an informed discourse on the meaning and purposes of democratic principles and practices. Theories of Democracy is a must for every student of democracy's past, present, and future.
Terchek and Conte's Theories of Democracy offers a wide-ranging collection of classical and contemporary perspectives on the problems and prospects of democratic society. Its most original feature is its inclusion of non-western voices in the chorus—or perhaps the cacophony—of contemporary democratic theory and practice.