Democracy Books - Page 2

Democracy in America

Alexis de Tocqueville

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Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Get the Library of America Edition 2 out of 5 stars.
14 of 16 people found this review helpful.

This 170-year-old book by a young French aristocrat remains one of the most frequently quoted analyses of what Toqueville famously calls America's "habits of the heart."

If you're interested in reading Toqueville for yourself and not through the eyes of some commentator, what version should you get?

Instead of this one, I recommend the Library of America edition Tocqueville: Democracy in America (Library of America). First, the translation by Arthur Goldhammer is smoother and more comprehensible, without informality or paraphrase. Second, the Goldhammer translation is not burdened by political leanings or excessively scholarly apparatus. Third--and not unimportant--the Library of America volume is smaller and easier to hold and provides a more pleasant reading experience.

Editorial Review:

When it was first published last year, Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop's new translation of Democracy in America was lauded in all quarters as the finest and most definitive edition of Tocqueville's classic thus far—complete with the most faithful and readable translation to date, impeccable annotations of unfamiliar references, and a masterful introduction placing the work and its author in the broader contexts of political philosophy and statesmanship. Mansfield and Winthrop's astonishing efforts have not only captured the elegance, subtlety, and profundity of Tocqueville's original, but also give us some sense of how very essential this masterpiece continues to be.

Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries

Arend Lijphart

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Testing Institutional Performance 4 out of 5 stars.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Lijphart seeks to test which type of democratic institutions - consensus or majoritarian - performs most effectively. He tests the performance of these institutions through a statistical analysis of their relative efficiency in three broad fields: macroeconomic management, control of violence, and what he terms the "kinder and gentler" qualities of democracy (293). However, before discussing the results of Lijphart's study, it is necessary to explore what distinguishes the institutions of majoritarian and consensus systems.
Lijphart distinguishes between these two types of democracy by illustrating ten institutional differences which divide the typologies. For clarity, the author divides these ten differences into two distinct dimensions: executives-parties, and federal-unitary. The executives-parties dimension addresses "the arrangement of executive power, the party and electoral systems, and interest groups" (3). The federal-unitary dimension illustrates differences in institutional structure of a federated versus unitary government.
According to the executives-parties dimension, the majoritarian system, or Westminster model, is found to have a two party system and a strong one-party executive and cabinet. Often the executive is more powerful than his or her legislative counterparts. Furthermore, a majoritarian system often uses a single member district electoral system which can lead to disproportional representation, and has a highly competitive pluralist interest group system. Lijphart cites Britain and pre-1996 New Zealand as majoritarian systems.
Lijphart's consensus democracy varies institutionally from the Westminster model. First, under the majoritarian model, the executive office is often composed of a multi-party power-sharing cabinet or coalition. In addition, power-sharing exists between the executive branch and the legislature the electoral system often promotes proportional representation. Lastly, unlike the highly competitive special interest group system of the Westminster model, a consensus democracy promotes a system of interest group compromise (4). Lijphart uses Switzerland and Germany as examples of consensus democracy.
According to the federated-unitary dimension, the Westminster system has a strong, centralized government and a unicameral legislature. In addition, most majoritarian systems possess a very flexible constitution that can readily be amended or changed. Furthermore, in many majoritarian systems, the legislature holds the final word in the constitutionality of legislation, and as such, majoritarian systems do not have a strong system of judicial review.
The consensus model, on the other hand, often has a decentralized government, and can be a federated system. Often the legislature is divided into two houses. In addition, the constitution is often rigid, making change difficult. Lastly, the consensus system often has a strong institution of judicial review to monitor the legality of legislation.
To test the effectiveness of consensus and majoritarian systems, Lijphart compares the performance of the two democracies on three main categories: macroeconomic management, levels of political violence, and the "kinder, gentler" aspects of democracy. Lijphart's hypothesis "is that consensus democracy produces better results - but without the expectation that the differences will be very strong and significant" (261).
When exploring the effectiveness of the two democracies in macroeconomic management, the author operationalizes a number of variables. For the sake of brevity, I will condense the findings into six categories: economic growth, inflation rates, unemployment, strike activity, budget deficits, and freedom index. Lijphart tests the performance of the democracies by using both the executives-parties dimension and federated-unitary dimensions.
In the case of economic growth using the executives-parties dimension, there was little difference between majoritarian and consensus democracy. There was a weak negative relationship between consensus democracy and economic but the findings were not statistically significant. This implies that the difference between consensus and majoritarian democracies in regards to economic development is negligible. In regards to inflation, Lijphart finds that consensus democracies have a slightly lower rate of inflation than majoritarian systems. Consensus also performs slightly better than the majoritarian model in regards to unemployment, but again, the differences are slight.
Interestingly, Lijphart found a massive relationship between strike activity and consensus democracy. According to the regression coefficient, levels of strike activity would have been substantially lower in consensus systems than in majoritarian. However, upon further analysis the relationships are not statistically significant and as Lijphart illustrates, the large difference is a result of "big exceptions to the tendency of consensus countries to be less strike-prone than majoritarian democracies" (269). Lastly, Lijphart explores the performance of consensus democracies on budget deficits and economic freedom. Again, the author finds the differences negligible. When using the federated-unitary dimension, Lijphart's finding are similar except when looking at the inflation variable. When comparing consensus democracy on federal-unitary dimension on inflation, Lijphart discovers that a strong negative relationship exists, the relationship is statistically significant, and there is an acceptable t-value. The author explains this relationship by citing that in a consensus democracy the central bank independence. Lijphart writes, "the most important reason why central banks are made strong and independent is to give them the tools to control inflation" (273).
In conclusion, the author writes, "the evidence with regard to economic growth and economic freedom is mixed, but with regard to all of the other indicators of economic performance, the consensus democracies have a slightly better record and a significantly better record as far as inflation is concerned" (270).
The results regarding the performance of consensus and majoritarian democracies in controlling political violence are also rather vague. Statistically, the consensus system is slightly violent than the majoritarian system. However, Lijphart contends that the significance of the relationship declines when other variables are controlled and outlying observations are removed. Ultimately, Lijphart contends that the statistics show "at least a slightly better performance of the consensus democracies" (271).
The last group of variables that Lijphart addresses is what he terms the "kinder, gentler" aspects of democracy. The author contends that consensus systems are more apt to be "kinder and gentler" than their majoritarian counterparts. Lijphart writes, "Consensus democracies demonstrate these kinder and gentler qualities in the following ways: they are more likely to be welfare states; they have a better record with regard to the protection of the environment; they put fewer people in prison, and are less likely use the death penalty; and the consensus democracies in the developed world are more generous with their economic assistance to the developing nations" (275-6).
Lijphart measures the effectiveness of consensus intuitions by measuring a number of variables: women's representation, political equality, electoral participation, satisfaction with democracy, government-voter proximity, and accountability and corruption. Statistically, Lijphart's findings when comparing the performance of consensus and majoritarian democracies in regards to the "kinder and gentler" qualities are much more revealing. Lijphart finds that consensus democracy "makes a big difference with regard to almost all of the indicators of democratic quality and with regard to all of the kinder and gentler qualities" (300).
To conclude, Lijphart has found that the institutions of consensus democracies perform slightly better than majoritarian institutions in both macroeconomic management and in the prevention of political violence. However, the differences are slim and arguably irrelevant. But, Lijphart did discover that when looking at the "kinder, gentler" aspects of democracy, such as women's rights, incarceration rates and other, consensus democracy performed substantially better.

Editorial Review:

This updated and expanded edition of the highly acclaimed book Democracies offers an even broader, more thorough analysis of today`s democracies. Encompassing thirty-six democracies around the world, the book compares cabinets, legislatures, parties, election systems, supreme courts, interest groups, and central banks to arrive at important-and unexpected-findings about what type of democracy works best.

Moyers on Democracy

Bill Moyers

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Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Bill Moyers on America today:

“Here in the first decade of the twenty-first century the story that becomes America’s dominant narrative will shape our collective imagination and our politics for a long time to come. In the searching of our souls demanded by this challenge . . . kindred spirits across the nation must confront the most fundamental liberal failure of the current era: the failure to embrace a moral vision of America based on the transcendent faith that human beings are more than the sum of their material appetites, our country is more than an economic machine, and freedom is not license but responsibility—the gift we have received and the legacy we must bequeath.

“Although our sojourn in life is brief, we are on a great journey. For those who came before us and for those who follow, our moral, political, and religious duty to make sure that this nation, which was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are equal under the law, is in good hands on our watch.”
—from “For America’s Sake”

People know Bill Moyers mostly from his many years of path-breaking journalism on television. But he is also one of America’s most sought-after public speakers. His appearances draw sell-out crowds across the country and are among the most reproduced on the Web. “And one reason,” writes noted journalist Bill McKibben, “is that Moyers pulls no punches. His understanding of America’s history is at least as deep as his understanding of Christian tradition, which is an integral part of his background . . . With his feet firmly planted in the deepest American traditions, Bill Moyers is helping to keep alive an oratorical tradition that is fading after two centuries. Trained by his career in broadcasting, he writes for the ear, his cadences and his repetitions timed to bring an audience to full realization of its role and its power.”

And that is the message of this book. Moyers on Democracy collects many of Bill Moyers’s most moving statements to connect the dots on what is happening to our country—the twinned growth of private wealth and public squalor, the assault on our Constitution, the undermining of the electoral process, the accelerating class war against ordinary (and vulnerable) Americans inherent in the growth of economic inequality, the dangers of an imperial executive, the attack on the independence of the press, the despoiling of the earth we share as our common gift—and to rekindle the reader’s conviction that “the gravediggers of democracy will not have the last word.” Richly insightful and alive with a fierce, abiding love for our country, Moyers on Democracy is essential reading in this fateful presidential year.

Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West

Benazir Bhutto

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very Dishonest Portrayal 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Absolute Total Garbage. I was sent this book from a former foreign office colleague and he added a quick witted remark about how these "ruling families" take the populous as completely dumb and out of touch. The book is written in a post script voice.

You will feel as though you are listening to some uninformed news reporter on CNN or any other NNs of the world. One thing that stands out is her complete misrepresentation about the Liberation war of Bangladesh.

She does not mention that the Pakistani army killed three million Bangladeshies in nine short months. She does not even spell the name of the Capital Dhaka correctly. Perhaps she needed to have this book edited by someone half as credible as a 5th grader to have not made such a mistake. She goes on not mentioning her father's role in prolonging the deaths when Mr. Bhutto (the father) went to the UN to ask that India not come to the rescue of the million of Bengals the Pakistani army was killing.

Her logic about clash of civilization is half baked. She does not really make a point as to what her views are in a concise manner. She tries to give her family, specially her father a nice face to history. But she neglects to point out that while her family was sitting at the ivory tower, there were millions killed in the name of "Pakistan". She does not reconcile how the cult of Jinnah and their philosophy is a complete sham and how it is responsible for the death of millions of people even before the war of 1971. Through Jinnah's work we now have two distinctly undemocratic countries in South Asia. Ms. Bhutto does not reconcile why and how Jinnah ruined the 1947 liberation movement and created this whole debacle only for personal ego and greed. She does not mention how Jinnah collaborated with the British to divide India for his personal gain and egotistical monomaniacal personality. Civilizations collide when we have leaders such as Jinnah who are easily purchased by the western influences.

This book is factually incorrect and full of inaccuracies that you can't really overlook. If you want to give a charity to the Bhutto family by buying this book then go ahead. But, don't blame anyone when you feel that your intellect is being abjectly disrespected when you do start reading.

This book should have been titled "IT'S NOT OUR FAULT" versus reconciliation. It blames everyone else and that's that. Very very intellectually dishonest and perhaps dishonest altogether.

Editorial Review:

Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October 2007, after eight years of exile, hopeful that she could be a catalyst for change. Upon a tumultuous reception, she survived a suicide-bomb attack that killed nearly two hundred of her compatriots. But she continued to forge ahead, with more courage and conviction than ever, since she knew that time was running out—for the future of her nation and for her life.

In Reconciliation, Bhutto recounts in gripping detail her final months in Pakistan and offers a bold new agenda for how to stem the tide of Islamic radicalism and to rediscover the values of tolerance and justice that lie at the heart of her religion. She speaks out not just to the West but also to the Muslims across the globe. Bhutto presents an image of modern Islam that defies the negative caricatures often seen in the West. After reading this book, it will become even clearer what the world has lost by her assassination.

Tocqueville: Democracy in America (Library of America)

Alexis de Tocqueville

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Editorial Review:

Alexis de Tocqueville, a young aristocratic French lawyer, came to the United States in 1831 to study its penitentiary systems. His nine-month visit and subsequent reading and reflection resulted in Democracy in America (1835–40), a landmark masterpiece of political observation and analysis. Tocqueville vividly describes the unprecedented social equality he found in America and explores its implications for European society in the emerging modern era. His book provides enduring insight into the political consequences of widespread property ownership, the potential dangers to liberty inherent in majority rule, the importance of civil institutions in an individualistic culture dominated by the pursuit of material self-interest, and the vital role of religion in American life, while prophetically probing the deep differences between the free and slave states. The clear, fluid, and vigorous translation by Arthur Goldhammer is the first to fully capture Tocqueville’s achievements both as an accomplished literary stylist and as a profound political thinker.

Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism

Cornell West

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Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

West disappoints again 2 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

I'll be honest, I've never been able to understand the level of academic success Cornel West has been able to achieve over the years. I read "Race Matters" as a senior in high school and found it to be a somewhat half-hearted and ultimately trite examination of what at times can be a very serious problem in our country - racial relations. Having had seven years of education since reading "Race Matters" I feel even more comfortable denouncing West as something of an intellectual hack. My criticism of West is not a mere "polemic against the left," as some reviewers have claimed. I am a liberal, but I can honestly say I have never met an (in my opinion) intelligent liberal who has thought Cornel West has contributed anything truly worthwhile to the racial dialogue. This is not to say if you liked his book you are an idiot. But I've always been concerned that West's writing resonates with the same demographic of liberalism that, for example, considers Al Sharpton to be a meaningful black leader.

West's writing to me always displays the worst of academia: using big words to paint broad concepts but never truly drawing any actual conclusions. In a book called "Democracy Matters," West never takes the time to explain or define what he really means by "democracy." Is it free speech and open dialogue? Elected government? Personal involvement in the political process? All of these? Without a more specific explanation, I had a difficult time understanding what precisely it was about democracy that mattered, since democracy is, after all, a complex concept with multiple variations and meanings. In the end I felt like I'd just read through 200-pages of a George Bush speech, which is to say: democracy = good.

Reading the book I was also struck by the extent to which Cornel West is essentially a racist - or "Afro-centrist," if you prefer the more patronizing term. I do not exaggerate when I say every other paragraph had a reference to either the hegemony imposed by white males over various demographics of American society or the manner in which black-specific contributions to American culture (ie, jazz or Toni Morrison) are the true reflection of democracy. I believe both that white men have exercised an oppressive dominance over American society and that black culture has offered much to the American experience, but neither to the extent West does. A good but benign example is when West refers to Tavis Smiley as the political voice of my generation. I respect Tavis Smiley very much, but it is pretty well accepted that it is in fact Jon Stewart, a mere white man, who is the political voice of my generation. In the end I found this overpromotion of black America off-putting and self-serving, distracting from what should otherwise have been an examination of the importance of "democracy" (however you define it to be).

I also found it to be incredibly self-serving on the part of West to dedicate a significant portion of one chapter - and I kid you not - to essentially gripe about how Lawrence Summers was mean to him at Harvard. Their famous exchange may have deserved an off-handed mention in a paragraph, possibly two, particularly to illuminate West's point about opening a racial dialogue in America through all mediums accessible (rap CDs, you see, are one such medium, while scholarly journals are not). But to dedicate page after page to the incident not only distracted from the true focus of the book, but also came off as childish.

I can guess by the low ratings that negative reviews have garnered on Amazon that this review will not be received favorably. I hope people will understand that this is intended to be an honest examination of the book and not an opportunity to put down Professor West. Despite having little respect for his intellectual acumen, I purchased and approached this book with my best effort at an open mind, hoping to be convinced that West's supposed brilliance would in fact be merited. But in the end I walked away with the conviction that my friends' appraisal of West is in fact the correct one, and that he is riding off the (undeserved) goodwill of liberal America, rather than any sort of meaningful continued contribution to the racial dialogue.

Editorial Review:

Praised by the New York Times for his "ferocious moral vision," Cornel West returns to the analysis of what he calls the arrested development of democracy with a masterful diagnosis. Pointing to the rise of three antidemocratic dogmas that are rendering the energy of American democracy impotent—a callous free-market fundamentalism, an aggressive militarism, and an insidious authoritarianism—West argues that racism and imperial bullying have gone hand in hand in our country’s inexorable drive toward world dominance, including our current militaristic excesses. This impassioned and empowering call for the revitalization of America’s democracy, by one of our most distinctive and compelling social critics, will reshape the raging national debate about America’s role in today’s troubled world.

Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal

Terence Ball, Richard Dagger

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Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Poltical Ideologies as a textbook 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I am currently using this book in a Honors American Political Science course at Georgia State University. This book is very informative and does not add superfluous information like most textbooks do. However, there are some terms in the text that we as a class have found to be a bit contradictory; such as the term "individual conservative". This seems to be an oxymoron and my professor actually contacted Ball who just basically dodged the question...

Editorial Review:

The extensively revised new edition of this bestselling text continues to provide an accessible overview of the major political ideologies, their origins, and their development. In addition to examining the major "isms" -- liberalism, conservatism, socialism, and fascism -- the book offers readers the history, structure, supporting arguments, and internal complexities of these and recently emerging ideologies. The text utilizes a fourfold framework -- a definition of "ideology" in terms of the four functions ideologies perform -- within which to compare, contrast, and analyze the various ideologies. In addition, the book also shows how each ideology interprets "democracy" (which the authors characterize as an ideal rather than an ideology) and "freedom." In examining the latter notion, the authors analyze each ideology's view of freedom in terms of agent, obstacle, and goal.

Making Democracy Work

Robert D. Putnam, Robert Leonardi, Raffaella Nanetti

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of "civic community" in developing successful institutions. Their focus is on a unique experiment begun in 1970 when Italy created new governments for each of its regions. After spending two decades analyzing the efficacy of these governments in such fields as agriculture, housing, and health services, they reveal patterns of associationism, trust, and cooperation that facilitate good governance and economic prosperity. Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of "civic community" in developing successful institutions. Their focus is on a unique experiment begun in 1970 when Italy created new governments for each of its regions. After spending two decades analyzing the efficacy of these governments in such fields as agriculture, housing, and health services, they reveal patterns of associationism, trust, and cooperation that facilitate good governance and economic prosperity.

Escape from Freedom

Erich Fromm

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Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A provocative dead end 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book, initially published in 1941, provides an invaluable framework for understanding the rise of Fascism in the 1930s. Fromm argues that the German masses (especially the lower middle class) were not tricked into supporting Hitler and his cohorts; they willingly succumbed to gain powerful psychic benefits. In brief, by surrendering themselves to the great leader, they escaped the dilemma of surviving in a world that seemed threatening and beyond their control.

Having come to the United States in 1934 to escape the Nazis, Fromm wrote with first hand familiarity of the political situation in his native country. In addition, he was an accomplished psychologist, well versed in the theories of Sigmund Freud et al. No wonder his analysis of the appeal of Nazism to the German population rings true, even though this development might seem of primarily historical interest at this point.

But there is much more, because Fromm postulates a similar lack of comfort with individual political and economic freedom to the populations of other nations under widely varying circumstances. He also describes a variety of coping mechanisms, from accepting religious belief systems (which he obviously does not set much store in) to giving up one's own autonomy and buying into the conventional wisdom of the society as communicated by the mass media.

While it is suggested that people can learn to live authentically in accordance with their own ideas, converting freedom from a threat to a benefit, Fromm sets so many obstacles in the way that one is inclined to doubt whether he truly believes in such a vision. Note also his sense of comfort with society in the Middle Ages, when people knew what fate held in store for them based on the accident of their birth, and with the lot of animals (e.g., wood chucks) that can make their way in life based on instinct.

Ultimately, Fromm makes clear what he really thinks: most people are not qualified for freedom after all and someone (hopefully infused with benevolent intent) must do their thinking for them.

On the one hand, he says, "progress for democracy lies in enhancing the actual freedom, initiative, and spontaneity of the individual, not only in certain private and spiritual matters, but above all in the activity fundamental to every man's existence, his work."

On the other, "the irrational and planless character of society must be replaced by a planned economy that represents the planned and concerted effort of society as such. *** Only in a planned economy in which the whole nation has rationally mastered the economic and social forces can the individual share responsibility and use creative intelligence in his work."

In holding up a planned economy as part of the solution, it seems to me, Fromm is basically conceding the bankruptcy of his central premise - that there is some way to have certainty and freedom at the same time.

What is to say that a planned economy works better than the free market, or that people will really have more outlets for their individual aspirations and abilities in such a system? Also, come to think of it, the Fascists (and Communists as well) were big on centrally planned economies.

Editorial Review:

If humanity cannot live with the dangers and responsibilities inherent in freedom, it will probably turn to authoritarianism. This is the central idea of Escape from Freedom, a landmark work by one of the most distinguished thinkers of our time, and a book that is as timely now as when first published in 1941. Few books have thrown such light upon the forces that shape modern society or penetrated so deeply into the causes of authoritarian systems. If the rise of democracy set some people free, at the same time it gave birth to a society in which the individual feels alienated and dehumanized. Using the insights of psychoanalysis as probing agents, Fromm’s work analyzes the illness of contemporary civilization as witnessed by its willingness to submit to totalitarian rule.

Democracy in America: Abridged Edition (P.S.)

Alexis de Tocqueville, Scott A. Sandage

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Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Find another edition. 2 out of 5 stars.
28 of 29 people found this review helpful.

I have three complaints about this edition of Tocqueville:
1) Nowhere in the book is the translator credited. This violates basic principles of publication and scholarship.
2) This is in fact an abridged version of the original English-language translation by Henry Reeve, dating from sometime before 1862. Unless you want to re-create the experience of a modern Frenchman confronted with de Tocqueville's somewhat archaic French by reading the text in somewhat archaic English, I would seek out any of the more recent translations: there are at least three.
3) The ellipses, that is, the abridgements, have sometimes been made to conceal some of the author's less flattering views America. In fact I suspect this is a "patriotic" abridgement. For example, in the second chapter of part one, Heffner has omitted references to some of the excesses of Puritan law in New England which the notoriously even-handed Tocqueville had cited.

Editorial Review:

The abridged edition of the enduring masterwork—a classic portrait of America's culture and people

Originally penned in the mid-nineteenth century by Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America remains the most comprehensive, penetrating, and astute picture of American life, politics, and morals ever written, as relevant today as when it first appeared in print nearly two hundred years ago.

This abridged edition by scholar and historian Scott A. Sandage includes a new introduction and editorial notes, and offers students and the general reader alike easy access to the preeminent translation by George Lawrence, widely recognized as the best translation based on the second revised and corrected text of the 1961 French edition, edited by J. P. Mayer.