Democracy Rules
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2.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A much-anticipated guide to saving democracy, from one of our most essential political thinkers.
Everyone knows that democracy is in trouble, but do we know what democracy actually is? Jan-Werner Müller, author of the widely translated and acclaimed What Is Populism?, takes us back to basics in Democracy Rules. In this short, elegant volume, he explains how democracy is founded not just on liberty and equality, but also on uncertainty. The latter will sound unattractive at a time when the pandemic has created unbearable uncertainty for so many. But it is crucial for ensuring democracy’s dynamic and creative character, which remains one of its signal advantages over authoritarian alternatives that seek to render politics (and individual citizens) completely predictable.
Müller shows that we need to re-invigorate the intermediary institutions that have been deemed essential for democracy’s success ever since the nineteenth century: political parties and free media. Contrary to conventional wisdom, these are not spent forces in a supposed age of post-party populist leadership and post-truth. Müller suggests concretely how democracy’s critical infrastructure of intermediary institutions could be renovated, re-empowering citizens while also preserving a place for professionals such as journalists and judges. These institutions are also indispensable for negotiating a democratic social contract that reverses the secession of plutocrats and the poorest from a common political world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The present-day travails of democracy spark a review of its first principles in this muddled meditation. Princeton political scientist Müller (What Is Populism?) probes the standoff between democracy as a creed of freedom and equality and the right-wing populism exemplified by Donald Trump's presidency, the Brexit vote, and the rise of authoritarian regimes in Eastern Europe, which seeks to narrowly define who the "real people" are and exclude everyone else. Müller views the struggle through a wide-ranging survey of political theory and practice, including the participatory democracy of ancient Athens, where decision-makers were chosen by lot; the role of political parties and the press in shaping and empowering political constituencies; and the importance of a "loyal opposition" that accepts the validity of elections even when it loses. Müller's hang-dog take on democracy ("Those bent on subverting it are at least as busy perfecting a populist-authoritarian art of governance as defenders of democracy are racing to issue crisis manuals") isn't very directional: he's contemptuous of Trumpism, but also leery of "Trump derangement syndrome," and possibly open to a "militant democracy" that suppresses potentially anti-democratic tendencies. This ruminative sketch asks plenty of pressing questions, but offers few clear answers. Photos.
