Democracy Despite Itself

Democracy Despite Itself
Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
Total Pages : 257
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780262300957
ISBN-13 : 0262300958
Rating : 4/5 (958 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Democracy Despite Itself by : Danny Oppenheimer

Download or read book Democracy Despite Itself written by Danny Oppenheimer and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2012-01-27 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why democracy is the most effective form of government despite irrational (and sometime oblivious) voters and flawed (and sometimes inept) politicians. Voters often make irrational decisions based on inaccurate and irrelevant information. Politicians are often inept, corrupt, or out of touch with the will of the people. Elections can be determined by the design of the ballot and the gerrymandered borders of a district. And yet, despite voters who choose candidates according to the boxer–brief dichotomy and politicians who struggle to put together a coherent sentence, democracy works exceptionally well: citizens of democracies are healthier, happier, and freer than citizens of other countries. In Democracy Despite Itself, Danny Oppenheimer, a psychologist, and Mike Edwards, a political scientist, explore this paradox: How can democracy lead to such successful outcomes when the defining characteristic of democracy—elections—is so flawed? Oppenheimer and Edwards argue that democracy works because regular elections, no matter how flawed, produce a variety of unintuitive, positive consequences. The brilliance of democracy, write Oppenheimer and Edwards, does not lie in the people's ability to pick superior leaders. It lies in the many ways that it subtly encourages the flawed people and their flawed leaders to work toward building a better society.


Democracy Despite Itself Related Books

Democracy Despite Itself
Language: en
Pages: 257
Authors: Danny Oppenheimer
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-01-27 - Publisher: MIT Press

GET EBOOK

Why democracy is the most effective form of government despite irrational (and sometime oblivious) voters and flawed (and sometimes inept) politicians. Voters o
Democracy Against Itself
Language: en
Pages: 314
Authors: Jean-François Revel
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 1993 - Publisher:

GET EBOOK

For while admittedly imperfect, democracy is still the only self-correcting system, while totalitarian societies are always forced to the catastrophic end of th
The Confidence Trap
Language: en
Pages: 424
Authors: David Runciman
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-10-31 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

GET EBOOK

Why democracies believe they can survive any crisis—and why that belief is so dangerous Why do democracies keep lurching from success to failure? The current
Democracy Despite Itself
Language: en
Pages: 257
Authors: Benjamin A. Schupmann
Categories: Law
Type: BOOK - Published: 2024-05-30 - Publisher: Oxford University Press

GET EBOOK

Democracy is in decline, largely because of the legal actions of anti-democratic actors working within the system. Incorporating the work of John Rawls and Carl
Don't Know Much About... Well Anything, Really..., digital original edition
Language: en
Pages: 47
Authors: Danny Oppenheimer
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-01-10 - Publisher: MIT Press

GET EBOOK

Voters often make irrational decisions based on inaccurate and irrelevant information. Politicians are often inept, corrupt, or out of touch with the will of th