Democratic Decision-Making

Democratic Decision-Making: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives contains eight essays by political scientists addressing various aspects of the democratic decision-making process. The book is divided into four parts: democratic statesmanship, the extent to which limitations of the democratic principle of majority rule are desirable, the contemporary doctrine of “deliberative democracy,” and informal modes of democratic decision-making. Under these four headings, the contributors discuss a wide variety of issues, including the practice of “political opportunism” by such statesmen as Hamilton and Madison; the historical development of legal restraints on democracy in America ranging from judicial review (during the colonial period) to the filibuster; the operation of classical Athenian democracy, the defects of which may have been exaggerated by the American Founders; the significance of the reflections of Tammany Hall boss George Washington Plunkitt for the development of the American party system; the relation of deliberative-democracy theory to the thought of Rousseau; and the means by which cooperative land-use agreements have been arrived at in California, eliciting the voluntary consent of the affected parties instead of relying on judicial or bureaucratic dictates. The book is well-suited for use in courses on American political thought, democratic theory, American political development, and related subjects.

An excellent addition to the discussion of Democratic Theory and Democratic Decision-Making. The individual essays are excellent. They are wide-ranging yet also achieve a thought-provoking harmony. This volume will be of interest to both specialists and a wider audience, including for classroom adoption. Highly recommended., This collection, by a group of authors varied in all ways but in the intelligence and relevance of their contributions, is a provocative reconsideration of the issue of democratic decision-making and leadership. Most of the essays are informed by traditional political theory, demonstrating once again that learning in the canon of political theory can greatly enrich our thinking about our politics.

David Lewis Schaefer is professor of political science at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.