- 365 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Democracy May Not Exist, But We'll Miss It When It's Gone
About this book
"A New Civil Rights Leader" explores what we mean when we speak of democracy and if democracy can truly ever exist (
LA Times).
There is no shortage of democracy, at least in name, and yet it is in crisis everywhere we look. From a cabal of plutocrats in the White House to gerrymandering and dark-money campaign contributions, it is clear that the principle of government by and for the people is not living up to its promise.
The problems lie deeper than any one election cycle. As Astra Taylor demonstrates, real democracyâfully inclusive and completely egalitarianâhas in fact never existed. In a tone that is both philosophical and anecdotal, weaving together history, theory, the stories of individuals, and interviews with such leading thinkers as Cornel West and Wendy Brown, Taylor invites us to reexamine the term. Is democracy a means or an end, a process or a set of desired outcomes? What if those outcomes, whatever they may beâpeace, prosperity, equality, liberty, an engaged citizenryâcan be achieved by non-democratic means? In what areas of life should democratic principles apply? If democracy means rule by the people, what does it mean to rule and who counts as the people?
Democracy's inherent paradoxes often go unnamed and unrecognized. Exploring such questions, Democracy May Not Exist offers a better understanding of what is possible, what we want, why democracy is so hard to realize, and why it is worth striving for.
"Astra Taylor will change how you think about democracy. . . . She unpacks it, wrestles with it, with the question of who gets included and how, and excavates the invisible assumptions that have been bred into our idea of democracy." âEzra Klein, The Ezra Klein Show
"An impressive contribution. . . . Taylor sets out to impart some coherence and substance to the term in order to rescue it from ignorance and obfuscation and displays considerable intellectual nimbleness." âRandall Kennedy, The New York Times Book Review
"Magnificent, paradigm-shifting . . . Taylor's deep and wide examination of democratic movements, conversations, and grassroots institutions makes the reader feel . . . democracy as pleasure of thinking and acting." â The Los Angeles Review of Books
There is no shortage of democracy, at least in name, and yet it is in crisis everywhere we look. From a cabal of plutocrats in the White House to gerrymandering and dark-money campaign contributions, it is clear that the principle of government by and for the people is not living up to its promise.
The problems lie deeper than any one election cycle. As Astra Taylor demonstrates, real democracyâfully inclusive and completely egalitarianâhas in fact never existed. In a tone that is both philosophical and anecdotal, weaving together history, theory, the stories of individuals, and interviews with such leading thinkers as Cornel West and Wendy Brown, Taylor invites us to reexamine the term. Is democracy a means or an end, a process or a set of desired outcomes? What if those outcomes, whatever they may beâpeace, prosperity, equality, liberty, an engaged citizenryâcan be achieved by non-democratic means? In what areas of life should democratic principles apply? If democracy means rule by the people, what does it mean to rule and who counts as the people?
Democracy's inherent paradoxes often go unnamed and unrecognized. Exploring such questions, Democracy May Not Exist offers a better understanding of what is possible, what we want, why democracy is so hard to realize, and why it is worth striving for.
"Astra Taylor will change how you think about democracy. . . . She unpacks it, wrestles with it, with the question of who gets included and how, and excavates the invisible assumptions that have been bred into our idea of democracy." âEzra Klein, The Ezra Klein Show
"An impressive contribution. . . . Taylor sets out to impart some coherence and substance to the term in order to rescue it from ignorance and obfuscation and displays considerable intellectual nimbleness." âRandall Kennedy, The New York Times Book Review
"Magnificent, paradigm-shifting . . . Taylor's deep and wide examination of democratic movements, conversations, and grassroots institutions makes the reader feel . . . democracy as pleasure of thinking and acting." â The Los Angeles Review of Books
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Democracy May Not Exist, But We'll Miss It When It's Gone by Astra Taylor in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & Political Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Living in the Tension
- 1. Free to Be Winners and Losers (Freedom/Equality)
- 2. Shouting as One (Conflict/Consensus)
- 3. Reinventing the People (Inclusion/Exclusion)
- 4. Choose This, or Else! (Coercion/Choice)
- 5. Is This What Democracy Looks Like? (Spontaneity/ Structure)
- 6. A Socratic Mob (Expertise/Mass Opinion)
- 7. New World Order (Local/Global)
- 8. A Ruin or a Habitation (Present/Future)
- Conclusion: From Founding Fathers to Perennial Midwives
- Notes
- Index
- Also by Astra Taylor
- Praise for Democracy May Not Exist, but Weâll Miss It When Itâs Gone
- About the Author
- Newsletter Sign-up
- Contents
- Copyright