The Spirit of Compromise

Why Governing Demands It and Campaigning Undermines It - Updated Edition

Amy Gutmann, Dennis F. Thompson

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780691160856, 9780691153919
• eBook ISBN: 9781400851249
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political Philosophy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Why compromise is essential for effective government and why it is missing in politics today

To govern in a democracy, political leaders have to compromise. When they do not, the result is political paralysis—dramatically demonstrated by the gridlock in Congress in recent years. In The Spirit of Compromise, eminent political thinkers Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson show why compromise is so important, what stands in the way of achieving it, and how citizens can make defensible compromises more likely. They urge politicians to focus less on campaigning and more on governing. In a new preface, the authors reflect on the state of compromise in Congress since the book's initial publication.

Calling for greater cooperation in contemporary politics, The Spirit of Compromise will interest everyone who cares about making government work better for the good of all.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Preface to the Paperback Edition
• Introduction
• 1 Valuing Compromise
• 2 Resisting Compromise
• 3 Seeking Compromise
• 4 Campaigning v. Governing
• 5 Governing with Campaigning
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Acknowledgments
• Index