Get Free Ebook How Democratic is the American Constitution? Second Edition

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How Democratic is the American Constitution? Second Edition

How Democratic is the American Constitution? Second Edition


How Democratic is the American Constitution? Second Edition


Get Free Ebook How Democratic is the American Constitution? Second Edition

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Review

"Robert A. Dahl . . . is about as covered in honors as a scholar can be. . . . He knows what he is talking about. And he thinks that the Constitution has something the matter with it."―Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker"Some may find it a startling question, as most Americans have an unwavering faith in the Constitution and its principles. But the author argues that we should not be afraid to examine it and to consider other options for achieving a more democratic society."—Washington Post Book World (Best Seller List/Washington is Also Reading)"Some may find it a startling question . . . [b]ut the author argues . . . we should not be afraid to examine it. . . ."—Washington Post Book World (Best Seller List/Washington is Also Reading)"This is a lively and challenging volume for those who still think of the Constitution as sacred text. Highly recommended at all levels."—Choice"Dahl probably is the US’s leading scholar of democratic theory. . . . This is a lively and challenging volume for those who still think of the Constitution as sacred text. Highly recommended at all levels."―Choice"[A] thoughtful and accessible book."—Franklin I. Gamwell, Christian Century"A devastating attack on the undemocratic character of the American Constitution."—Gordon S. Wood, New York Review of Books"Students of government, professional and otherwise, and interested general readers will find this book a valuable starting point for thinking about how to improve the performance of American democracy."—Richard J. Maiman, Perspectives on Political Science"Dahl is . . . a sober and meticulous scholar with unparalleled historical and comparative knowledge of democratic systems. . . . How Democratic is the American Constitution? isreadable, provocative, and presents, in some ways at least, an unorthodox case against the Constitution. . . . [Dahl] makes a decisive case against undue constitutional reverence and against many aspects of the Constitution."—Alan Gibson, The Review of Politics"Dahl, the dean of American political scientists at the age of 87, offers not only a clear-headed dissection of the U.S. constitutional order but delivers it in prose refreshingly clear of jargon, terms of art, insider neologisms and superfluous data."―R.K. Baker, The Times of Trenton (N.J.)"Dahl probably is the U.S.’s leading scholar of democratic theory. . . . This is a lively and challenging volume for those who still think of the Constitution as sacred text. Highly recommended at all levels."—ChoiceSelected by Choice as a 2003 Outstanding Academic Title Selected by the American Library Association (ALA) as one of "The Best of the Best from the University Presses: Books You Should Know About," 2003 Selected as an outstanding book by University Press Books for Public and Secondary School Libraries"This book is vintage Dahl at the highest possible level. It is lucid, acutely analytic, literate, and both consistent with the long series of previous books by Dahl and new in its details and broad contours."—Fred Greenstein, Princeton University

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From the Publisher

Robert A. Dahl is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Yale University and past president of the American Political Science Association. He is the author of numerous books, including Who Governs?, Democracy and Its Critics, and On Democracy, all published by Yale University Press.

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Product details

Series: Castle Lecture Series

Paperback: 240 pages

Publisher: Yale University Press; 2 edition (December 1, 2003)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0300095244

ISBN-13: 978-0300095241

Product Dimensions:

5 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.1 out of 5 stars

60 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#85,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

In a series of lectures transferred by Robert Dahl into essays, Dahl posits exactly what the model and implications of the US hybrid constitutional system actually is and shows that it does not, historically, balance democratic and minority rights. Dahl notices what many have noticed since the attempts to expand democracy into the Arab world have noticed, despite US's internal narrative about its democracy, it doesn't even impose its system on others: generally, when a state is made democratic by US intervention, it a given a parliamentary system or a presidential/parliamentary hybrid model.While this does lay the cause, and makes particularly insightful comparisons to other stable and long-established democratic systems, it is not very deep in its analysis. The extremely disproportionate nature of the Senate and increased US urbanization make votes worth different amounts, the winner take-all nature of most states, and the Presidential conflation of head of government and head of state are well-known to those familiar with political science. Dahl does spell out the consequences of this fairly well with comparisons to other systems, and points out that in several models, the US is unique: it's neither a consensus and majoritarian system, but an awkward hybrid of both. There are flaws here though, while evidence is presented in support of Dahl's thesis, the traditional counter-arguments aren't articulated completely. While some of the Federalist arguments are deemed irrelevant (and in the case of Hamilton even a bit inaccurate), other modern arguments about inefficiently of national popular vote and the centralization of power in major areas with Presidential systems (see Mexico City) leading even more corruption than in our system remain unaddressed.Dahl's critique of the supreme court is sound in many respects, but he does not deal the indirectly accountable through nomination by the President and approval of Congress. Nor does he deal with the crises of Latin American democracies with Presidential executives and weak-supreme courts because he 22 comparison nations do not readily include them. Dahl then can't deal with directly with the idea that indirect accountability may or may not be effective because it isn't factored into the argument at all.There are some areas where Dahl is particularly strong, including the idea of the party rules system and unstated governmental norms effectively constituted an unwritten constitution that states and parties could more easily systematically change than our current jammed amendment system. However, Dahl does not seem optimistic that this will happen.This is definitely worth reading if you unfamiliar with this line of critique, but is highly persuasive, but those who are more knowledgable may be slightly frustrated by what this book doesn't address because the nature of the lectures on which it is based.

Good scholarly examination of the Constitution in relation to the political philosophy of the Founding Fathers. I teach AP US History and will buy a copy for all teachers in our department and request our government classes make this a supplemental text. I would suggest this as a preliminarly reading for any student about to take a government or Foundations of American History survey class.The reading is not difficult and most High School students can understand the concepts presented, while college students can gain some advanced conceptual ideas, and private citizens interested in political debate over family dinners will be supplied with a wealth of ammunition for arguments as to the purpose and construct of the US Democratic-Republic.

The author in a very low-key manner invites the reader to examine along with him the basic structure of the Constitution as it has impacted democracy in America. He is certainly aware that for some any questioning of the Constitution is nothing short of a sacrilege. Others are smugly certain that the subject is irrelevant because in their view the U.S. is actually a republic, not a democracy, which of course contradicts the fact that "We the People" established the United States.While the author invests little time in formally defining democracy, it would seem that the ability for all adult citizens broadly conceived to equally participate in the political process at some basic level is essential for democracy. Whether due to the lack of a model of democracy to follow, the need for compromise among various interests, or a mistrust of ordinary citizens, the framers created some significant non-democratic structures and understandings within the Constitution. Obviously, the failure to outlaw slavery looms largest; only a minority of citizens were given voting rights in 1788; and elections of the president and senators were not directly based on popular votes. The author laments the fact that historically it has been most difficult to gain passage of Constitutional amendments that address these kinds of issues, being subject to blockage by the disproportionately powerful seventeen smallest states in the Senate.It is a misfounded conceit on the part of many Americans that the Constitution shines worldwide as the one political document that should be and is copied. The author goes to great pains to dissect that view. Among the oldest twenty-two democracies in the world, few have adopted the U.S. system of federalism, bicameral legislatures, an independent presidency, and a judiciary that can supercede national legislative actions. The author takes particular note of the fact that most other democracies employ a system of proportional representation whereby legislatures are populated by political parties based on a percentage of total votes. It would seem that the potential for representation of multiple interests within party coalitions is far greater than in a winner-take-all system where it is quite conceivable that minority interests would have no actual representation.The author makes abundantly clear that regardless of constitutional structures, the prospects for democracy within a polity rests on a supportive and engaged culture. The rise of Jeffersonian democracy in the early 1800s was through the actions of the general citizenry. But the inequality of resources essential for equal political participation in today's society concerns the author. The domination of political information by vast media empires and the financing of elections by the rich does not bode well for democratic participation.The Constitution is perhaps flawed - far from ideal - but it is the distortion of the political process by the powerful that is most worrisome. Of course, that power imbalance is, in turn, based on an inconsistent representation structure disinclined to produce remedial legislation.

Despite being one of the most influential political scientists of his time, Dahl is a terrible writer. His ideas are interesting and worth your time, but his writing made me want to tear my hair out. It's verbose, clunky, pretentious, and fundamentally unreadable.

Excellent book gives insight that would benefit today's Congress like the fact that the framers HAD to compromise.

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