Kategoria BISAC: Political Science >> Political Ideologies - Democracy

The dawn of the twenty-first century heralded an apparent change of fortunes for most sub-Saharan African economies, with annual growth averaging over 5% for fifteen years. However, this was not accompanied by structural transformation: poverty, food insecurity, unemployment and inequality persist. Structural transformation has not been - and indeed cannot be - delivered by market forces and neo-liberal economic policies; it requires a state committed to development, and to achieving it in a democratic way. To what extent do the countries of Southern Africa exhibit the characteristics of...

Global Discontents is a compelling set of interviews with Noam Chomsky, who identifies the "dry kindling" of discontent around the world that could soon catch fire.

In wide-ranging interviews with David Barsamian, his longtime interlocutor, Noam Chomsky asks us to consider "the world we are leaving to our grandchildren" one imperiled by the escalation of climate change and the growing potential for nuclear war. If the current system is incapable of dealing with these threats, he argues, it's up to us to radically change it.

These ten interviews,...

"your IGNORANCE IS our STRENGTH" is an discussion, in dialog form, among U.S. citizens trying to come to terms with the proposition, asserted by the Supreme Court --the government's absolute power-- A CORPORATION IS A PERSON.

The title is adapted from IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH --one of the slogans propagated by the secret Inner Party in Orwell's novel 1984. The others were WAR IS PEACE and FREEDOM IS SLAVERY.

Nobody believed these slogans: they made no sense. But they could not be seen as utter nonsense, because their words --common, familiar words-- had been given new...

This book is open access under a CC BY license.

Beyond Origins argues that the...

Most people believe democracy is a uniquely just form of government. They believe people have the right to an equal share of political power. And they believe that political participation is good for us--it empowers us, helps us get what we want, and tends to make us smarter, more virtuous, and more caring for one another. These are some of our most cherished ideas about democracy. But Jason Brennan says they are all wrong.

In this trenchant book, Brennan argues that democracy should be judged by its results--and the results are not good enough. Just as defendants have a right to a...

This book investigates what influence online incivility--through user-generated comments on news websites--has on public debate. Built on the premise that public discussions about important topics are vital to a healthy democracy, the book analyzes 3,508 online comments in order to understand what factors in comments make them more susceptible to incivility, defined as nasty remarks rife with profanity. It also examines comments for attributes of deliberation, which are discussions across difference supported by evidence and rational arguments. Using an experiment, the book shows that...