Lexington Books
Pages: 226
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
978-0-7391-1025-6 • Hardback • May 2005 • $117.00 • (£90.00)
978-0-7391-1810-8 • Paperback • September 2006 • $51.99 • (£40.00)
Majid Behrouzi holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from York University, Canada. In addition to philosophy, he has also studied mathematics and engineering and holds advanced degrees in these fields. He currently teaches mathematics and philosophy in Cleveland.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Part 2 Part I: The Idea of Democracy in Pre-Liberal and Non-Liberal Societies
Chapter 3 The "Original" Idea of Democracy
Chapter 4 Macpherson and the Idea of Democracy as a "Class Affair"
Chapter 5 Rousseau and the Idea of the Sovereignty of the "General Will"
Chapter 6 The "Marxian Idea of Democracy": The Ideal and the Real
Chapter 7 Bolshevism and the Idea of "Proletarian Democracy"
Chapter 8 Concluding Remarks to Part I
Part 9 Part II: The Case of the Liberal State and Liberal Democracy
Chapter 10 Liberalism and the Rise of the Liberal State
Chapter 11 The Liberal State and the Idea of Representative Government
Chapter 12 The Rise of the Liberal-Democratic State
Chapter 13 Schumpeter and the Liberal-Democratic Conception of Democracy
Chapter 14 Justifying Representative Government
Chapter 15 Concluding Remarks to Part II
Part 16 Part III: The Case of the Late Liberal-Democracy
Chapter 17 The Late Liberal-Democratic State: Crisis of Representative Democracy
Chapter 18 Theories of Participatory Democracy
Chapter 19 Theories of Deliberative Democracy
Chapter 20 Concluding Remarks to Part III
Chapter 21 Conclusion
A richly comprehensive and commanding treatment of the many theories of democracy, of much value to students and scholars alike.
— Michael Parenti, author of The Face of Imperialism and God and His Demons
This is a sound and instructive review of the history of democratic thought. It is also extremely well-researched and informed by a broad familiarity with contemporary theory. The author is particularly adept at seeking the authentic democratic kernels and missteps in each vision, as well as the dialogue among the various traditions and their exponents. . . . In this sense the work is refreshingly broad and synthetic, an achievement that is valuable in the contemporary context of parochialism in political thought.
— Richard Wellen, professor of social sciences, York University (Canada)
Majid Behrouzi's exhaustive and illuminating account of democracy as the 'rule by the people' takes on increased importance with new demands, in the U.S. and around the world, for citizens' substantive participation in the democratic process. Behrouzi puts pressure on democracy to live up to its full ideal and exposes those conceptions of democracy that betray its promise. In his second volume, he finds the solution in e-democracy—a stunning account backed by a genuinely illuminating and full theory.
— Joseph P. DeMarco, professor of philosophy, Cleveland State University
An impressive work. . . . Tracing the development of democracy from the Greeks to Marx, Behrouzi argues that democracy ends up being treated as an ideal that cannot be recovered. The most unique aspect of the author's intellectual history is his account of 'the perversion of the original idea of democracy.' The author seeks to recover the 'original idea of democracy' developed in ancient Athens. . . . Clearly written and accessible to undergraduates. Highly Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above.
— Choice Reviews
Behrouzi's Democracy as the Political Empowerment of the People: The Betrayal of an Ideal sets out an original and powerful attack on liberal democracy as a perversion of the democratic ideal. By laying claim to the idea that genuine democracy constitutes the direct participation of citizens in the legislative and political decision-making process, Behrouzi persuasively shows that the preoccupation with political representation in both democratic theory and practice is misplaced. This attack by Behrouzi lays the groundwork for his own distinctive account of democracy in the companion volume Democracy as the Political empowerment of the Citizen: Direct-Deliberative e-Democracy.
— Lesley Jacobs, professor of law and society and director of the Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought, York University