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Democracy and the Limits of Self-Government

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  • Przeworski,Adam

Abstract

The political institutions under which we live today evolved from a revolutionary idea that shook the world in the second part of the eighteenth century: that a people should govern itself. Yet if we judge contemporary democracies by the ideals of self-government, equality and liberty, we find that democracy is not what it was dreamt to be. This book addresses central issues in democratic theory by analyzing the sources of widespread dissatisfaction with democracies around the world. With attention throughout to historical and cross-national variations, the focus is on the generic limits of democracy in promoting equality, effective participation, control of governments by citizens, and liberty. The conclusion is that although some of this dissatisfaction has good reasons, some is based on an erroneous understanding of how democracy functions. Hence, although the analysis identifies the limits of democracy, it also points to directions for feasible reforms.

Suggested Citation

  • Przeworski,Adam, 2010. "Democracy and the Limits of Self-Government," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521761031, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:cbooks:9780521761031
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jeanet Bentzen & Jacob Gerner Hariri & James A. Robinson, 2014. "The Indigenous Roots of Representative Democracy," Discussion Papers 14-30, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    2. Przeworski, Adam & Rivero, Gonzalo & Xi, Tianyang, 2015. "Elections as a conflict processing mechanism," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 235-248.
    3. J. Stephen Ferris & Stanley L. Winer & Bernard Grofman, 2016. "The Duverger-Demsetz Perspective on Electoral Competitiveness and Fragmentation: With Application to the Canadian Parliamentary System, 1867–2011," Studies in Political Economy, in: Maria Gallego & Norman Schofield (ed.), The Political Economy of Social Choices, pages 93-122, Springer.
    4. Alexander S Kirshner, 2018. "Nonideal democratic authority," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 17(3), pages 257-276, August.
    5. Koch, Susanne, 2017. "International influence on forest governance in Tanzania: Analysing the role of aid experts in the REDD+ process," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 181-190.
    6. Francesc Amat & Pablo Beramendi & Miriam Hortas-Rico & Vicente Rios, 2020. "How inequality shapes political participation: The role of spatial patterns of political competition," Working Papers. Collection B: Regional and sectoral economics 2002, Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network.
    7. Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa & Jacques Simon Song, 2022. "Does Institutional Quality increase inequalities in Africa?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(3), pages 1896-1927, September.
    8. Bharatee Bhusana, Ferris, J Stephen Dash & Stanley L. Winer, 2018. "Measuring Electoral Competitiveness: With Application to the Indian States," CESifo Working Paper Series 7216, CESifo.
    9. Acemoglu, Daron & Golosov, Mikhail & Tsyvinski, Aleh, 2011. "Power fluctuations and political economy," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 146(3), pages 1009-1041, May.
    10. Zuazu Bermejo, Izaskun, 2018. "Electoral Systems and Income Inequality: A Tale of Political Equality," IKERLANAK 30206, Universidad del País Vasco - Departamento de Fundamentos del Análisis Económico I.
    11. Konstantin Yanovskiy & Sergey Zhavoronkov & Dmitry Shestakov, 2013. "Democracy of "Taxation-Redistribution" and Peacetime Budget Deficit," Working Papers 0078, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, revised 2013.
    12. Felix S Bethke & Jonathan Pinckney, 2021. "Non-violent resistance and the quality of democracy," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 38(5), pages 503-523, September.
    13. Stanley L. Winer, 2017. "In Defense of Majoritarianism," Carleton Economic Papers 17-06, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    14. Hideko Magara, 2014. "Introduction: growth, crisis and regime change," Chapters, in: Hideko Magara (ed.), Economic Crises and Policy Regimes, chapter 1, pages 1-30, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Epitropoulos Mike-Frank & Markoff John, 2017. "Once Again, They Have a Word for It: Greeks Talk about Our Global Age," New Global Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 11(3), pages 211-229, December.
    16. Amat, Francesc & Beramendi, Pablo, 2016. "Economic and Political Inequality: The Role of Political Mobilization," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 277, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).

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