Democracy and its critics /
Robert A. Dahl.
- New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, c1989.
- viii, 397 p. ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Pt. 1. The sources of modern democracy -- Ch. 1. The first transformation: to the democracy city-state -- Ch. 2. Toward the second transformation: republicanism, representation, and the logic of equality -- Pt. 2. Adversarial critics -- Ch. 3. Anarchism -- Ch. 4. Guardianship -- Ch. 5. A critique of guardianship -- Pt. 3. A theory of the democratic process -- Ch. 6. Justifications: The idea of equal intrinsic worth -- Ch. 7. Personal autonomy -- Ch. 8. A theory of the democratic process -- Ch. 9. The problem of inclusion -- Pt. 4. Problems in the democratic process -- Ch. 10. Majority rule and the democratic process -- Ch. 11. Is there a better alternative? -- Ch. 12. Process and substance -- Ch. 13. Process versus process -- Ch. 14. When is a people entitled to the democratic process? -- Pt. 5. The limits and possibilities of democracy -- Ch. 15. The second democracy transformation: From city-state to the nation state -- Ch. 16. Democracy, polyarchy development in some countries and not others -- Ch. 17. How polyarchy developed in some countries and not others -- Ch. 18. Why polyarchy developed in some countries and not others -- Ch. 19. Is minority domination inevitable? -- Ch. 20. Pluralism, polyarchy, and the common good -- Ch. 21. The common good as process and substance -- Pt. 6. Toward a third transformation -- Ch. 22. Democracy in tomorrow's world -- Ch. 23. Sketches for an advanced democratic country.
In this book, one of the most prominent political theorists of our era makes a statement about what democracy is and why it is important. Robert Dahl examines the most basic assumptions of democratic theory, tests them against the questions raised by its critics, and recasts the theory of democracy in a new and coherent whole. He concludes by discussing the directions in which democracy must move if advanced democratic states are to exist in the future.