|
|
(Larger Image)
|
Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation Between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice
by William H. Riker
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Waveland Press (1988-07)
ISBN: 0881333670
EAN: 9780881333671
Dewy Decimal #: 321
Paperback: 311 pages
SKU: 00-FJRT-FLST
Condition: Very Good
Comments: Softcover has one bookstore sticker on back, otherwise no issues. Crisp pages are unmarked. Binding is tight. Spine is uncreased.
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Product Description
The discoveries of social choice theory have undermined the simple and unrealistic 19th century notions of democracy, especially the expectation that electoral institutions smoothly translate popular will directly into public policy. One response to these discoveries is to reject democracy out of hand. Another, which is the program of this book, is to save democracy by formulating more realistic expectations. Hence, this book first summarizes social choice theory in order to explain the full force of its critique. Then it explains, in terms of social choice theory, how politics and public issues change and develop. Finally, it reconciles democratic ideals with this new understanding of politics.
|
Customer Reviews
|
A great introduction to public choice theory
Rating  (5)
Date: 2002-11-13
12 out of 12 customers found this reveiw helpful
Public choice theory is just full of interesting and counterintuitive results. It's most famous result, Arrow's impossibility theorem, says that democratic decision making over a fixed set of choices cannot be guaranteed to produce rational results--majorities might just prefer A to B, B to C, and also C to A. Furthermore, the only way to guarantee rational results is a dictatorship. These are truly strange results, which turn out to hold the keys to a deep understanding of democracy's mechanisms.Riker's book explains clearly some of the most important results of social choice theory. Then, he patiently leads the reader to understand how these seemingly esoteric theories explain an incredible amount of the chaos of modern democratic politics. Riker's discussion of importance of agenda setting is particularly illuminating. (Maybe his analysis is well known to political scientists, but I didn't know about it, and I found it really insightful). If the majority prefers A to B, and you strongly prefer B, what can you do in a democratic society? Riker shows that often, the answer is to change the subject--introduce a third option C which less popular than B, but more popular than A. By reframing the A vs. B choice in the context of C, you create a voting cycle where there was just a clear preference for A before. The result is democratic paralysis in which your least favorite choice, A, does not get implemented. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in better understanding democracy. The presentation can get a bit technical at times, but Riker rewards the readers' patience richly.
|
|
Required reading
Rating (5)
Date: 2001-05-03
5 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a terrific book. It provides a good introduction to social choice theory and the problems it raises for political theory. He explains things in a very direct way, with minimal math, and uses excellent examples. A couple chapters are kind of wordy and too philosophical, but the book is still great.
|
|
A modern classic
Rating  (4)
Date: 1999-12-01
8 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
Probably one of the most important books in political theory in the 20th century. An absolute modern classic! It should be on the bookshelves of every library and every political science student.
|
|
|
|
|