Case For Democracy Research Articles

Education as initiation into social practices – the case of democracy

ABSTRACT In this essay I scrutinize the challenge Paul Hirst set to educational philosophers in rejecting rational autonomy as the central aim of education and proposing initiation into social practices instead. Although I disagree with some dimensions of Hirst’s argument, I find his main idea of utmost importance in answering some burning challenges of contemporary democratic education. Contrary to Hirst’s thinking, I argue that this theoretical development can be best done within the framework of philosophical pragmatism, on which appropriate interpretations of the concepts of democracy, social practices and habits can be based. In this framework, it is also possible to preserve as educational ideals the pragmatist interpretations of the notions of rationality and autonomy. Based on my theoretical development relying both on early pragmatist and contemporary thinkers, I argue that education for democracy should start from the aim of providing children with emotionally rewarding experiences of participation, membership and belonging.

Durability through discord – debating parliamentary procedure in Europe around the turn of the twentieth century

ABSTRACT During recent decades, the role and legitimacy of national parliaments have become increasingly topical and disputed. Parliaments seem to be on the constant defensive against criticism and challenges coming from multiple directions. New populist parties have entered the debating scene, framing parliaments as elite playgrounds and using them as stages for polarized politics. Not only mirrors of social unrest, debates in national assemblies may also be considered catalysts of social upheaval. Both stable and young democracies have been backsliding, and elected autocrats have concentrated power to small elites, harnessing public institutions for their power politics. At the same time, parliamentary democracy appears slow, short-sighted, inefficient and incapable of resolving the great dilemmas of our time. Democratic innovators are calling for more direct, deliberative and participatory forms to support, or even replace traditional parliamentary decision-making and representative democracy. 1 1 For example, D. van Reybrouck, Against Elections: The Case for Democracy, translated from Dutch by L. Waters (London, 2016); H. Landemore, Open Democracy: Reinventing Popular Rule for the Twenty-First Century (Princeton NJ, 2020). Accused of being ‘all talk, no action’, ‘political theater’ and arenas for ‘empty words’, ‘idle talk’ and ‘useless debate’, parliaments and their practices that long seemed self-evident, are now debated, abused, put aside or even neglected.

Situating Injustice in the Frame of Dalit Politics: A Case of Democracy in Nayattu

It might not be amiss to observe that, Nayattu, the Malayalam movie by filmmaker Martin Prakkat rides its last lap on the breathtaking suspense of a suspension of justice set in the backdrop of Indian electoral politics. Such suspense or suspension is hardly unanticipated in the writings of Jacques Derrida for whom the reasoning of democracy is of ‘a certain reason to come, as democracy to come’. Rather than eager anticipation ready to bear fruit, the reasoning of democracy is the contrary. It is the impossibility of ever bearing fruit which is portrayed through the executive’s insensitivity and domineeringness towards ordinary man’s justice. Several other characteristics also make the movie a worthwhile analysis in this frame. It is the story of the sheer inadequacy of traditional democratic institutions in fulfilling their role—three police officers who are wrongly accused need to run to the valley/hill outside the walls of the ‘city’ in search of a place of refuge that is never to be found. However, it is the portrayal of Dalits both as the mob and as the victimized that contributes to the tempo of the movie.

Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy. By Luke Bretherton

Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy. By Luke Bretherton

On the relationship between trade openness and government size

AbstractDoes trade openness systematically imply bigger governments, as proposed by Rodrik (Journal of Political Economy, 106, 997 and 1998)? This paper presents a novel and more refined explanation for when and why international trade may enlarge the public sector. We propose that trade openness is associated with bigger governments via the compensation pathway if the price volatility of a country's export basket is substantial and the country is democratic. The first condition satisfies the prior that trade openness introduces uncertainty and external risk. The second condition ensures that the people's desire for greater economic security can be realised through government spending. Empirical evidence for 137 countries, that account for approximately 95% of world population, from 2000–2016 is consistent with this hypothesis. Exploring areas of public spending, we find intuitive patterns. Consistent with the compensation hypothesis, government spending on economic affairs and housing increases significantly with trade openness, whereas spending on education, health care, and the military is not affected. As with our general result, this is only the case in democracies that are subject to high price volatility on the global market.

Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy

Bretherton, Luke. Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy. 2022. 9780802881793

Major Review: Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy by Luke Bretherton

Major Review: Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy by Luke Bretherton

Beyond common knowledge “Against elections: the case for democracy”

Beyond common knowledge “Against elections: the case for democracy”

Relational Egalitarianism and Democracy

Abstract Relational egalitarians argue that democratic institutions are justified by appeal to relational equality. According to the skeptical challenge, equality of political power is not required for relational equality, and the relational egalitarian case for democracy fails. I defend the relational egalitarian justification of democracy. I develop an analysis of social status and show that inequalities of power will not entail inequalities of status. I then show that inequalities of power will robustly cause inequalities of status and argue that this vindicates the relational egalitarian case for democracy, because such theories have a much more pragmatic standard of success for the justification of democracy than conceptual necessity. I consider the objection that if inequalities of power robustly cause inequalities of status, then relational egalitarians should also oppose democratic institutions, because officials such as legislators or judges will have more power than citizens. In reply, I argue that relational egalitarians are only opposed to inequalities of status that mark a failure of recognition respect, and that inequalities of status that follow from democratically licensed inequalities of power will not mark such a failure. I conclude that the skeptical challenge is unsuccessful, and that the relational egalitarian justification of democracy is sound.

Knightian uncertainty in non-market institutional settings: the case of democracy and nonprofit civil society

AbstractThe implications of Knightian uncertainty are frequently discussed in the context of market-based institutional settings. Given money prices, entrepreneurs can engage in calculative action, in conjunction with ‘judgment’, to guide decision-making and bring about a coordination of production plans with consumer preferences. However, if the existence of Knightian uncertainty isubiquitous and applies to all human action, then what are its implications in non-market institutional settings? This paper explores questions related to the implications of Knightian uncertainty for two important non-market institutional settings: democratic government and the nonprofit or philanthropic sector, where there is an explicit lack of monetary calculation, yet nonprofit and political entrepreneurs still must use ‘judgment’ to deal with Knightian uncertainty. For instance, what are the implications of private property and privatized cost in the case of nonprofitsversusthe absence of private property and socialized cost in the case of democracy, in the presence of Knightian uncertainty? Which group of ‘consumers’ is likely to have their preferences satisfied when it comes to nonprofits (benefactors or beneficiaries) and democratic government (voters or lobbyists)? The paper, thus, points to the importance of further research on the implications of Knightian uncertainty in the hard case of non-market institutional settings.

Christ and the Common Life. Political Theology and the Case for Democracy, written by Luke Bretherton

Christ and the Common Life. Political Theology and the Case for Democracy, written by Luke Bretherton

The corruption–growth relationship: does the political regime matter?

AbstractCorruption is widely believed to have an adverse effect on the economic performance of a country. However, many East-and-Southeast-Asian countries either achieved or currently are achieving impressively rapid economic growth despite widespread corruption – the so-called East-Asian-Paradox. A common feature of these countries was that they were autocracies. We re-examine the corruption-growth relationship, in light of the East-Asian-Paradox. We examine the role of political regimes, in mediating corruption–growth relationship using panel data over 100 countries for the period 1984–2016. We find clear evidence that corruption–growth relationship differs by the type of political regime, and the growth-enhancing effect of corruption is more likely in autocracies than in democracies. The marginal effect analysis shows that in strongly autocratic countries, higher corruption may lead to significantly higher growth, while this is not the case in democracies. Alternatively, democracy is not good for growth if there is a high level of perceived corruption. We provide suggestive evidence that the mechanism by which corruption is growth-enhancing in autocracies is through the perceived credibility of the commitment of ruling political elites to economic freedom, thereby providing confidence to the firms to invest, leading to long-term growth.

Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy. Luke Bretherton. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 2019. 522 pp.

Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy. Luke Bretherton. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 2019. 522 pp.

Luke Bretherton, Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy

Luke Bretherton, <i>Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy</i>

Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy by Luke Bretherton

Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy by Luke Bretherton

On the Relationship between Trade Openness and Government Size

Does trade openness systematically imply bigger governments, as proposed by Rodrik (1998)? This paper presents a novel and more refined explanation for when and why international trade may enlarge the public sector. We propose that trade openness is associated with bigger governments if (i) the price volatility of a country's export basket is substantial and (ii) the country is democratic. The first condition satisfies the prior that open trade barriers indeed introduce uncertainty and external risk -- something that is not necessarily the case for all trade. The second condition ensures that the people's desire for greater economic security can be realized through government spending. Empirical evidence for 143 countries (accounting for approximately 96 percent of world population) from 2000-2016 is consistent with this hypothesis. Exploring areas of public spending, we find intuitive patterns: Consistent with the compensation hypothesis, government spending on economic affairs and housing increases significantly with trade openness, whereas public spending on education, health care, and the military are not immediately concerned. As with our general result, this is only the case in democracies that are subject to high price volatility on the global market.

Doubts About 'Democratic Legitimacy'

This is a critical discussion of themes from Eric Heinze's book Hate Speech and Democratic Citizenship, as presented at a conference on the book in London in June 2017. Central to Heinze's book is the idea of 'democratic legitimacy'. This contribution considers Heinze's elaboration of both terms in this expression, but especially his ideas about legitimacy. Commentary on Heinze segues into wider reflections on the case for democracy and, in particular, on the implications of an defence of democracy which is based on democracy's achievements as an instrument of good public policy. These implications are not as alarming as is sometimes thought. Nevertheless they explain a kind of double-bind in which democrats inevitably find themselves when the going gets rough (as it has in the last few years in Europe and the US). Heinze's appeal to democratic legitimacy underestimates, or at least understates, the legitimacy-problems that face us now.

Демократическая лотерея: конституционная инновация древнегреческого происхождения Рецензия на книгу: Van Reybrouck D. Against Elections: The Case for Democracy. London: The Bodley Head, 2016

Демократическая лотерея: конституционная инновация древнегреческого происхождения Рецензия на книгу: Van Reybrouck D. Against Elections: The Case for Democracy. London: The Bodley Head, 2016

The Case for Sortition: Tackling the Limitations of Democracy in South Africa

ABSTRACTThis article considers how the erosion of democracy in South Africa since 1994 might be addressed through sortition, the random selection of citizens to perform public tasks. Drawing upon the recent essay outlining the case Against Elections by David Van Reybrouck [(2016). Against Elections: The Case for Democracy. London: Bodley Head], which paints liberal democracy as facilitating rule by elites, it argues for the appointment of sortition panels to consider reform of the electoral system. Sortition in South Africa could draw upon streams of participatory democracy experienced during the struggle against apartheid, and lead towards a more deliberative democracy.

The Epistemic Basis for Political Opposition: Rejoinder to Min

ABSTRACTAs Min argues, any defense of democracy must include an epistemic element. But this does not mean that the will of the majority always tends to be right. It means only that we cannot identify in advance a minority that is likelier to get it right than everyone else. This fact is consistent with the possibility, even the likelihood, that the majority will more often be wrong than right. Those who find themselves in the minority should not be cowed into submission by the overall epistemic advantage of democracy: in any given case, a dissenter from the majority view may be right. Likewise, institutions such as parties are crucial in allowing minorities—and majorities—to persevere. Not only parties, but practices of dissent and opposition more broadly, are inseparable from the epistemic case for democracy.