Democracy ─ A Reader

What is democracy? How can it be defended and justified? How do we understand the complexities of democracy in a world of rapid change?At a time when democracy appears to be universally acclaimed as the only acceptable form of government, it is all the more necessary to be clear about what democracy means. "Democracy: A Reader" provides a range of pivotal statements on this important topic from supporters and defenders as well as critics and skeptics, including Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, de Tocqueville, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Schumpeter, Berlin, Marx, Lenin, Phillips, Young, Dahl, Kymlicka, Parekh, Walzer, Hayek, Habermas, Scruton, Barry, and Mouffe.

Key topics include:

Freedom and autonomy

Equality

Representation

Majority rule

Citizenship

Marxist and socialist critiques

Conservative, elitist, and authoritarian critiques

Feminist critiques

Civil society

The market

Nationalism

Multiculturalism

Non-Western perspectives

The future of democracy

Within the space of one volume this comprehensive coverage provides a genuine "handbook" to help citizens of democratic societies understand the ideals underpinning their societies, the ways their societies can live up to the democratic ideals they proclaim, and the obstacles that lie in the path of democracy today.

Ricardo Blaug is senior lecturer in politics at the University of Leeds. John Schwarzmantel is senior lecturer in politics and director of the M.A. program in democratic studies at the University of Leeds.