Democracy Despite Itself : Why a System That Shouldn't Work at All Works So Well.
- 1st ed.
- 1 online resource (256 pages)
- The MIT Press Series .
- The MIT Press Series .
Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Part I. Democracy Is Crazy -- Chapter 1. Don't Know Much About . . . Well, Anything, Really -- Facts of the Matter -- The Devil Is in the Details -- Knowing Where They Stand -- Forgive and Forget -- Ignorant of Ignorance -- Hide and Go Seek -- The Gathering Storm -- News You Can Trust? -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 2. "We the People" Are Irrational -- Speed Dating for Senator -- Prime Real Estate -- Frame of Mind -- Easy Does It -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 3. Electoral Madness -- How to Lose a Vote and Win an Election -- The Little Things That Matter -- Vote Counting -- Strategic Voting -- How Good Strategy Is Bad for Democracy -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 4. Too Many Voices -- Listening to the Crowd -- Sampling the People -- Questioning the Questions -- One Person's Gain Is Another Person's Loss -- Summary -- References -- Part II. Restoring Some Sanity -- Chapter 5. Procedure, Process, and Prophecy -- On Tea and Taxes -- Procedural Justice -- Are You the Kind of Person Who Lets People Rummage through Your Drawers? -- Self-Fulfilling Prophecies -- Reciprocity -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 6. Letting Off Steam -- A Remarkable Event -- What's a Dictator to Do? -- What's a Protestor to Do? -- Succession Failures -- What's a President to Do? -- The Importance of Smooth Transitions -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 7. Overcoming Our Weaknesses -- Ignorance Is Bliss -- Crowding Out Ignorance -- The Idiot's Guide to Effective Governance -- Agents of Intelligence and Mystery -- Summary -- References -- Chapter 8. Throwing the Bums Out -- The Best of Times and the Worst of Times -- Pretty in Pink Slips -- Positive Paranoia -- Ain't No Issue Small Enough -- Enough Is Enough -- No One Is Safe -- Summary -- References -- Conclusion: The Means Justify the Ends. Success Where We Least Expect It -- Means and Ends -- Being Better Citizens -- Power and Corruption -- Toward a Fairer Society -- Power to the People -- "That Government of the People, by the People, for the People, Shall Not Perish from the Earth" -- References -- Index.
Why democracy is the most effective form of government despite irrational (and sometime oblivious) voters and flawed (and sometimes inept) politicians.