The Deconstitutionalization of America: The Forgotten Frailties of Democratic RuleIn The Deconstitutionalization of America: The Forgotten Frailties of Democratic Rule, Roger M. Barrus and his coauthors embark on a discussion of American democracy from the nineteenth century to the present day. The present paradox democracy finds itself in can be summed up as 'the best of times and the worst of times.' Democracy, at its best, has triumphed throughout the world. It is the authors contention that this same success represents the potential for its undoing: with all governments claiming to be democratic, modern democrats-and this includes just about everyone-find it difficult if not impossible to understand the nature and problems of democracy. Since most everyone lives within a democratic horizon, they have nothing to compare democracy to and no one to point out its faults. In this way, they are hampered in dealing with their social and political problems, some of which may be the result of contradictions inherent in the democratic principle itself. The solution to democracy's ills might not be, after all, more democracy. |
From inside the book
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... moral or even legal offenses he had committed , they did not rise to the level of the " high crimes and misdemeanors " specified by the framers as grounds for impeachment almost as if the Constitution had a determinate meaning that ...
... moral or even legal offenses he had committed , they did not rise to the level of the " high crimes and misdemeanors " specified by the framers as grounds for impeachment almost as if the Constitution had a determinate meaning that ...
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... moral purpose guiding the construction of the Constitution , and that it must ultimately be judged by how well it fulfills that purpose . It is not merely an apparatus for governmental decision - making . The moral purpose of the ...
... moral purpose guiding the construction of the Constitution , and that it must ultimately be judged by how well it fulfills that purpose . It is not merely an apparatus for governmental decision - making . The moral purpose of the ...
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... moral self - restraint and rational self - control , were frequently absent from the politics of the ancient de- mocracies . Democracy , for Madison , is by no means synonymous with self- government . It can descend into the ...
... moral self - restraint and rational self - control , were frequently absent from the politics of the ancient de- mocracies . Democracy , for Madison , is by no means synonymous with self- government . It can descend into the ...
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... moral qualities of the American Founders that enabled them to succeed where so many others have failed . The framers were elected as representatives to a convention to make rec- ommendations for revising the Articles of Confederation ...
... moral qualities of the American Founders that enabled them to succeed where so many others have failed . The framers were elected as representatives to a convention to make rec- ommendations for revising the Articles of Confederation ...
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... moral qualities of the framers can be deduced , accord- ing to Madison , from a consideration of the great number and intractable nature of the difficulties they had to overcome in putting together the new Constitution . Perhaps the ...
... moral qualities of the framers can be deduced , accord- ing to Madison , from a consideration of the great number and intractable nature of the difficulties they had to overcome in putting together the new Constitution . Perhaps the ...
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The Deconstitutionalization of America: The Forgotten Frailties of ... Roger Milton Barrus No preview available - 2004 |
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