A People's Parliament, A Citizen's Legislative - Brossura

Callenbach, Ernest; Phillips, Michael; Sutherland, Keith

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1845401085 ISBN 13: 9781845401085

Casa editrice: Imprint Academic, 2008

Riassunto

Two essays, printed back to back in a single volume, offer complementary solutions to the democratic deficit in Britain and the USA. In his book The Party's Over: Blueprint for a Very English Revolution (2004), Keith Sutherland questioned the role of the party in the post-ideological age and concluded that it would be better for government ministers to be appointed by headhunters and held to account by a people's parliament selected by lot. This completely revised and updated edition includes a study of the recent literature on deliberative polling. The American founders proposed that their legislature should be 'an exact portrait, in miniature, of the people at large’. Whether or not this was true at the time, the exponential growth of the population, skyrocketing campaign funding, the power of pressure groups, the grease of the pork-barrel and the dominance of charisma and demagoguery means that the US Constitution could now better be described as a kleptocracy. This pioneering essay proposes selecting Congressional members by random lot (leaving the Senate and Presidency unchanged) to 'restore a direct, powerful voice in Washington to the whole of America’. Originally published in 1985, this new edition includes an introduction by political scientist Peter Stone.

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Recensione

'Sutherland's model of citizen's juries ought to have much greater appeal to progressive Britain.' Tim Luckhurst, Observer 'An extremely valuable contribution.' Graham Allen MP, Tribune 'A political essay in the best tradition - shrewd, erudite, polemical, partisan, mischievous and highly topical.' Contemporary Political Theory "Keith Sutherland accurately describes 'A People's Parliament' as a 'rant with footnotes'. Yet it would be a pity if it were to be entirely dismissed. For he has drawn attention to a serious problem that confronts representative democracies everywhere." Vernon Bogdanor, TLS November 14th, 2008. "These books raise important issues for the future of our democracy. ... Their appearance is a sign that the public philosophy which has for so long governed our political arrangements has become outworn." Vernon Bogdanor, TLS November 14th, 2008. "[A Citizen Legislature] puts forth substantive proposals that deserve our attention and public debate." Robert Cheeks, Metapsychology. "[Sutherland's] proposal is unequivocal and straightforward ... deserves public debate and consideration." Robert Cheeks, Metapsychology. "Well-presented and argued works and I recommend them to anyone with an interest in democratic governance. ... the use of the lot in the ways discussed in these books merits more careful consideration than it has received to date" Andrew Blick, Political Quarterly, also reviewing 'The Athenian Option' by Anthony Barnett and Peter Carty. --Andrew Blick, Political Quarterly

Product Description

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Dettagli dell?edizione

• Editore: Imprint Academic
• Data di pubblicazione: 2008
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1845401085
• ISBN 13: 9781845401085
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 350
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: non disponibile