Author : Susan Griffin
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
Page : 305 pages
File Size : 15,22 MB
Release : 2008
Category : History
ISBN : 1590302974
In this provocative work, Susan Griffin charts the rise and fall of our society’s highest values—equality, truth, and freedom—from the Declaration of Independence to the Iraq War. Combining contemplative memoir with social and political history, she explores both the inward and outward dimensions of our democracy. She argues compellingly that the dawning of American democracy represented nothing less than a revolution of consciousness, one that is still unfolding today.
Author : Dennis Pilon
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
Page : 409 pages
File Size : 32,43 MB
Release : 2013-06-17
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1442662743
Though sharing broadly similar processes of economic and political development from the mid-to-late nineteenth century onward, western countries have diverged greatly in their choice of voting systems: most of Europe shifted to proportional voting around the First World War, while Anglo-American countries have stuck with relative majority or majority voting rules. Using a comparative historical approach, Wrestling with Democracy examines why voting systems have (or have not) changed in western industrialized countries over the past century. In this first single-volume study of voting system reform covering all western industrialized countries, Dennis Pilon reviews national efforts in this area over four timespans: the nineteenth century, the period around the First World War, the Cold War, and the 1990s. Pilon provocatively argues that voting system reform has been a part of larger struggles over defining democracy itself, highlighting previously overlooked episodes of reform and challenging widely held assumptions about institutional change.
Author : Richard E. Wagner
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 50,42 MB
Release : 2012-01-01
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0857934600
This timely book reveals that the budget deficits and accumulating debts that plague modern democracies reflect a clash between two rationalities of governance: one of private property and one of common property. The clashing of these rationalities at various places in society creates forms of societal tectonics that play out through budgeting. The book demonstrates that while this clash is an inherent feature of democratic political economy, it can nonetheless be limited through embracing once again a constitution of liberty. Not all commons settings have tragic outcomes, of course, but tragic outcomes loom large in democratic processes because they entail conflict between two very different forms of substantive rationality; the political and market rationalities. These are both orders that contain interactions among participants, but the institutional frameworks that govern those interactions differ, generating democratic budgetary tragedies. Those tragedies, moreover, are inherent in the conflict between the different rationalities and so cannot be eliminated. They can, as this book argues, be reduced by restoring a constitution of liberty in place of the constitution of control that has taken shape throughout the west over the past century. Economists interested in public finance, public policy and political economy along with scholars of political science, public administration, law and political philosophy will find this book intriguing.
Author : James C. Harrington
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 38,83 MB
Release : 2011
Category : History
ISBN : 9780761854616
The political trial of Fethullah Gülen, a moderate Turkish religious leader, helped to greatly expand civil liberties and strengthen democracy in Turkey. The trial began in 2000 in an Ankara state security court (now disbanded) and ended in 2008 in an appeals court in Gülen's favor. This book explores Gülen's trial, examines the evolving process of Turkey's efforts to enter the European Union, and discusses ways that the EU's insistence on expanding civil liberties in Turkey and reforming the judicial system affected the outcome of the trial (and vice versa). As a coda, the book considers unsuccessful efforts to block Gülen's application for immigrant status in the United States as a religious scholar, which occurred during the same time as his political trial in Turkey.
Author : Dennis Pilon
Publisher :
Page : 392 pages
File Size : 46,88 MB
Release : 2013
Category : Democracy
ISBN : 9781442662735
In this first single-volume study of voting system reform covering all western industrialized countries, Dennis Pilon reviews national efforts in this area over four timespans: the nineteenth century, the period around the First World War, the Cold War, and the 1990s. Pilon provocatively argues that voting system reform has been a part of larger struggles over defining democracy itself, highlighting previously overlooked episodes of reform and challenging widely held assumptions about institutional change."--Pub. desc.
Author : Drew McIntyre
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 24,68 MB
Release : 2022-02-22
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1982174889
"From a young age, Drew McIntyre dreamed of becoming WWE Champion and following in the footsteps of his heroes Stone Cold Steve Austin and Undertaker. With his parents' support, he trained and paid his dues, proving himself to tiny crowds in the UK's Butlin circuit. At age twenty-two, McIntyre made his WWE debut and was touted by none other than WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as "The Chosen One" who would lead WWE into the future. With his destiny in the palm of his hands, Drew watched it all slip through his fingers. Through a series of ill-advised choices and family tragedy, Drew's life and career spiraled. As a surefire champ, he struggled under the pressure of expectations and was fired from the company. But the WWE Universe had not seen the last of this promising athlete. Facing a crossroads, the powerful Scotsman set a course to show the world the real Drew McIntyre."--
Author : Matthew Legge
Publisher : New Society Publishers
Page : 401 pages
File Size : 18,81 MB
Release : 2019-05-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1771422971
Powerful tools for spreading peace in your community Unfounded beliefs and hateful political and social divisions that can cascade into violence are threatening to pull the world apart. Responding to fear and aggression strategically and with compassion is vital if we are to push back against the politics of hate and live in greater safety and harmony. But how to do it? Are We Done Fighting? is brimming with the latest research, practical activities, and inspirational stories of success for cultivating inner change and spreading peace at the community level and beyond. Coverage includes: An explanation of the different styles of conflict Cognitive biases that help explain polarized and lose-lose positions Practical methods and activities for changing our own and others' minds When punishment works and doesn't, and how to encourage discipline in children without using violence The skill of self-compassion and ways to reduce prejudice in ourselves and others Incredible programs that are rebuilding trust between people after genocide. Packed with inspiration and cutting-edge findings from fields including neuroscience, social psychology, and behavioural economics, Are We Done Fighting? is an essential toolkit for activists, community and peace groups, and students and instructors working to build dialogue, understanding, and peace as the antidote to the politics of hate and division. AWARDS SILVER | 2019 Nautilus Book Awards: Social Change & Social Justice
Author : Thomas E. Brymer
Publisher : BookLocker.com, Inc.
Page : 530 pages
File Size : 44,54 MB
Release : 2022-10-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN :
Our democracy is now under attack from within and without as it has never been since the Civil War. Yet, the evidence is clear that Americans are, as a whole, civically illiterate, and woefully unprepared for the assault our democracy is undergoing. For Americans to be prepared to function effectively as constructive citizens in their democracy in the 21st century and beyond, they must be equipped with knowledge and a skill set that is not effectively taught today. Fighting for Democracy is a call to deconstruct our civics education in this country and reconstruct it to meet the complex needs and pressures our democracy faces today. Certainly, the civics of tomorrow must include continuing what we teach today about the structure, organization, and how (at least in theory) our government is supposed to function. But there is far, far more that must be taught to deal with the siege our democracy is now under. Fighting for Democracy provides a roadmap for improving our civic education so we can withstand this anti-democratic movement now underway here. We must teach Americans about servant leadership and how to recognize counterfeit leaders who wish to lead us with leadership styles that are toxic and antithetical to democracy including autocracy, fascism, kleptocracy, and populism. We must return to a national consensus as to the importance in a democracy of a free news media that is an arbiter of truth and not simply a funnel for one-sided biased opinions and editorials masquerading as factual news. Americans must relearn how to think critically, recognize major change in the public square, as well as readily identify when we are not being told the truth, are being gaslighted, and worse, becoming willing to accept conspiracy theories and radicalization of our political parties as being normative. We must gain a clearer understanding of the multi-dimensional concept of freedom, democratic norms and values, our history, as well as to once again value public service. We must reconnect with a love for the idea of democracy itself which includes a keen appreciation for the “glue” that holds it together- the common good. At the same time, we must rediscover why our Founders believed democracy, while sometimes “messy”, was ultimately the one form of government that could truly serve We the People and provide Americans with the best means possible for pursuing as a nation our hopes, dreams, our freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. All these concepts, ideas, truths, and more, are a must for Americans to know in order to be able to fight, and for us to keep, our democracy in today’s increasingly anti-democratic world. That is the purpose of Fighting for Democracy. Make no mistake about our democracy, We the People must learn now, and quickly, how to improve our civically literacy, including how to become better informed and more constructively engaged citizens. If we do not, we will not be able to effectively fight to keep our democracy and risk losing everything we have fought for since our nation’s birth. And American democracy is indeed worth fighting for- not just for us today, but most importantly for our children, grandchildren, and all future generations of Americans. Fighting for Democracy was written to equip us to do exactly that.
Author : Sidney Blumenthal
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 608 pages
File Size : 39,46 MB
Release : 2017-05-16
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1501153781
Explores how the sixteenth president rebounded from the disintegration of the Whig Party and took on the anti-Immigration party in Illinois to clear a path for a new Republican Party.
Author : John Dewey
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Page : 456 pages
File Size : 50,6 MB
Release : 1916
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN :
. Renewal of Life by Transmission. The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. Never does the stone attempt to react in such a way that it may maintain itself against the blow, much less so as to render the blow a contributing factor to its own continued action. While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it into means of its own further existence. If it cannot do so, it does not just split into smaller pieces (at least in the higher forms of life), but loses its identity as a living thing. As long as it endures, it struggles to use surrounding energies in its own behalf. It uses light, air, moisture, and the material of soil. To say that it uses them is to say that it turns them into means of its own conservation. As long as it is growing, the energy it expends in thus turning the environment to account is more than compensated for by the return it gets: it grows. Understanding the word "control" in this sense, it may be said that a living being is one that subjugates and controls for its own continued activity the energies that would otherwise use it up. Life is a self-renewing process through action upon the environment.
