Horn’s book provides a welcome remedy to the poisonous brew of intrigue and war that has distorted American politics in recent years. It brings back a time when the common interest was a guarantee of a better quality of life. It inspires us to work for a better society. For more information, read Horn’s Hornbook of Democracy Reviews. Here are the major themes of Horn’s Hornbook of Democracy:
Book Review
The Hornbook of Democracy contains essays about democratic principles. It is intended to be a guidebook for policy-makers and scholars in the future. Horn is a meticulous observer of detail and navigates through the toxic mix of intrigue, war, and evokes a time when the common good was a better way to live. The next issue will be available in September/October 2020. This is a fascinating work of political philosophy.
Fuller’s views
Roslyn Fuller’s political theory identifies a fundamental flaw in the current-day system of democracy. Mainstream political scientists use the law of unintended consequence to avoid reforming the legislative branch. However, radical Democrats question the feasibility and justification for a radical restructuring government. Fuller, however, avoids answering the question: Who will be the political agent to champion the new model and advocate it? The Hornbook of Democracy lacks any real examples of people trying to implement fuller democracy.
Fuller, on the other hand, disagrees with Paul Weller’s assertion that a “common citizen” must be a member or a part of the political majority for democracy to function. Fuller recognizes that many political institutions are based on a racialized and sexist ethos. However, his argument suggests this has been a feature in democratic politics for many centuries. Sheri Berman presents a similar argument in her book Journal of Democracy. She discusses the impact of expanding the franchise on civil liberties for those who are less fortunate.
In Defence of Democracy is an important book. Fuller, an Irish-Canadian writer unravels modern-day democracies’ attempts to abolish majority rule. Fuller also reveals that Donald Trump isn’t doing as much damage than many believe, and that elite self-righteousness really is the problem. Fuller believes that modern technology and ancient methods can help to revive democracy.
Sortition
Popular method of allocating political power in democratic societies is the theory of sortition. This is a method to avoid corruption and domination, which can happen when people seek out political office in their favor. It is a structural change that seeks to make society more equal by preventing extremes from overrepresenting. Sortition is not the best solution. This theory is still in development and cannot be applied to practice.
Although sortition was popularized in the western democracies once upon a time, corruption has been criticized for its potential. Because sortition cities were small, and because there wasn’t enough data about the population, this is why. Furthermore, in sortition cities, bargaining is used instead of deliberation, which might not be a good thing for normal politics. Fishkin’s theory about sortition is also based upon ancient Athens practices.
The modern Western liberal democracies are being criticized for their low voter turnout, high levels of political extremism, and polarization. Elections must ensure legitimacy and profit in the information age. Sortition may be an option in these situations. This review by Konstantinos Tsakiliotis gives insight into the political notion of sortition, and examines how sortition operates in different countries.