John Gastil conventional assumptions about public opinion elections, and political expression in this persuasive treatise on how to revitalise the system of representative democracy in the United States. He argues that American citizens have difficulty developing clear policy interests, seldom eject unrepresentative public officials, and lack a strong public voice. Our growing awareness of a flawed electoral system is causing increased public cynicism and apathy. The most popular reforms, however, will neither restore ...
Read More
John Gastil conventional assumptions about public opinion elections, and political expression in this persuasive treatise on how to revitalise the system of representative democracy in the United States. He argues that American citizens have difficulty developing clear policy interests, seldom eject unrepresentative public officials, and lack a strong public voice. Our growing awareness of a flawed electoral system is causing increased public cynicism and apathy. The most popular reforms, however, will neither restore public trust nor improve representation. Term limits and campaign finance reforms will increase turnover, but they provide no mechanism for improved deliberation and accountability. Drawing on research with citizen juries and deliberative polling, the author proposes improving our current process by convening randomly selected panels of citizens to deliberate for several days on ballot measures and candidates. Voters would learn about the judgements of these citizen panels through voting guides and possibly information printed on official ballots. The result would be a more representative government and a less cynical public. America has a long history of experimentation with electoral systems, and the proposals in this book merit serious consideration and debate.
Read Less
Add this copy of By Popular Demand: Revitalizing Representative to cart. $3.59, good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by University of California Press.
Add this copy of By Popular Demand: Revitalizing Representative to cart. $9.24, very good condition, Sold by Books From California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Simi Valley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by University of California Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. The dust jacket is missing. The copy shows minor external wear, but is in otherwise good condition. Very Clean Copy-Over 500, 000 Internet Orders Filled.
Add this copy of By Popular Demand to cart. $51.17, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by University of California Press.