What is democracy?

In this sequel to A Critique of Modernity, Alain Touraine questions the social and cultural content of democracy today. At a time when state power is being increasingly eroded by the economic might of transnational capital, what possible value can we ascribe to a democratic idea that is defined mere...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Touraine, Alain
Other Authors: Macey, David 1949-2011
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Boulder, Colo. Westview Press 1997
Subjects:
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090 |a JC 421  |b .T7313 1997 
100 1 |a Touraine, Alain 
240 1 0 |a Qu'est-ce-que la démocratie?  |l English 
245 1 0 |a What is democracy?  |c Alain Touraine ; translated by David Macey 
260 |a Boulder, Colo.  |b Westview Press  |c 1997 
300 |a ix, 224 p.  |b ill.  |c 24 cm 
500 |a Translation of: Qu'est-ce-que la démocratie? 
504 |a Includes bibliographical references and index 
505 0 |a 1. A New Idea -- 2. Human Rights, Representation, and Citizenship -- 3. Limitations on Power -- 4. Representative Political Actors -- 5. Citizenship -- 6. Republicans and Liberals -- 7. Opening Up a Public Space -- 8. The Politics of the Subject -- 9. Recomposing the World -- 10. Modernization or Development? -- 11. Transforming Old into New -- 12. Democratization in the East and the South? 
520 |a In this sequel to A Critique of Modernity, Alain Touraine questions the social and cultural content of democracy today. At a time when state power is being increasingly eroded by the economic might of transnational capital, what possible value can we ascribe to a democratic idea that is defined merely as a set of guarantees against the totalitarian state?If democracy is to survive in the postcommunist world, Touraine argues, it must accomplish two urgent goals: It must somehow protect the power of the nation-state at the same time as it limits that power (for only the state has sufficient means to counterbalance the global corporate wielders of money and information); and it must reconcile social diversity with social unity and individual liberty with integration.This is not merely a philosophical problem but a dilemma whose resolution will dramatically affect the immediate future of people everywhere. If we want a resolution in democracy's favor, then it is time, in Touraine's view, for us to redefine democracy in terms of active intervention rather than mere passive institution. To preserve the power and effectiveness of our states and societies, we must make visible strides-and soon-away from a politics of particularity and toward the integration and balancing of women and minorities, of immigrants, of rich and poor. If our states become too weakened, too debased by the politics of competing identities and interest groups, we will one day find ourselves without the means to protect the very values we believe we are fighting to uphold. 
650 0 |a Democracy 
700 1 |a Macey, David  |d 1949-2011 
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