Download or read book The Essence of Democracy A Speech Etc written by Edward Watson Shore (Rt. Hon.) and published by . This book was released on 1966 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Strength of Democracy A Speech Etc written by Donald Marr NELSON and published by . This book was released on 1944 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Optimistic Leftist written by Ruy Teixeira and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Advances an analysis that should encourage progressives, be cautionary for conservatives, and engage and enlighten everyone who cares about America's political and economic future." —James Fallows, national correspondent, The Atlantic "A tonic—not because it will make you feel better, although it might, but because he makes a powerful, provocative and persuasive case that progressives are in a better position than they realize to make our world better." —E. J. Dionne Jr., author of Why the Right Went Wrong The words “optimism” and “the left” do not seem to go together very well these days. The dominant view on the left--reinforced by the election of Donald Trump--is as follows: (1) progress in today’s world has largely stopped and in many ways reversed; (2) the left is weak and at the mercy of a rapacious capitalism and a marauding right; and (3) the outlook for the future is bleak, with ordinary citizens suffering even more deprivation and the planet itself sliding inexorably toward catastrophe. But all these propositions are wrong. It is not the case that progress has stopped. Today, we live in a freer, more democratic, less violent and more prosperous world than we ever have before. It is not the case that the left is at the mercy of the right. The form of the left is changing but its numbers are strong and growing. It remains a vital force—the vital force--for reforming capitalism. And it is not the case that the future of humanity is bleak. The problems we face today are solvable and, moreover, are likely to be solved in the coming decades. Life for ordinary citizens should improve dramatically over the course of the 21st century. It is not just that these pessimistic propositions are wrong. They also do real harm to the left by undermining its appeal. Pessimism makes people less likely to believe in positive change, not more likely. It is time for the left to realize that their romance with pessimism is a bug not a feature of their current practice. There is no substitute for optimism and an economic climate that promotes optimism. The time has come, as Ruy Teixeira argues in this book, for the optimistic leftist.

Download or read book Democracy in America Complete written by Alexis de Tocqueville and published by Library of Alexandria. This book was released on 2020-09-28 with total page 1320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of conditions. I readily discovered the prodigious influence which this primary fact exercises on the whole course of society, by giving a certain direction to public opinion, and a certain tenor to the laws; by imparting new maxims to the governing powers, and peculiar habits to the governed. I speedily perceived that the influence of this fact extends far beyond the political character and the laws of the country, and that it has no less empire over civil society than over the Government; it creates opinions, engenders sentiments, suggests the ordinary practices of life, and modifies whatever it does not produce. The more I advanced in the study of American society, the more I perceived that the equality of conditions is the fundamental fact from which all others seem to be derived, and the central point at which all my observations constantly terminated. I then turned my thoughts to our own hemisphere, where I imagined that I discerned something analogous to the spectacle which the New World presented to me. I observed that the equality of conditions is daily progressing towards those extreme limits which it seems to have reached in the United States, and that the democracy which governs the American communities appears to be rapidly rising into power in Europe. I hence conceived the idea of the book which is now before the reader. It is evident to all alike that a great democratic revolution is going on amongst us; but there are two opinions as to its nature and consequences. To some it appears to be a novel accident, which as such may still be checked; to others it seems irresistible, because it is the most uniform, the most ancient, and the most permanent tendency which is to be found in history. Let us recollect the situation of France seven hundred years ago, when the territory was divided amongst a small number of families, who were the owners of the soil and the rulers of the inhabitants; the right of governing descended with the family inheritance from generation to generation; force was the only means by which man could act on man, and landed property was the sole source of power. Soon, however, the political power of the clergy was founded, and began to exert itself: the clergy opened its ranks to all classes, to the poor and the rich, the villein and the lord; equality penetrated into the Government through the Church, and the being who as a serf must have vegetated in perpetual bondage took his place as a priest in the midst of nobles, and not infrequently above the heads of kings. The different relations of men became more complicated and more numerous as society gradually became more stable and more civilized. Thence the want of civil laws was felt; and the order of legal functionaries soon rose from the obscurity of the tribunals and their dusty chambers, to appear at the court of the monarch, by the side of the feudal barons in their ermine and their mail. Whilst the kings were ruining themselves by their great enterprises, and the nobles exhausting their resources by private wars, the lower orders were enriching themselves by commerce. The influence of money began to be perceptible in State affairs. The transactions of business opened a new road to power, and the financier rose to a station of political influence in which he was at once flattered and despised. Gradually the spread of mental acquirements, and the increasing taste for literature and art, opened chances of success to talent; science became a means of government, intelligence led to social power, and the man of letters took a part in the affairs of the State. The value attached to the privileges of birth decreased in the exact proportion in which new paths were struck out to advancement. In the eleventh century nobility was beyond all price; in the thirteenth it might be purchased; it was conferred for the first time in 1270; and equality was thus introduced into the Government by the aristocracy itself.

Download or read book The Courage of Hopelessness written by Slavoj Zizek and published by Melville House. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maverick philosopher Slavoj Zizek returns to explore today's ideological, political and economic battles—and asks whether radical change is possible In these troubled times, even the most pessimistic diagnosis of our future ends with an uplifting hint that things might not be as bad as all that, that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Yet, argues Slavoj Zizek, it is only when we have admitted to ourselves that our situation is completely hopeless—that the light at the end of the tunnel is in fact the headlight of a train—that fundamental change can be brought about. Surveying the various challenges in the world today, from mass migration and geopolitical tensions to terrorism, the explosion of rightist populism and the emergence of new radical politics—all of which, in their own way, express the impasses of global capitalism—Zizek explores whether there still remains the possibility for genuine change. Today, he proposes, the only true question is,or should be, this: do we endorse the predominant acceptance of capitalism as fact of human nature, or does today's capitalism contain strong enough antagonisms to prevent its infinite reproduction? Can we, he asks, move beyond the failure of socialism, and beyond the current wave of populist rage, and initiate radical change before the train hits? “Zizek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized, and is master of the counterintuitive observation” —The New Yorker

Download or read book Democracy and Education written by John Dewey and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 1916 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: . 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.

Download or read book Introducing Democracy written by David Beetham and published by UNESCO. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a selection of questions and answers covering the principles of democracy, including human rights, free and fair elections, open and accountable government, and civil society.

Download or read book Jacques Derrida and the Humanities written by Tom Cohen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a trans-disciplinary collection dedicated to the work of Jacques Derrida and his work in the humanities.

Download or read book Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory written by Michael Wertheimer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ideas of Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), a founder of Gestalt theory, are discussed in almost all general books on the history of psychology and in most introductory textbooks on psychology. This intellectual biography of Wertheimer is the first book-length treatment of a scholar whose ideas are recognized as of central importance to fields as varied as social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, problem solving, art, and visual neuroscience. King and Wertheimer trace the origins of Gestalt thought, demonstrating its continuing importance in fifteen chapters and several supplements to these chapters. They begin by reviewing Wertheimer's ancestry, family, childhood in central Europe, and his formal education. They elaborate on his activities during the period in which he developed the ideas that were later to become central to Gestalt psychology, documenting the formal emergence of this school of thought and tracing its development during World War I. The maturation of the Gestalt school at the University of Berlin during 1922-1929 is discussed in detail. Wertheimer's everyday life in America during his last decade is well documented, based in part on his son's recollections. The early reception of Gestalt theory in the United States is examined, with extensive references to articles in professional journals and periodicals. Wertheimer's relationships and interaction with three prominent psychologists of the time, Edwin Boring, Clark Hull, and Alexander Luria, are discussed based on previously unpublished correspondence. The final chapters discuss Wertheimer's essays on democracy, freedom, ethics, and truth, and detail personal challenges Wertheimer faced during his last years. His major work, published after his death, is Productive Thinking. Its reception is examined, and a concluding chapter considers recent responses to Max Wertheimer and Gestalt theory. This intellectual biography will be of interest to psychologists and readers inte

Download or read book Examiner written by and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 606 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Varieties of Anti Fascism written by N. Copsey and published by Springer. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines the varieties of anti-fascism in inter-war Britain. Ordinarily anti-fascism is defined in terms of anti-fascist activism. By extending the scope of the concept, this book breaks new ground. Chapters examine political parties, the state, the media, women, the churches, and intellectuals.

Download or read book Speeches Concerning Politics and Government During the Civil War Period written by and published by . This book was released on 1864 with total page 828 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Democracy and Justice written by Agnes Czajka and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-11-03 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the possibilities offered by Derrida’s work on democracy for interpreting contemporary struggles over democracy in Turkey. The relationship between democracy and justice seems of unquestionable importance to Derrida, with democracy and justice held in tension by deconstruction. Agnes Czajka offers a qualified endorsement of a ‘just democracy’, grounded in the possibilities opened up by reading Derrida’s work on democracy together with his work on justice. She posits that one way of imagining democracy-to-come might be to imagine it as a ‘just democracy’, or one poised at the intersection of the aporia of democracy and the (non)imperative to justice. In the particular context of contemporary struggles over democracy in Turkey, she also explores what such comportment toward a just democracy (or a justice of/in democracy) might look like in the context of that ‘particular’ democracy.

Download or read book Maurice Bishop s Line of March Speech September 13 1982 written by Maurice Bishop and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Literature written by David Davies and published by Broadview Press. This book was released on 2008-03-06 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What, if anything, distinguishes works of fiction such as Hamlet and Madame Bovary from biographies, news reports, or office bulletins? Is there a “right” way to interpret fiction? Should we link interpretation to the author’s intention? Ought our moral unease with works that betray sadistic, sexist, or racist elements lower our judgments of their aesthetic worth? And what, when it comes down to it, is literature? The readings in this collection bring together some of the most important recent work in the philosophy of literature by philosophers such as Martha Nussbaum, John Searle, and David Lewis. The readings explore philosophical issues such as the nature of fiction, the status of the author, the act of interpretation, the role of the emotions in the act of reading, the aesthetic and moral value of literary works, and other topics central to the philosophy of literature.

Download or read book Human Rights Democracy and Governance written by C. K. Lal and published by Pearson Education India. This book was released on 2010 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human Rights, Democracy and Governance is one of the volumes of the series titled 'Imagine a New South Asia', presented by ActionAid International Asia. These volumes are based on the study by INSA-Imagine a New South Asia-a citizens' initiative to promote more regional cooperation for a collective future with a common vision for all the countries of this region. This volume emphasizes on unity in South Asia based on liberty and fraternity. It acknowledges that the countries of this region are still enmeshed in post-colonial struggles of identity, which makes the idea of such a unity appear ra.

Download or read book Rule of Law vs Majoritarian Democracy written by Giuliano Amato and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is more paradoxically democratic than a people exercising their vote against the harbingers of the rule of law and democracy? What happens when the will of the people and the rule of law are at odds? Some commentators note that the presence of illiberal political movements in the public arena of many Western countries demonstrates that their democracy is so inclusive and alive that it comprehends and countenances even undemocratic forces and political agendas. But what if, on the contrary, these were the signs of the deconsolidation of democracy instead of its good health? What if democratically elected regimes were to ignore constitutional principles representing the rule of law and the limits of their power? With contributions from judges and scholars from different backgrounds and nationalities this book explores the framework in which this tension currently takes place in several Western countries by focusing on four key themes: - The Rule of Law: presenting a historical and theoretical reconstruction of the evolution of the Rule of Law; - The People: dealing with a set of problems around the notion of 'people' and the forces claiming to represent their voice; - Democracy and its enemies: tackling a variety of phenomena impacting on the traditional democratic balance of powers and institutional order; - Elected and Non-Elected: focusing on the juxtaposition between judges (and, more generally, non-representative bodies) and the people's representation.