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What made the United States what it is began long before a shot was fired at a redcoat in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1775. The theories of reading developed by John Locke were the means by which a revolutionary attitude toward authority was disseminated throughout the British colonies in North America.
Rather than a survey of political philosophy, this concise text focuses on the problem of developing a personal outlook toward government and political life.
Author : Stephen L. Carter Publisher : Harvard University Press Page : 184 pages File Size : 27,16 MB Release : 2009-07-01 Category : Law ISBN : 0674029240
Between loyalty and disobedience; between recognition of the law’s authority and realization that the law is not always right: In America, this conflict is historic, with results as glorious as the mass protests of the civil rights movement and as inglorious as the armed violence of the militia movement. In an impassioned defense of dissent, Stephen L. Carter argues for the dialogue that negotiates this conflict and keeps democracy alive. His book portrays an America dying from a refusal to engage in such a dialogue, a polity where everybody speaks, but nobody listens. The Dissent of the Governed is an eloquent diagnosis of what ails the American body politic—the unwillingness of people in power to hear disagreement unless forced to—and a prescription for a new process of response. Carter examines the divided American political character on dissent, with special reference to religion, identifying it in unexpected places, with an eye toward amending it before it destroys our democracy. At the heart of this work is a rereading of the Declaration of Independence that puts dissent, not consent, at the center of the question of the legitimacy of democratic government. Carter warns that our liberal constitutional ethos—the tendency to assume that the nation must everywhere be morally the same—pressures citizens to be other than themselves when being themselves would lead to disobedience. This tendency, he argues, is particularly hard on religious citizens, whose notion of community may be quite different from that of the sovereign majority of citizens. His book makes a powerful case for the autonomy of communities—especially but not exclusively religious—into which democratic citizens organize themselves as a condition for dissent, dialogue, and independence. With reference to a number of cases, Carter shows how disobedience is sometimes necessary to the heartbeat of our democracy—and how the distinction between challenging accepted norms and challenging the sovereign itself, a distinction crucial to the Declaration of Independence, must be kept alive if Americans are to progress and prosper as a nation.
In modern governance, "Consent of The Governed" is a cornerstone of democracy and political philosophy. This book explores how governments derive their authority from the people's will, impacting governance, accountability, and political participation. It’s crucial for understanding democratic theory and its practical applications. 1-Consent of the Governed-The foundation of government legitimacy through people's consent. 2-John Locke-Locke’s theories on government and natural rights that shaped democratic thought. 3-Political Philosophy-Insights into political philosophy and its impact on democratic principles. 4-Sovereignty-The concept of sovereignty and its relation to consent in governance. 5-Social Contract-How social contract theory defines the relationship between the governed and rulers. 6-U.S. Constitution-The Constitution as a reflection of consent and democratic governance. 7-Declaration of Independence-The Declaration’s role in articulating consent and self-governance principles. 8-Authority-The nature of political authority and its legitimacy through consent. 9-Natural vs. Legal Rights-Differentiating natural and legal rights within democratic theory. 10-Popular Sovereignty-The concept of popular sovereignty and its modern democratic application. 11-Divine Right vs. Democratic Consent-Evolving notions of political legitimacy. 12-Virginia Declaration of Rights-Its influence on American political thought and consent principles. 13-State of Nature-Implications of the state of nature for consensual governments. 14-Political Legitimacy-Dependence on the consent of the governed. 15-Two Treatises of Government-Locke’s impact on political philosophy and democratic theory. 16-Limited Government-Alignment of limited government with the concept of consent. 17-Compact Theory-Emphasis on voluntary agreements among the governed. 18-Right of Revolution-Its implications for political change in response to breaches of consent. 19-Voluntary Taxation-Role of voluntary taxation in democratic governance. 20-Popular Sovereignty in the U.S.-Manifestation in U.S. political practices and institutions. 21-Philosophy of Human Rights-Connection between human rights philosophy and the principle of consent. This book offers valuable insights into democratic principles and political philosophy, making it a vital addition to any political science library.
At an unsettled time for liberal democracy, with global eruptions of authoritarian and arbitrary rule, here is one of the first full-fledged philosophical accounts of what makes governments legitimate. What makes a government legitimate? The dominant view is that public officials have the right to rule us, even if they are unfair or unfit, as long as they gain power through procedures traceable to the consent of the governed. In this rigorous and timely study, Arthur Isak Applbaum argues that adherence to procedure is not enough: even a properly chosen government does not rule legitimately if it fails to protect basic rights, to treat its citizens as political equals, or to act coherently. How are we to reconcile every person’s entitlement to freedom with the necessity of coercive law? Applbaum’s answer is that a government legitimately governs its citizens only if the government is a free group agent constituted by free citizens. To be a such a group agent, a government must uphold three principles. The liberty principle, requiring that the basic rights of citizens be secured, is necessary to protect against inhumanity, a tyranny in practice. The equality principle, requiring that citizens have equal say in selecting who governs, is necessary to protect against despotism, a tyranny in title. The agency principle, requiring that a government’s actions reflect its decisions and its decisions reflect its reasons, is necessary to protect against wantonism, a tyranny of unreason. Today, Applbaum writes, the greatest threat to the established democracies is neither inhumanity nor despotism but wantonism, the domination of citizens by incoherent, inconstant, and incontinent rulers. A government that cannot govern itself cannot legitimately govern others.
Often dismissed as the rumblings of "the street," popular politics is where political modernity is being formed today, according to Partha Chatterjee. The rise of mass politics all over the world in the twentieth century led to the development of new techniques of governing population groups. On the one hand, the idea of popular sovereignty has gained wide acceptance. On the other hand, the proliferation of security and welfare technologies has created modern governmental bodies that administer populations, but do not provide citizens with an arena for democratic deliberation. Under these conditions, democracy is no longer government of, by, and for the people. Rather, it has become a world of power whose startling dimensions and unwritten rules of engagement Chatterjee provocatively lays bare. This book argues that the rise of ethnic or identity politics—particularly in the postcolonial world—is a consequence of new techniques of governmental administration. Using contemporary examples from India, the book examines the different forms taken by the politics of the governed. Many of these operate outside of the traditionally defined arena of civil society and the formal legal institutions of the state. This book considers the global conditions within which such local forms of popular politics have appeared and shows us how both community and global society have been transformed. Chatterjee's analysis explores the strategic as well as the ethical dimensions of the new democratic politics of rights, claims, and entitlements of population groups and permits a new understanding of the dynamics of world politics both before and after the events of September 11, 2001. The Politics of the Governed consists of three essays, originally given as the Leonard Hastings Schoff Lectures at Columbia University in November 2001, and four additional essays that complement and extend the analyses presented there. By combining these essays between the covers of a single volume, Chatterjee has given us a major and urgent work that provides a full perspective on the possibilities and limits of democracy in the postcolonial world.