Description
Book SynopsisTo some, the word populism suggests the tyranny of the mob; to others, it suggests a xenophobic nativism. It is often even considered conducive to (if not simply identical to) fascism. In Democratic Theory Naturalized: The Foundations of Distilled Populism, Walter Horn uses his theory of "CHOICE Voluntarism” to offer solutions to some of the most perplexing problems in democratic theory and distill populism to its core premise: giving people the power to govern themselves without the constraints imposed by those on the left or the right. Beginning with explanations of what it means to vote and what makes one society better off than another, Horn analyzes what makes for fair aggregation and appropriate, deliberative representation. Through his examination of the American government, Horn suggests solutions to contemporary problems such as gerrymandering, immigration control, and campaign finance, and offers answers to age-old questions like why dissenters should obey the majority and who should have the right to vote in various elections.
Table of ContentsChapter One: Axioms, Paradoxes, and Alleged Deficits of Democracy
Chapter Two: Individual Values Naturalized I: Objective Voluntarism
Chapter Three: Individual Values Naturalized II: The More Good, the Better
Chapter Four: Equal People or Equal Votes?
Chapter Five: Who May Vote I: Interest or Inhabitancy?
Chapter Six: Who May Vote II: Residence, Age Criminality, and Competence
Chapter Seven: Votes and Their Aggregation I: Majority Rule and Majoritarianism
Chapter Eight: Votes and Their Aggregation II: Minority Representation and How it Must be Combined with Majority Rule
Chapter Nine: Political Representation I: Direct Participation, Delegation, or Controlled Trusteeship?
Chapter Ten: Political Representation II: Deliberation, Camerality, Term Limits and Judicial Review of Legislative Procedures
Chapter Eleven: A Stouter, but More Minimalistic Constitution: Other Teachings of Naturalized Democratic Theory
Chapter Twelve: Last Words on Distilled Populism: Objections and Responses
