Description
Book SynopsisIn this study of democracy and its critics, the author debunks liberalism, arguing that its exaggerated ideals of authenticity, unity and community have deflected attention from the pervasive incompetence of the rule of experts. Instead, it emphasizes common interests rather than narrow disputes.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: The Yankee Way to Knowledge Pt. I: The Public and Its Problems: One More Time 1: Authenticity and the Rhetoric of Trauma 2: Romancing the Gesellschaft: Community and the Fallacy of Common Ground 3: Commensuration and Unificationism 4: Foucault's Trap 5: Pluralism, the Public, and the Problem of Knowledge 6: Democracy in America: A Thought Experiment Pt. II: Discourse across Differences 7: Epistemics 8: The Uses of Argument Fields 9: Fields as Organizations 10: A Theory of Presumption 11: Desperately Seeking Dewey 12: Epilogue: A Rhetoric for Modern Democracy Bibliography Index