Description
Book SynopsisThe question at the center of the seventeenth edition of THE IRONY OF DEMOCRACY is How democratic is American society? While most American government books address politics from a pluralist perspective (the theory that many groups of people share power in the United States), this book approaches the subject using an elitist perspective (the theory that only a tiny number of people make the decisions that shape our lives). By exposing the irony between elitism and democratic theory and modern pluralism, this eye-opening book helps readers understand why the U.S. government works as it does.
Table of Contents1. The Irony of Democracy. 2. The Elite Consensus of the Founding Fathers: U.S. Political Principles. 3. Elites in America. 4. Masses in the United States. 5. The Media: Elite-Mass Communication. 6. Elections, Parties, and Democracy. 7. Elites and Organized Interests. 8. Congress: The Legislative Elite. 9. The Presidency. 10. Courts: Elites in Black Robes. 11. The Federal Bureaucracy. 12. Federalism: State and Community Elites. 13. Civil Rights: Diversifying the Elite. 14. The United States as Global Elite. Epilogue: What Can Students Do? Appendix: The Constitution of the United States of America. Glossary.
