Democracy for realists : why elections do not produce responsive government / Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels.

By:

Achen, Christopher H, 1946-

Contributor(s):

Bartels, Larry M. (Larry Martin), 1956-

Language: English Series: Princeton studies in political behaviorPublication details: Princeton ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, 2017.Description: xvi, 400 pages illustrations ; 21 cmISBN:

9780691178240
1400888743

Subject(s):

LOC classification:

JF 1001 A177d 2017

Contents:

Preface -- Democratic ideals and realities -- The elusive mandate: elections and the mirage of popular control -- Tumbling down into a democratical republick: "Pure democracy" and the pitfalls of popular control -- A rational God of vengeance and of reward? : the logic of retrosprective accountability -- Blind retrospection: electoral resposes to droughts, floods, and shark attacks -- Musical chairs: economic voting and the specious present -- A chicken in every pot: ideology and retrosprection in the Great Depression -- The very basis of reasons: groups, social identities, and political psychology -- Partisan hearts and spleens: social identities and political change -- It feels like we're thinking: the rationalizing voter -- Groups and power: toward a realist theory of democracy -- Appendix: Retrospective voting as selection and sanctioning -- Afterword to the paperback edition.

Summary: Democracy for realists" assails the romantic folk-theory at the heart of contemporary thinking about democratic politics and government, and offers a provocative alternative view grounded in the actual human nature of democratic citizens. Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels deploy a wealth of social-scientific evidence, including ingenious original analyses of topics ranging from abortion politics and budget deficits to the Great Depression and shark attacks, to show that the familiar ideal of thoughtful citizens steering the ship of state from the voting booth is fundamentally misguided. They demonstrate that voters--even those who are well informed and politically engaged--mostly choose parties and candidates on the basis of social identities and partisan loyalties, not political issues. They also show that voters adjust their policy views and even their perceptions of basic matters of fact to match those loyalties. When parties are roughly evenly matched, elections often turn on irrelevant or misleading considerations such as economic spurts or downturns beyond the incumbents' control; the outcomes are essentially random. Thus, voters do not control the course of public policy, even indirectly. Achen and Bartels argue that democratic theory needs to be founded on identity groups and political parties, not on the preferences of individual voters. Now with new analysis of the 2016 elections, Democracy for Realists provides a powerful challenge to conventional thinking, pointing the way toward a fundamentally different understanding of the realities and potential of democratic government.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Home library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Libro	Biblioteca Juan Bosch	Biblioteca Juan Bosch	Ciencias Sociales	Ciencias Sociales (3er. Piso)	JF 1001 A177d 2017 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		00000188932

Preface --
Democratic ideals and realities --
The elusive mandate: elections and the mirage of popular control --
Tumbling down into a democratical republick: "Pure democracy" and the pitfalls of popular control --
A rational God of vengeance and of reward? : the logic of retrosprective accountability --
Blind retrospection: electoral resposes to droughts, floods, and shark attacks --
Musical chairs: economic voting and the specious present --
A chicken in every pot: ideology and retrosprection in the Great Depression --
The very basis of reasons: groups, social identities, and political psychology --
Partisan hearts and spleens: social identities and political change --
It feels like we're thinking: the rationalizing voter --
Groups and power: toward a realist theory of democracy --
Appendix: Retrospective voting as selection and sanctioning --
Afterword to the paperback edition.

Democracy for realists" assails the romantic folk-theory at the heart of contemporary thinking about democratic politics and government, and offers a provocative alternative view grounded in the actual human nature of democratic citizens. Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels deploy a wealth of social-scientific evidence, including ingenious original analyses of topics ranging from abortion politics and budget deficits to the Great Depression and shark attacks, to show that the familiar ideal of thoughtful citizens steering the ship of state from the voting booth is fundamentally misguided. They demonstrate that voters--even those who are well informed and politically engaged--mostly choose parties and candidates on the basis of social identities and partisan loyalties, not political issues. They also show that voters adjust their policy views and even their perceptions of basic matters of fact to match those loyalties. When parties are roughly evenly matched, elections often turn on irrelevant or misleading considerations such as economic spurts or downturns beyond the incumbents' control; the outcomes are essentially random. Thus, voters do not control the course of public policy, even indirectly. Achen and Bartels argue that democratic theory needs to be founded on identity groups and political parties, not on the preferences of individual voters. Now with new analysis of the 2016 elections, Democracy for Realists provides a powerful challenge to conventional thinking, pointing the way toward a fundamentally different understanding of the realities and potential of democratic government.

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