[D66] Against Democracy

[René Oudeweg]

Philosophy <https://press.princeton.edu/subjects/philosophy>


  Against Democracy: New Preface

  * Jason Brennan <https://press.princeton.edu/taxonomy/term/13201>

  * Preface by Jason Brennan

*A bracingly provocative challenge to one of our most cherished ideas
and institutions*


    Paperback

<https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178493/against-democracy>
<https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178493/against-democracy>


Price:
    $19.95 / £14.99 
ISBN:

Published:
    Sep 26, 2017 
Copyright:
    2016 
Pages:
    312 
Size:
    5 x 8 in.


Most people believe democracy is a uniquely just form of government.
They believe people have the right to an equal share of political power.
And they believe that political participation is good for us—it empowers
us, helps us get what we want, and tends to make us smarter, more
virtuous, and more caring for one another. These are some of our most
cherished ideas about democracy. But Jason Brennan says they are all wrong.

In this trenchant book, Brennan argues that democracy should be judged
by its results—and the results are not good enough. Just as defendants
have a right to a fair trial, citizens have a right to competent
government. But democracy is the rule of the ignorant and the
irrational, and it all too often falls short. Furthermore, no one has a
fundamental right to any share of political power, and exercising
political power does most of us little good. On the contrary, a wide
range of social science research shows that political participation and
democratic deliberation actually tend to make people worse—more
irrational, biased, and mean. Given this grim picture, Brennan argues
that a new system of government—_epistocracy, the rule of the
knowledgeable_—may be better than democracy, and that it’s time to
experiment and find out.

A challenging critique of democracy and the first sustained defense of
the rule of the knowledgeable, /Against Democracy/ is essential reading
for scholars and students of politics across the disciplines.

Featuring a new preface that situates the book within the current
political climate and discusses other alternatives beyond epistocracy,
/Against Democracy/ is a challenging critique of democracy and the first
sustained defense of the rule of the knowledgeable.
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