Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy
Editorial Reviews
Review
New York Times Book Review : This [is an] elegant analysis of democratic theory...
Review
Judge Posner offers a vigorous and extended contemporary elaboration of Churchill's aphorism that democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others. He surveys much recent literature on the subject, and as might be expected, he does not favor high-minded participatory and deliberative versions of democratic theory. But overall his is a much more robust defense of existing democratic institutions than has been usual in recent work by those who view politics from the perspective of economics and public choice theory. He also expands in an interesting way on the important pragmatic account of adjudication developed in his earlier writings. The book represents a provocative and readable stretch of the authors ongoing reflections on the intellectual scene: the economist/jurist/judge at the breakfast table.
--Thomas Grey, Stanford Law School
This hook is sure to provoke attention to the topic of democratic theory. Among the book's many strengths are the discussions of pragmatism, philosophical and everyday; Dewey on democracy, experimentalism, and distributed intelligence; Schumpeter on democracy; John Marshall's greatness; Kelsen's legal theory and, to a lesser extent because it is a lesser theory, Hayek's legal theory; and the anti-trust theory of judicial decision on the democratic process. These seemingly disparate topics belong together so well that the book sustains reading straight through, as is seldom true of academic works.
--Russell Hardin, Stanford University
Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy
Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy,Richard A. Posner,Harvard University Press,0674018494,Constitutional,General,History & Theory - General,Law,Legal Reference / Law Profession,Legal System,Political Ideologies - Democracy,Politics / Current Events,Foundations of law,Law / General,Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law,Political structures: democracy,USA
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