Democracy On Trial [Paperback]

Jean Bethke Elshtain (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0465016170 | ISBN-13: 978-0465016174 | Publication Date: December 22, 1995

Even as Russia and the other former Soviet republics struggle to redefine themselves in democratic terms, our own democracy if faltering, not flourishing. We confront one another as aggrieved groups rather than as free citizens. Cynicism, boredom, apathy, despair, violence—these have become coin of the civic realm. They are dark signs of the times and a warning that democracy may not be up to the task of satisfying the yearnings it unleashes—yearnings for freedom, fairness, and equality.In this timely, thought-provoking book, one of America’s leading political philosophers and public intellectuals questions whether democracy will prove sufficiently robust and resilient to survive the century. Beginning with a catalogue of our discontents, Jean Bethke Elshtain asks what has gone wrong and why. She draws on examples from America and other parts of the world as she explores the politics of race, ethnicity, and gender identity—controversial, and essential, political issues of our day. Insisting that there is much to cherish in our democratic traditions, she concludes that democracy involves a permanent clash between conservatism and progressive change.Elshtain distinguishes her own position from those of both the Left and the Right, demonstrating why she has been called one of our most interesting and independent civic thinkers. Responding to critics of democracy, ancient and modern, Elshtain urges us to have the courage of our most authentic democratic convictions. We need, she insists, both hope and a sense of reality.Writing her book for citizens, not experts, Elshtain aims to open up a dialogue and to move us beyond sterile sectarian disputes. Democracy on Trial will generate wide debate and controversy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"We are in danger of losing democractic civil society," warns Elshtain (Women and War), who teaches ethics at the University of Chicago, and the danger comes not from any foreign power but from ourselves. In five brief chapters that began as a lecture series, she offers stimulating but somewhat sketchy and discursive observations from a perspective unconstrained by ideology. Elshtain laments the fragmentation of family and community, criticizing both Left and Right for shortsighted solutions. She observes that leaving controversial decisions like abortion to the courts rather than public debate leads to "a politics of resentment." The "collapse of the personal into the political," she argues, provokes excesses in the way women claim victimization and gays claim government sanction. She deplores a multiculturalism that brings about identity politics rather than critical reflection. Elshtain believes in democracy's promise, citing examples from the American civil rights movement and dissidents in Argentina and Eastern Europe; we must engage such traditions, she concludes, to address our deficits and pursue our ideals.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

By a University of Chicago professor, this set of lectures makes a generalized inspection of American democracy. The data and anecdotes are minimal; the discussion occurs on the elevated plane of philosophy and asks: What hath been wrought by the combined revolutionary growth in personal rights and the redistributionist/therapeutic state? As the title implies, and a section on Hobbes makes explicit, the Leviathan is upon us, and cynicism runs rampant as people feel powerless against the government or vulnerable to litigious rights-bearing citizens. "Nervous" about this, Elshtain scores various manifestations of incivility (crime, abortion battles, generations on welfare) that have grown out of the fusion of the private with the public spheres. It would be easy to label her a neo-con, but Elshtain has solid feminist credentials (e.g., Women and War, 1988) and hinges much of her argument on the totalistic implications of the feminist slogan "the personal is political." Readers sharing such second thoughts about that phrase will find this work a cogent critique and a gloomy warning of democracy's decline as a philosophy. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (December 22, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465016170
• ISBN-13: 978-0465016174
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #606,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The quintessential book today on responsible citizenship, December 25, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Democracy On Trial (Paperback)

Jean Elshtain is Spellman Professor of Philosophy and Political Ethics at The University of Chicago. Her book presents a history of views on democracy in contemporary and prior times. One of the most interesting examples of this feature of the book is her theater debate between Plato and Lincoln. Drawing on her knowledge of Plato and Lincoln, Elshtain pits Plato's argument against democracy against Lincoln's argument for it. Lincoln was committed to the peoples' capacities to make decisions necessary for a democracy to function, even where other approaches might be more efficient for choosing a path to follow. Elshtain also makes the case for compromising, behavior that is necessary to a form of governance in which citizens of diverse viewpoints must reconcile differences to make government work for the society. The book is very timely. It puts a large perspective about the recently concluded election in which President Clinton's advocates argued that he is a genius at compromisae, and his opponents stated that he vascilates too much.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On the mark!, July 11, 2001

By 

"carlspeigle" (Brentwood, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Democracy On Trial (Paperback)

Jean Elshtain's concerns and critiques of present social problems are stunningly (and chillingly) accurate. Even five years after its initial publication, the power remains. Though I hope the recent protests in Seattle and Quebec forecast an end to the civic culture of "exhaustion" about which Elshtain speaks (and Nirvana sings), the danger always lurks. The ultimate message is clear: We can never afford to be cavalier about the protection of our democratic institutions. Elshtain closes the book by posing a problem: "Democracy is an unpredictable enterprise. Our patience with its ups and downs, its debates and compromises, its very antiauthoritarianism, may wane as we become inured to more and more control---all in the name of freedom. We must be on guard. Do we care about the world enough to stay thus engaged?" All who answer "yes" should thus engage Elshtain.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars pep talk, January 14, 2001

By 

jeremiah (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Democracy On Trial (Paperback)

Throughout her book, Elshtain is letting her communitarian viewpoint shine through. She wants to revive our sense of responsibility and rid our nation of its cynicism and lack of faith in politics. Democracy to her is a civic good. It is an everyday demeanor citizens portray as they work towards improving their communities, their cities, and the nation as a whole. "Think global, act local" would be an accurate representation of this ideology. Elshtain is crying out to the citizen at the heart of all of us to get involved, not allow the government to worsen the problem, and show some responsibility and inform ourselves. Her book is a locker room pep talk, trying to fire up the troops for battle again.