Customer Reviews

On Democracy (Yale Nota Bene)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Given that Professor Dahl has written numerous books on democracy and is considered an expert in the field, "On Democracy" is surprisingly uninteresting. The book covers various aspects of democracy (history, preconditions, systems of government, elections, and its relationship to capitalism) superficially. With the exception of a few (very occasional) facts, the book provides little beyond what an educated person with an interest in democracy (e.g., college and reads the newspaper) already knows.

Part of the problem is the writing: it is meandering, thus the book's 200 pages are not enough to go into any issue in depth. Part of the problem is a lack of focus, for example, Dahl spends several pages trying to show that assembly based democracy is not practical for large populations (which should be obvious), while not a single page on how democracies in practice assess the opinions of large populations (e.g., polling, districting, etc.).

A deeper problem may simply be that Dahl is a political "scientist". Law and economics seem to have long since stripped polisci of logic and empiricism, both of which are missing here.

Why two stars (instead of one)? The book is well organized and does provide a framework for thinking about democracy; Dahl just never develops it.

I read this as a precursor to reading other works regarding the challenges facing democracies. Dahl's book is written for the general reader, the beginner, someone unfamiliar with the subject, or a student who has been away from the subject for a while and wants a broad, relatively easy reading survey of the topics and issues facing democracies. It is written not for the scholar but for the informed lay person. It goes down easily in several metro commutes and even worked as bed time reading. It is also a nice calm look at issues that can become very heated in the press and media. A several page mention of the uniqueness of India, the world's most populous democracy, has also triggered my latent interest in following up on that topic as well.

The most concise, logical and authoritative text "On Democracy." If you are confused about democracy in theory and/or practice, this book can help you out!

I really liked the way Dahl describes the origins of democratic thought and practices, the necessary conditions for an ideal democracy, the necessary institutions for an actual democracy, pro's and con's of parliamentary and presidential democracies and finally of increasing relevance, the double-edge sworded relationship between market capitalism and democracy.

It's the perfect guide to bring together and give shape to your existing and confused ideas. The only criticism I can offer about the text is its obvious Western bias. Even though modern representative democracy was no doubt shaped in Europe and North America, the author either intentionally or out of ignorance did not give credit and/or mention to the existence of ancient democratic practices in the villages of India and other indigenous peoples of the world.

Nevertheless, a fantastic, though rather dry read. It's money well spent.

Tremendous breadth and perspective on the major political dilemmas of our time from a wise scholar of the academy and citizen of the world. Everyone from experts to laypersons can enjoy, understand, and gain from Dahl's insights and characterizations regarding the fundamental political dilemmas of our time. Rarely, does such a combination of scholarly erudition and simple prose ever come along. I am greatful to Robert Dahl for contributing and elevating political discourse here and around the world with this book. Please read it if you are remotely interested in the politics of any country and the politics of the world. You can probably read it in one long sitting.

On another level, this book will forever remain the textual staple of the "Introduction to Comparative Government Courses" I teach.

This review does not mean that I agree with Dahl on all his positions it just means that I think his book is important.

This book is a provocative, informative, prudent, understated, and insightful explanation of the world's post-Soviet political era. (In this respect, Dahl's book is much better than Francis Fukuyama's ridiculously overstated, criminially impractical, triumphantly-and-arrogantly-toned treatise on "the end of the history." And guess what? Dahl's book is much shorter.)

_On Democracy_ is not a very joyful book to read. It is rather dry and doesn't seem to want to create much controversy in the things it says. However, it is mostly accurate and does a fairly good job of laying out the basics (and I mean the very basics) of democratic theory, as well as mapping a few of the different ways in which democracy is actually practiced in various countries. If you are relatively familiar with this sort of material, this book will not provide you with any new insights. But for someone just starting to examine the nature of political beliefs, I can imagine that this may be helpful. If nothing else, it will probably be handy as a sort of quick reference book.

Simple and clean; a great review after years away from school. A great start for that child who has a paper due for school. This essay left me curious and wanting to learn more about the different forms of democracy used around the world. If there is one drawback, it is that some of the best further reading suggestions are no longer available in print, or were not published in the U. S.

In his book, "On Democracy," Dahl begins with a very interesting discussion of the various forms of democracy as experienced by earlier democratic states. He goes on to examine the meaning of democracy and show how it is interpreted by states through history. Dahl asserts that democracy is like an association with similar specific goals, whose members decide to make a constitution.

Dahl raises interesting discussion points by posing such questions as, "who are the wisest and why should they have authority over the others...?". He then details ten advantages produced by democracies. After looking at equalities and competences offered by democracies, he focuses on the institutions necessary for functional democracies. He compares and contrasts different democracies, pointing out, that England does not have a written constitution nor a Bill of Rights. He then looks at legislatures and the presidential and parliamentary systems of executive power. Dahl examines the favorable and unfavorable conditions of democracy by outlining five eseential conditions that must exist for democracy to occur, and explaining for example, why the United States might interfere with an emerging democratic state (U.S. business/ national interests).

Dahl concludes his book with a look at why market capitalism might hurt, or help, democracies. This is particularly interesting because Dahl almost effortlessly separates two issues which are so commonly linked together.

This is a straight forward read that covers a lot of information in a relatively concise book. Recommended: 4 stars out of 5.

Robert Dahl is one of the most respected figures in the study of politics. He has authored some of the most important works in political science, such as "Who Governs?" This little volume is meant as an accessible work that informed nonacademics can profit by reading. In that endeavor, he is pretty successful.

This volume explores a number of key issues: the origins and development of democracy, the nature of ideal democracy, the nature of actual democracies in practice, and conditions that are more favorable or unfavorable to nurturance of democracy.

The book begins with a very nice history of democracy. He begins with the Mediterranean region, with classical Greece, the Roman Republic, and Italian city-states after 1100 AD. He also considers other possible exemplars, from local assemblies among the Vikings, regional assemblies in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Of course, he considers the development of Parliament in England, as well.

He moves on, in the next section to inquire about the ideal form of democracy. He sees five criteria for democracy: effective participation, voting equality, enlightened understanding by citizens, access to the agenda of issues available for decision making, and inclusion of all adults. These are, indeed, imposing criteria, and actual democracies do not necessarily meet these ideals.

His believes that the practical (as opposed to ideal) form of democracy is what he calls "polyarchy." It includes characteristics such as: elected officials; free, fair, and frequent elections; freedom of expression; access to alternative sources of information; associational autonomy; inclusive citizenship.

In the final portion of the book, he notes factors that can threaten democracy, such as intervention by a powerful country not respecting the idea of democracy, the lure of military dictatorship to ensure stability; poverty and lack of material resources. And so on.

All in all, a useful and accessible introduction to democracy. One can quibble with his faith in polyarchy; one can question the simplicity of his discussion of factors nurturing or undermining democracy (his is a very bare bones view of this issue). Nonetheless, a good introduction to the subject.

The previous reviewer obviously misunderstood Dahl's intent. This book is an introduction to democracy for the uninitiated, not a definitive philosophical statement. Expecting more from such a short volume is silly.

That said, Dahl masterfully surveys major areas of scholarly consensus and debate, synthesizing a vast literature as no one else could. Frankly, this book is without peer. It is a beautifully written, succinct and compelling guide to democracy, required reading, if you will, for all those who cherish the gift of liberty.

This is a good book.

However, the author's bias shows through on several topics. For example, even though it is obvious that he clearly believes a proportional electoral system is superior to a first past the pole system, he never states that is his belief. He presents an incomplete list of goods and bads associated with both systems. But, neither list is exhaustive. The reader, as a result, is left to figure out what he left off the list and wondering why it was left off the list.

Otherwise, this is a good book if you want a quick and easy read on democracy.