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Editorial Reviews
Product Description
In recent years, many Americans and more than a few political scientists have come to believe that democratic deliberation in Congress—whereby judgments are made on the merits of policies reflecting the interests and desires of American citizens—is more myth than reality. Rather, pressure from special interest groups, legislative bargaining, and the desire of incumbents to be reelected are thought to originate in American legislative politics. While not denying such influences, Joseph M. Bessette argues that the institutional framework created by the founding fathers continues to foster a government that is both democratic and deliberative, at least to some important degree.
Drawing on original research, case studies of policymaking in Congress, and portraits of American lawmakers, Bessette demonstrates not only the limitations of nondeliberative explanations for how laws are made but also the continued vitality of genuine reasoning on the merits of public policy. Bessette discusses the contributions of the executive branch to policy deliberation, and looks at the controversial issue of the proper relationship of public opinion to policymaking.
Informed by Bessette's nine years of public service in city and federal government, The Mild Voice of Reason offers important insights into the real workings of American democracy, articulates a set of standards by which to assess the workings of our governing institutions, and clarifies the forces that promote or inhibit the collective reasoning about common goals so necessary to the success of American democracy.
"No doubt the best-publicized recent book-length work on Congress is columnist George Will's diatribe in praise of term limits in which the core of his complaint is that Congress does not deliberate in its decision-making. Readers who are inclined to share that fantasy would do well to consult the work of Joseph M. Bessette. He turns up massive amounts of material attesting to the centrality of deliberation in congressional life."—Nelson W. Polsby, Presidential Studies Quarterly
Drawing on original research, case studies of policymaking in Congress, and portraits of American lawmakers, Bessette demonstrates not only the limitations of nondeliberative explanations for how laws are made but also the continued vitality of genuine reasoning on the merits of public policy. Bessette discusses the contributions of the executive branch to policy deliberation, and looks at the controversial issue of the proper relationship of public opinion to policymaking.
Informed by Bessette's nine years of public service in city and federal government, The Mild Voice of Reason offers important insights into the real workings of American democracy, articulates a set of standards by which to assess the workings of our governing institutions, and clarifies the forces that promote or inhibit the collective reasoning about common goals so necessary to the success of American democracy.
"No doubt the best-publicized recent book-length work on Congress is columnist George Will's diatribe in praise of term limits in which the core of his complaint is that Congress does not deliberate in its decision-making. Readers who are inclined to share that fantasy would do well to consult the work of Joseph M. Bessette. He turns up massive amounts of material attesting to the centrality of deliberation in congressional life."—Nelson W. Polsby, Presidential Studies Quarterly
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The architects of the American constitutional order sought to infuse their fledgling democracy with two essential qualities: deliberation and energy. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
permanent food stamp program, unreflective public opinion, sound political deliberation, serious lawmaking, tobacco research bill, food stamp bill, nondeliberative activities, pilot food stamp program, deliberative majorities, deliberative public opinion, serious lawmaker, responsible lawmaking, deliberative appeals, reelection incentive, food stamp plan, sound deliberation, peanut subsidy, deliberative responsibilities, reclamation bill, food stamp act, leading framers, formal legislative process, markup sessions, reaching collective decisions, genuine deliberation Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
House of Representatives, Agriculture Committee, Rhode Island, Wilbur Mills, New Mexico, Budget Committee, Family Assistance Plan, San Luis, Clean Air Act, Pete Domenici, Rules Committee, Articles of Confederation, Constitutional Convention, Senator Muskie, Department of Agriculture, North Carolina, Supreme Court, Woodrow Wilson, Federalist Papers, President Reagan, Richard Fenno, Ronald Reagan, South Carolina, Theodore Roosevelt, Federal Aviation Act New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The architects of the American constitutional order sought to infuse their fledgling democracy with two essential qualities: deliberation and energy. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
permanent food stamp program, unreflective public opinion, sound political deliberation, serious lawmaking, tobacco research bill, food stamp bill, nondeliberative activities, pilot food stamp program, deliberative majorities, deliberative public opinion, serious lawmaker, responsible lawmaking, deliberative appeals, reelection incentive, food stamp plan, sound deliberation, peanut subsidy, deliberative responsibilities, reclamation bill, food stamp act, leading framers, formal legislative process, markup sessions, reaching collective decisions, genuine deliberation Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
House of Representatives, Agriculture Committee, Rhode Island, Wilbur Mills, New Mexico, Budget Committee, Family Assistance Plan, San Luis, Clean Air Act, Pete Domenici, Rules Committee, Articles of Confederation, Constitutional Convention, Senator Muskie, Department of Agriculture, North Carolina, Supreme Court, Woodrow Wilson, Federalist Papers, President Reagan, Richard Fenno, Ronald Reagan, South Carolina, Theodore Roosevelt, Federal Aviation Act New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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48
books
cite this book:
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- The Federalist Papers (Dodo Press) by James Madison on 6 pages
- Federalist Papers by John Jay on 6 pages
- Congress and Urban Problems by Frederic N., & Associates Cleaveland on 5 pages
- The Rhetorical Presidency by Jeffrey K. Tulis on 4 pages
- The Senate Nobody Knows by Professor Bernard Asbell on 4 pages
See all 100 books this book cites
- The Sentimental Citizen: Emotion in Democratic Politics by George E. Marcus on page 12, and Back Matter
- Democratic Autonomy: Public Reasoning about the Ends of Policy (Oxford Political Theory) by Henry S. Richardson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Public Deliberation: Pluralism, Complexity, and Democracy (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought) by James Bohman in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Democracy and Disagreement by Amy Gutmann in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Platonic Political Art: A Study of Critical Reason and Democracy by John R. Wallach on page 398, and Back Matter
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