Software On Democracy Dahl Pdf Writer

The last half of the 20th century has been an era of democratic triumph. The main anti-democratic regimes - communist, fascist, Nazi - have disappeared, and new democracies are emerging vigorously or tentatively throughout the world. In this book, one of the most prominent political theorists of our time provides a primer on democracy that clarifies what it is, why it is The last half of the 20th century has been an era of democratic triumph. The main anti-democratic regimes - communist, fascist, Nazi - have disappeared, and new democracies are emerging vigorously or tentatively throughout the world. In this book, one of the most prominent political theorists of our time provides a primer on democracy that clarifies what it is, why it is valuable, how it works, and what challenges it confronts in the future. A good, if not short, recap of democratic theory.

Dahl is a prominent political scientist and this is very evident throughout his books so stay away if your interests lie in radical political theories. Democracy is a very well thought out concept and most scholars acknowledge its weaknesses. Every time I thought that his analysis was superficial he would come up with a counter argument for my position.

This was very evident in his critique of direct-democracy which is rarely criticized A good, if not short, recap of democratic theory. Dahl is a prominent political scientist and this is very evident throughout his books so stay away if your interests lie in radical political theories. Democracy is a very well thought out concept and most scholars acknowledge its weaknesses. Every time I thought that his analysis was superficial he would come up with a counter argument for my position.

This was very evident in his critique of direct-democracy which is rarely criticized by libertarian leftists on a pragmatic basis. The most important idea is that Democracy is more of an ideal utopian concept and there are really no democratic countries in the world.

What we do have is a polyarchy, a term which isn't fully explored here - you can check it out on Wikipedia, there's a full article there. This book was written in 1996 and is still very relevant for beginners. I'll try his more academic works.There's also a very good interview of Robert Dahl himself on youtube. Dahl se nam ctenarum ve sve knize snazi vysvetlit, co to demokracie vlastne je, jeji vyhody a nevyhody, porovnava ji s jinymi rezimi atd. Samozrejme kazdy z nas ma jiz nejakou predstavu o demokracii. Tato kniha je urcena jak pro ty z nas, kteri o demokracii vedi malo, tak i pro ty, kteri toho vedi hodne.

V kazde kapitole se Dahl obraci ke ctenari s ruznymi otazkami, ktery vetsinou zpochybni to, co si ctenar na predchozich stranach precetl, ale nasledne vse krasne vysvetli. Myslim, ze kniha Dahl se nam ctenarum ve sve knize snazi vysvetlit, co to demokracie vlastne je, jeji vyhody a nevyhody, porovnava ji s jinymi rezimi atd. Samozrejme kazdy z nas ma jiz nejakou predstavu o demokracii. Tato kniha je urcena jak pro ty z nas, kteri o demokracii vedi malo, tak i pro ty, kteri toho vedi hodne. V kazde kapitole se Dahl obraci ke ctenari s ruznymi otazkami, ktery vetsinou zpochybni to, co si ctenar na predchozich stranach precetl, ale nasledne vse krasne vysvetli. Myslim, ze kniha obohati nejakym zpusobem kazdeho z nas - kazdeho bez rozdilu.

One has to read Dahl to understand democracy! His style is almost conversational with the reader. I am partial to such a topic because my education is primarily in political science but this book is not solely for those of us who are poly sci wonks. One technique I liked in the book was the author's use of what he calls, Words About Words.

He use this technique to explain a topic or phrase. My favorite is the one about the difference between democracy and republic. As Dahl states, '.the plain One has to read Dahl to understand democracy! His style is almost conversational with the reader.

I am partial to such a topic because my education is primarily in political science but this book is not solely for those of us who are poly sci wonks. One technique I liked in the book was the author's use of what he calls, Words About Words. He use this technique to explain a topic or phrase.

My favorite is the one about the difference between democracy and republic. As Dahl states, '.the plain fact is that the words democracy and republic did not designate differences in types of popular government. What they reflected, at the cost of later confusion, was a difference between Greek and Latin, the languages from which they came'(Dahl, p. Dahl also identifies the six elements required in Large-Scale Democracy: Elected Officials; Free, Fair, and Frequent Elections; Freedom of Expression; Alternative Sources of Information; Associational Autonomy; Inclusive Citizenship (Dahl, p.85). To Dahl, full inclusion is defined as, ' The citizen body in a democratically governed state must include all persons subject to the laws of that state except transients and persons proved to be incapable of caring for themselves' (Dahl, p. Something we seemed to have forgotten of late in politics is what Dahl points out on page 73, 'To govern a state well takes more than knowledge. It also requires incorruptibility, a firm resistance to all the enormous temptations of power, a continuing and inflexible dedication to the public good rather than benefits for oneself or one's group' (Dahl, p.73).

Another point that the Professor Dahl makes is that a criterion for the democratic process is, '.enlightened understanding: within reasonable limits as to time, each member (citizen) must have equal and effective opportunities for learning about relevant alternative policies and their likely consequences' (Dahl, p. In our current polarized world we fail to educate ourselves about alternative policies because of the 'our way or the highway' attitude. I recommend this book to all citizens of the United States. This is the Second Edition with two additional chapters by Ian Shapiro published by Yale University Press in 2015.

If you have any interest in political theory, well worth your time. I am not a student, nor is my primary interest in political theory, but because I read a ton of history this is invaluable for further understanding politics in history.I like this book because it is well-written and smart, but also it's very basic, very elementary. I think everyone who just assumes, 'oh, of COURSE I know what a democracy is, duh!'

Should read this, because it lays out and defines something I think many of us If you have any interest in political theory, well worth your time. I am not a student, nor is my primary interest in political theory, but because I read a ton of history this is invaluable for further understanding politics in history.I like this book because it is well-written and smart, but also it's very basic, very elementary. I think everyone who just assumes, 'oh, of COURSE I know what a democracy is, duh!' Should read this, because it lays out and defines something I think many of us take for granted. It also shows the nuance of the fact that many countries are democratic on a certain scale, and certain factors/conditions are more advanced in some democratic countries contrasted with others.Basic, but well worth the return to basics.

Software On Democracy Dahl Pdf Writer Crossword Clue

As someone who grew up knowing little about democracy or major forms of government, I found Dahl's book immensely helpful and interesting. He does a brilliant job of answering 'what,' 'how,'and 'why' about democracy. The prose is concise and the structure of the book makes it very easy to follow along and take notes. Also helpful is the 'further reading' list at the end of the book that guides me to delve deeper into certain topics of democracy.

A very good introductory book overall. Recommended As someone who grew up knowing little about democracy or major forms of government, I found Dahl's book immensely helpful and interesting.

He does a brilliant job of answering 'what,' 'how,'and 'why' about democracy. The prose is concise and the structure of the book makes it very easy to follow along and take notes.

Also helpful is the 'further reading' list at the end of the book that guides me to delve deeper into certain topics of democracy. A very good introductory book overall.

Recommended for anyone wishing to learn the basics of democracy. 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 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. In 2011, every citizen of every country involved in the Arab Spring should have received a free copy of this book. Although I found it difficult to get into in the beginning, where the history of democracy was described, I found the book incredibly enlightning and easy to read. The reader does need to concentrate, though. Although it is not a purely academic book with long references and many political words with specific meaning, it is also complex to understand the intricacies of the subject In 2011, every citizen of every country involved in the Arab Spring should have received a free copy of this book.

Although I found it difficult to get into in the beginning, where the history of democracy was described, I found the book incredibly enlightning and easy to read. The reader does need to concentrate, though.

From my perspective, awful. It's overly simplistic and condescendingly written. I understand that it was written for a lay audience - a sort of 'here's a taste of what democratic studies look like', and was going to give it two stars because I figured it might have some value for beginners. But then I thought about it, and I can't. His conclusions are at times misleading. At other times, he draws sweeping generalizations with very, very little argumentation.

That's the main problem. The tone of From my perspective, awful.

It's overly simplistic and condescendingly written. I understand that it was written for a lay audience - a sort of 'here's a taste of what democratic studies look like', and was going to give it two stars because I figured it might have some value for beginners. But then I thought about it, and I can't.

His conclusions are at times misleading. At other times, he draws sweeping generalizations with very, very little argumentation. That's the main problem. The tone of the text should have been 'Here is a lay of the land.'

Dahl's desire to offer conclusions, however, oftentimes pushes it into 'Here is the correct answer to this theoretical issue.' I imagine that some people will read this book and feel as thought they have strong arguments in favor of Dahl's position. Yet because this is a primer, Dahl (rightfully) doesn't demonstrate the full scope of the objections to his analytic and normative conclusions.So to those of us who are democratic theorists, the book is not useful.

To those who are not, this book is likely to be misleading. Hence one star. Elmo, this is the one you gave me LAST year!

Sorry.At only 199 pages of text, the book is, as reviewers here and on the cover have noted, concise, accessible, understandable, general, and elegant. One person thought it was condescending but I did not find it so. The ascription of 'authoritative', however, is lacking.

Yes, Dahl admits to America's sins in foreign policy and slavery, but they sound more like pecadillos than the atrocities that they really were - and still are. Dahl Yes, M.K. Elmo, this is the one you gave me LAST year! Sorry.At only 199 pages of text, the book is, as reviewers here and on the cover have noted, concise, accessible, understandable, general, and elegant.

One person thought it was condescending but I did not find it so. The ascription of 'authoritative', however, is lacking.

Yes, Dahl admits to America's sins in foreign policy and slavery, but they sound more like pecadillos than the atrocities that they really were - and still are. Dahl CANNOT be read without Zinn, just like Freddy Bastiat cannot be read without Chomsky, and Luddy von Mises must be read with Marx (Lasalle or DeLeon, etc.). If all small d democrats were as wise as Dahl and if all businesspeople were Ben & Jerry and not Kenneth Lay, then maybe I would not have to preface myself as being a Social Democrat. I appreciate the gift of this book and I am glad I read it, but it CANNOT be read stand-alone. (Yes, thanks M.

I am taking a class named 'Comparative Politics', and this book was used as our textbooks. Obviously we studied about democracy. Even if you have no knowledge at all about democracy since your country's government is nondemocratic (like I do) or you are living under democratic system and think you understood democracy to the core, I think this book will be very helpful to you. It taught me everything about democracy in a simple and easy to understand language, first make me want so desperate to I am taking a class named 'Comparative Politics', and this book was used as our textbooks. Obviously we studied about democracy. Even if you have no knowledge at all about democracy since your country's government is nondemocratic (like I do) or you are living under democratic system and think you understood democracy to the core, I think this book will be very helpful to you.

It taught me everything about democracy in a simple and easy to understand language, first make me want so desperate to democratize my government:D As for my friend who is a Canadian and thought she understood so well, this book helped her review and justify the democratic system of her own country and compare it to the ideal democracy.Hope this review helpful to you. An excellent, concise, and occasionally eloquent overview of democracy: what it is, why it's good, and challenges it faces. This is a simple, down-to-earth, undergraduate-level text.

Dahl falters slightly in his chapter about why market-capitalism favors democracy: he omits any mention of the importance of economic freedom as a corollary to political freedom, and underemphasizes the significance of the market as a check and balance against overweening government. Overall, however, Dahl gets just An excellent, concise, and occasionally eloquent overview of democracy: what it is, why it's good, and challenges it faces. This is a simple, down-to-earth, undergraduate-level text. Dahl falters slightly in his chapter about why market-capitalism favors democracy: he omits any mention of the importance of economic freedom as a corollary to political freedom, and underemphasizes the significance of the market as a check and balance against overweening government.

Overall, however, Dahl gets just about everything exactly right. Brief, on point booklet on the hugely misunderstood and unclear concept of democracy. I personally agreeded on Dahls view of polyarchy (representative democracy with universal suffrage) and its ambivalent nature in market economies. The book is also vividly written which makes it cool to read. Brief, on point booklet on the hugely misunderstood and unclear concept of democracy.

I personally agreeded on Dahl´s view of polyarchy (representative democracy with universal suffrage) and its ambivalent nature in market economies. The book is also vividly written which makes it cool to read.