Voting Rites: The Devolution of American Politics - Couverture rigide

Hirschbein, Ron

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0275960951 ISBN 13 : 9780275960957

Editeur : Praeger Publishers Inc, 1999

Synopsis

Does it really matter if a voter decides to vote-or, as a significant number of Americans do each election, not vote? Ron Hirschbein explores this issue and shows why enfranchisement cannot be understood unless it is placed in context and history. Clearly, the meaning of a vote depends upon the situation: a vote cast among the 400 of Athens or in the College of Cardinals has one significance; this is considerably different from pulling a lever every four years in a mass society of spectacles and commodities. Hirschbein also examines how voting was transformed from an expression of the political will of the Athenian polity into a sacred natural right-only to be turned to a ritual of mass society.

First, Hirschbein looks at the right to vote as the centerpiece of American civic religion. He contrasts civic myths about enfranchisement with anthropological realities. Specifically he argues that, given the intractable mathematics of mass society, the chances that a single vote will determine the outcome of an election approach the infinitesimal. However, he suggests that voting plays a neglected ritual function by constructing, legitimizing, and celebrating political reality for players and spectators alike. Hirschbein then explicates the origins and evanescent meanings of enfranchisement by examining the theory and practice of voting among the citizenry of ancient Athens, medieval ecclesiastical bureaucrats, Enlightenment natural law thinkers, and the founders of the Virtuous Republic. He concludes with speculation about possible futures. A controversial and important analysis, this will be of interest to the general public as well as scholars, researchers, and policy makers involved with election issues and theories of democracy.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

RON HIRSCHBEIN is Coordinator of War and Peace Studies at California State University, Chico. Professor Hirschbein has written extensively on public policy issues. Among his earlier works is What if They Gave a Crisis and Nobody Came? Interpreting International Crises (Praeger, 1997).

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Praeger Publishers Inc
• Date d'édition: 1999
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0275960951
• ISBN 13: 9780275960957
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 168
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: WordUnited GmbH; distribution@wordunited.com; ; Theodorstrasse 105; DUSSELDORF; 40472; Allemagne