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Can Democracy Work?: A Short History of a Radical Idea, from Ancient Athens to Our World, by James Miller
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Review
"What makes the book compelling is its focus on colorful thinkers, activists, and political leaders who lived and breathed the democratic moment throughout history, from Pericles and Socrates in ancient Athens to Woodrow Wilson and Vladimir Lenin in the early twentieth century. Miller shows that democracy’s ascent is best seen not as a gradual unfolding of a political principle driven by reason and moral destiny but rather as a grand roller coaster ride of struggle, revolution, and backlash. Today’s populist outbursts look quite ordinary alongside this history." ―G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs"The strength of this book lies . . . in the exquisite portraits it paints of characters who stand behind the immortalized Pericles, Robespierre, and Thomas Jefferson . . . [Miller] forces the reader to sit up and realize that history isn’t a definitive grayed parchment beyond reproach, but actually a living force constantly capable of new interpretation and meaning in our current world. . . Like the ekklesia in Athens, the constituent assembly in Versailles, and the soviet in Petrograd – Can Democracy Work? offers insightful context on how our own body politic will survive these turbulent times." ―John Colin Marston, The Christian Science Monitor“This is a bold, eloquent, and utterly convincing history of what democracy has meant and should mean―from the Assembly of ancient Greece to the anti-Trump resistance. James Miller has produced one of the wisest reflections on the glories and limits of popular rule I have ever read."―Michael Kazin, author of The Populist Persuasion: An American History“Democracy has always been at the center of James Miller’s career, whether he was investigating the sublime theories of the Enlightenment or the street politics of the 1960s. Now, at the very moment of democracy’s apparent endangerment, one of its best friends offers up the most capacious and inspiring history of it ever composed. From the Greeks to the present, Miller’s light touch and profound insight join each other on every page to make this a truly indispensable work for the present crisis.†―Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World“No one is better qualified to wrestle with the riddle of democracy than James Miller, which is why I have been eagerly awaiting this brilliant and necessary book. Can Democracy Work? is an eloquent, clear-eyed account of democracy’s myriad challenges. This concise and compelling history deserves to be read and debated by all who still dare to dream of a society of equals. These pages left me feeling better prepared and reinvigorated to work toward a more democratic future.†―Astra Taylor, director of What is Democracy? and author of The People’s Platform“James Miller, who has illuminated democracy's radical possibilities, now offers some sharp reflections on how those possibilities have fared over the centuries. At a moment when the very meaning of the word is up for grabs, Miller brings us back to philosophical essentials as forged by contingency, contradiction, and human folly. Refreshing and unsettling, here is some political intelligence in a dark and confusing time.†―Sean Wilentz, author of The Rise of American Democracy“Distinguished historian of ideas James Miller’s short history of democracy and its different meanings is both compulsive and compulsory reading for our sometimes shockingly disenchanted times. Ever optimistic, Miller remains enamored of his native United States’s striking experiment in cosmopolitan self-governance, and stands proudly and persuasively tall for liberal―and democratic―ideals.†―Paul Cartledge, author of Democracy: A Life“This sharp, spirited, engaged intellectual history of democracy, including its recent and often loose coupling with liberalism, combines an appraisal of both inherent and situational pitfalls with an appreciation of redemptive possibilities. If democracy is protean, what matters, this rich work teaches, is the quality of our normative choices and institutional imagination.†―Ira I. Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time". . . An attractively broad and accessible account of democracy from the Greeks to the present day. . .[guides] readers through the mass of difficult material with enviable clarity . . . [offers] impressive new evidence and analyses." ―David A. Bell, New York Review of Books "Engaging ....I’m particularly drawn to Miller’s investigation of a concept that most of us think we understand. As Miller demonstrates, “democracy†deserves a second look." ―Stan Persky, Dooney's Cafe
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About the Author
James Miller is a professor of politics and liberal studies at the New School for Social Research. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche; Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947–1977; and Democracy Is in the Streets: From Port Huron to the Siege of Chicago.
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Product details
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (September 18, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374137641
ISBN-13: 978-0374137649
Product Dimensions:
6.4 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.6 out of 5 stars
6 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#96,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Miller's engaging voice doesn't prepare you for the insight or shock that comes from penetrating the surface of this idea, this attribute, this system, this brand on whose surface we've lived. But his writing makes it easy to press on as his narrative shreds assumptions and polemics, letting voices of the time tell the story, from Athens to the French and American revolutions.And yes, why is the word 'populist' tainted?And what about these demagogues, ancient and modern orange ones? If ever you've muttered "I love humanity, it's people I can't stand," you may find in this book you are not alone.
The ascent of the populist, authoritarian and generally disruptive governing style of Donald J. Trump in his latest starring role as “President of the United States†has rightfully generated substantial concern about the future of the "democratic experiment" and the entire notion of "government of laws, not men". Is a "government by the people, for the people, and of the people" possible? Did it ever really exist? In "Can Democracy Work?†historian James Miller has crafted a provocative, intellectually challenging history and analysis of this ideal form of government, extending from its advent in ancient Athens, through the American and French Revolutions, up to the present date. This short book on a very big topic is intellectually compelling and interesting."Can Democracy Work?†has an undercurrent of pessimism (or, if you prefer, realism). The author conveys the impression that democracy is a political Zeno's Paradox: no matter how close seekers of this model of governance might approach the democratic "ideal" (however defined), it's never actually achieved, nor can it be. Why not? Human nature. Miller cites Walter Lippmann, “The individual man does not have opinions on all public affairs. He does not know how to direct public affairs. He does not know what is happening, why it is happening, what ought to happen. I cannot imagine how he could know, and there is not the least reason for thinking, as mystical democrats have thought, that the compounding of individual ignorances in masses of people can produce a continuous directing force in public affairs…[common interests] can be managed only by a specialized class…†(The Phantom Public). He also paraphrases Robert Michel’s “Iron Law of Oligarchyâ€, this being an insight into the German Social Democratic Party (circa 1911) that still rings true: “…the SPD was an institution ostensibly dedicated to the spread of democracy in all areas of social life but it was in fact controlled by a torpid bureaucracy run by a tiny elite.†The whole notion that the average citizen can and will contribute meaningfully to governance (i.e. “participatory democracyâ€) can be dismissed with a pithy aphorism attributed to Oscar Wilde, “The trouble with socialism is it takes too many eveningsâ€. Hence, the devolution of democratic governance into a small ruling cadre of elites that’s more or less responsive to a more or less engaged, more or less knowledgeable and informed citizenry.The late John Adams wrote “there has never been a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. Governance seemingly demands a technocratic and selfless political class †due to the immensely complicated nature of statecraft. It doesn't look too hopeful in that regard yet one hopes that deciders act for the common good and, if they fail do so both responsively and responsibly, the bosses will be subject to recall and orderly replacement. That's not happening.Given all this, the wave of authoritarian governments supplanting nascent democratic states in the EU and elsewhere isn’t surprising but it is expected and understandable as Miller implies. So too is the newly fashionable acceptance of "illiberal democracy" in certain circles here at home and abroad: the embrace of illiberal and authoritarian rulers exerts an understandable appeal. So does the revival of utopian socialism.Miller's cited authorities are used to maintain a baseline level of optimism. He accomplishes this by historical example and thoughtful sampling of works of great political thinkers from ancient times thorough the present. He wants the reader to understand that “this has happened before†so the current crisis of democracy suggests the “karmic cycle†is closing once again, maybe to be reborn in a better and purer form. Maybe though John Adams was right about democracy. As history and Homer Simpson declare, “Well, duh!â€
Can Democracy Work? A Short History of a Radical Idea, from Ancient Athens to Our World by James Miller is a history of democracy in its various forms throughout history. Miller Miller is an American writer and academic. He is known for writing about Michel Foucault, philosophy as a way of life, social movements, popular culture, intellectual history, eighteenth century to the present; radical social theory and history of political philosophy. He currently teaches at The New School.Democracy* is a term that has been used for so long and in so many ways that it has lost its meaning. North Korea claims to be a Democratic People's Republic. Russia is an authoritarian regime with superficial democratic fringe. Greece is the so-called cradle of democracy, but how democratic was it really? What percentage of the population were allowed to participate? Positions of authority at times were chosen by lot since elections were seen as corrupt. Even today, in America, elections are about money. LBJ was successful because of people in Congress who owed him favors. Political machines tainted American democracy.America's founding fathers were not in favor of democracy and looked to the Roman Republic as a source for stable government rather than Athens. The original federal government was small and did little compared to day's government. Democratic types of government work best in small groups. In large groups mob rule and the tyranny of the majority are likely to take place. Divided government slows the actions of mob rule somewhat. Major events can still trigger rapid action. 9/11 triggered a piece of legislation called the Patriot Act. Legislators admitted not reading it before voting for it. This would not have happened without the act of terror. It created a type of "mob rule" or general will, as Rousseau would have called it, that bucked the system of government.Miller also includes one of the maligned Western political thinkers, Machiavelli. Machiavelli was a republican and believed in representational government and more importantly, he believed in citizen militias. If the citizens had a stake in their government they would be willing to defend it. Inclusion into governing has been debated limited and expanded and limited again. White (or native) men who held land were usually given the right to vote. Sometimes military service was also a condiction. Does expanding the number of voters help or hinder the selection of a good leader. Would a larger pool of voters or a small pool of educated land-owning voters provide better results? That question still haunts the idea of democratic rule.Leaders in France, England, and Russia are also looked at in the historic sense along with American leaders like Andrew Jackson. Our current president is a fan of Andrew Jackson and the two do have much in common. Miller, in a well-cited work, discusses the history of democracy and its various forms in mainly in Athens, France, and the United States. Many misconceptions and inaccuracies are cleared up as well as detailing the French revolutions. Well written and extremely informative.*Democracy used in its widest sense to include direct democracy and representational democracies. Likewise, small "r" republican is used to describe a supporter of a republic, representational democracy.
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