The Resource Democracy for realists : why elections do not produce responsive government, Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels
Democracy for realists : why elections do not produce responsive government, Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels
Resource Information
The item Democracy for realists : why elections do not produce responsive government, Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of San Diego Libraries.This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
Resource Information
The item Democracy for realists : why elections do not produce responsive government, Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of San Diego Libraries.
This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
- Summary
- Democracy for Realists assails the romantic folk-theory at the heart of contemporary thinking about democratic politics and government, and offers a provocative alternative view grounded in the actual human nature of democratic citizens. Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels deploy a wealth of social-scientific evidence, including ingenious original analyses of topics ranging from abortion politics and budget deficits to the Great Depression and shark attacks, to show that the familiar ideal of thoughtful citizens steering the ship of state from the voting booth is fundamentally misguided. They demonstrate that voters--even those who are well informed and politically engaged--mostly choose parties and candidates on the basis of social identities and partisan loyalties, not political issues. They also show that voters adjust their policy views and even their perceptions of basic matters of fact to match those loyalties. When parties are roughly evenly matched, elections often turn on irrelevant or misleading considerations such as economic spurts or downturns beyond the incumbents' control; the outcomes are essentially random. Thus, voters do not control the course of public policy, even indirectly. Achen and Bartels argue that democratic theory needs to be founded on identity groups and political parties, not on the preferences of individual voters. Now with new analysis of the 2016 elections, Democracy for Realists provides a powerful challenge to conventional thinking, pointing the way toward a fundamentally different understanding of the realities and potential of democratic government
- Language
- eng
- Extent
- 1 online resource (xvi, 400 pages)
- Note
- "With a new afterword by the authors."
- Contents
-
- Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of Illustrations; Preface; CHAPTER ONE Democratic Ideals and Realities; CHAPTER TWO The Elusive Mandate: Elections and the Mirage of Popular Control; CHAPTER THREE Tumbling Down into a Democratical Republick: "Pure Democracy" and the Pitfalls of Popular Control; CHAPTER FOUR A Rational God of Vengeance and of Reward? The Logic of Retrospective Accountability; CHAPTER FIVE Blind Retrospection: Electoral Responses to Droughts, Floods, and Shark Attacks; CHAPTER SIX Musical Chairs: Economic Voting and the Specious Present
- CHAPTER SEVEN A Chicken in Every Pot: Ideology and Retrospection in the Great DepressionCHAPTER EIGHT The Very Basis of Reasons: Groups, Social Identities, and Political Psychology; CHAPTER NINE Partisan Hearts and Spleens: Social Identities and Political Change; CHAPTER TEN It Feels Like We're Thinking: The Rationalizing Voter; CHAPTER ELEVEN Groups and Power: Toward a Realist Theory of Democracy; APPENDIX Retrospective Voting as Selection and Sanctioning; Afterword to the Paperback Edition; References; Index
- Isbn
- 9781400888740
- Label
- Democracy for realists : why elections do not produce responsive government
- Title
- Democracy for realists
- Title remainder
- why elections do not produce responsive government
- Statement of responsibility
- Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels
- Subject
-
- Elections -- United States
- Electronic books
- PHILOSOPHY -- Political
- POLITICAL SCIENCE -- General
- Political participation
- Political participation -- United States
- Politics and government
- Representative government and representation
- Representative government and representation -- United States
- United States
- United States -- Politics and government
- Voting
- Voting -- United States
- Democracy
- Democracy -- United States
- Elections
- Language
- eng
- Summary
- Democracy for Realists assails the romantic folk-theory at the heart of contemporary thinking about democratic politics and government, and offers a provocative alternative view grounded in the actual human nature of democratic citizens. Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels deploy a wealth of social-scientific evidence, including ingenious original analyses of topics ranging from abortion politics and budget deficits to the Great Depression and shark attacks, to show that the familiar ideal of thoughtful citizens steering the ship of state from the voting booth is fundamentally misguided. They demonstrate that voters--even those who are well informed and politically engaged--mostly choose parties and candidates on the basis of social identities and partisan loyalties, not political issues. They also show that voters adjust their policy views and even their perceptions of basic matters of fact to match those loyalties. When parties are roughly evenly matched, elections often turn on irrelevant or misleading considerations such as economic spurts or downturns beyond the incumbents' control; the outcomes are essentially random. Thus, voters do not control the course of public policy, even indirectly. Achen and Bartels argue that democratic theory needs to be founded on identity groups and political parties, not on the preferences of individual voters. Now with new analysis of the 2016 elections, Democracy for Realists provides a powerful challenge to conventional thinking, pointing the way toward a fundamentally different understanding of the realities and potential of democratic government
- Cataloging source
- N$T
- http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
- Achen, Christopher H
- Illustrations
- illustrations
- Index
- index present
- Literary form
- non fiction
- Nature of contents
-
- dictionaries
- bibliography
- http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorDate
- 1956-
- http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
- Bartels, Larry M.
- Series statement
- Princeton studies in political behavior
- http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
-
- Democracy
- Elections
- Voting
- Political participation
- Representative government and representation
- United States
- POLITICAL SCIENCE
- PHILOSOPHY
- Democracy
- Elections
- Political participation
- Politics and government
- Representative government and representation
- Voting
- United States
- Label
- Democracy for realists : why elections do not produce responsive government, Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels
- Note
- "With a new afterword by the authors."
- Antecedent source
- unknown
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Carrier category
- online resource
- Carrier category code
-
- cr
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Color
- multicolored
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
-
- Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of Illustrations; Preface; CHAPTER ONE Democratic Ideals and Realities; CHAPTER TWO The Elusive Mandate: Elections and the Mirage of Popular Control; CHAPTER THREE Tumbling Down into a Democratical Republick: "Pure Democracy" and the Pitfalls of Popular Control; CHAPTER FOUR A Rational God of Vengeance and of Reward? The Logic of Retrospective Accountability; CHAPTER FIVE Blind Retrospection: Electoral Responses to Droughts, Floods, and Shark Attacks; CHAPTER SIX Musical Chairs: Economic Voting and the Specious Present
- CHAPTER SEVEN A Chicken in Every Pot: Ideology and Retrospection in the Great DepressionCHAPTER EIGHT The Very Basis of Reasons: Groups, Social Identities, and Political Psychology; CHAPTER NINE Partisan Hearts and Spleens: Social Identities and Political Change; CHAPTER TEN It Feels Like We're Thinking: The Rationalizing Voter; CHAPTER ELEVEN Groups and Power: Toward a Realist Theory of Democracy; APPENDIX Retrospective Voting as Selection and Sanctioning; Afterword to the Paperback Edition; References; Index
- Control code
- ocn995163696
- Dimensions
- unknown
- Extent
- 1 online resource (xvi, 400 pages)
- File format
- unknown
- Form of item
- online
- Isbn
- 9781400888740
- Level of compression
- unknown
- Media category
- computer
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- c
- Note
- JSTOR
- Other control number
- 99977295671
- http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
-
- 22573/ctvc6648f
- 63820b06-d9a6-4159-941a-e53e2373bb7e
- Quality assurance targets
- not applicable
- Reformatting quality
- unknown
- Sound
- unknown sound
- Specific material designation
- remote
- System control number
- (OCoLC)995163696
- Label
- Democracy for realists : why elections do not produce responsive government, Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels
- Note
- "With a new afterword by the authors."
- Antecedent source
- unknown
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Carrier category
- online resource
- Carrier category code
-
- cr
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Color
- multicolored
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
-
- Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of Illustrations; Preface; CHAPTER ONE Democratic Ideals and Realities; CHAPTER TWO The Elusive Mandate: Elections and the Mirage of Popular Control; CHAPTER THREE Tumbling Down into a Democratical Republick: "Pure Democracy" and the Pitfalls of Popular Control; CHAPTER FOUR A Rational God of Vengeance and of Reward? The Logic of Retrospective Accountability; CHAPTER FIVE Blind Retrospection: Electoral Responses to Droughts, Floods, and Shark Attacks; CHAPTER SIX Musical Chairs: Economic Voting and the Specious Present
- CHAPTER SEVEN A Chicken in Every Pot: Ideology and Retrospection in the Great DepressionCHAPTER EIGHT The Very Basis of Reasons: Groups, Social Identities, and Political Psychology; CHAPTER NINE Partisan Hearts and Spleens: Social Identities and Political Change; CHAPTER TEN It Feels Like We're Thinking: The Rationalizing Voter; CHAPTER ELEVEN Groups and Power: Toward a Realist Theory of Democracy; APPENDIX Retrospective Voting as Selection and Sanctioning; Afterword to the Paperback Edition; References; Index
- Control code
- ocn995163696
- Dimensions
- unknown
- Extent
- 1 online resource (xvi, 400 pages)
- File format
- unknown
- Form of item
- online
- Isbn
- 9781400888740
- Level of compression
- unknown
- Media category
- computer
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- c
- Note
- JSTOR
- Other control number
- 99977295671
- http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
-
- 22573/ctvc6648f
- 63820b06-d9a6-4159-941a-e53e2373bb7e
- Quality assurance targets
- not applicable
- Reformatting quality
- unknown
- Sound
- unknown sound
- Specific material designation
- remote
- System control number
- (OCoLC)995163696
Subject
- Elections -- United States
- Electronic books
- PHILOSOPHY -- Political
- POLITICAL SCIENCE -- General
- Political participation
- Political participation -- United States
- Politics and government
- Representative government and representation
- Representative government and representation -- United States
- United States
- United States -- Politics and government
- Voting
- Voting -- United States
- Democracy
- Democracy -- United States
- Elections
Genre
Member of
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<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.sandiego.edu/portal/Democracy-for-realists--why-elections-do-not/qdUO9b5B6_8/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.sandiego.edu/portal/Democracy-for-realists--why-elections-do-not/qdUO9b5B6_8/">Democracy for realists : why elections do not produce responsive government, Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.sandiego.edu/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.sandiego.edu/">University of San Diego Libraries</a></span></span></span></span></div>