In this updated edition of the No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy, Richard Swift explores how democracy has been constricted and deformed by economic power-brokers and a self-serving political class from Birmingham to Bangalore.
The book includes chapter-length discussions of topics such as the economic meltdown, Barack Obama, eco-democracy, democratizing the economy, and democracy in the Global South. It is not only a guide to the rich diversity of forms of elected government, but it also contains practical ideas for empowering today’s voters around the world.
One of the attractive things about this book is that it is written in democratic prose. Swift’s writing is straightforward and honest, with no escaping into unneeded abstraction or showing off with fashionable jargon. He says what he means, no more. That’s how democrats should write.
– C Douglas Lummis, author of Radical Democracy
Foreword | by C Douglas Lummis |
Introduction | |
Chapter 1 | What is Democracy? |
Chapter 2 | Democratic Malaise |
Chapter 3 | Weak and Strong Democracy |
Chapter 4 | Democratizing the Economy |
Chapter 5 | Beyond the Nation-state |
Chapter 6 | Democratizing Democracy |
Chapter 7 | Democracy and Ecology |
Chapter 8 | Strong democracy in the Global South |
Conclusion | |
Contacts | |
Bibliography | |
Index |