Showing papers on "Democracy published in 1974"

The terms of political discourse

Abstract: William Connolly presents a lucid and concise defense of the thesis of "essentially contested concepts" that can well be read as a general introduction to political theory, as well as for its challenge to the prevailing understanding of political discourse. In Connolly's view, the language of politics is not a neutral medium that conveys ideas independently formed but an institutionalized structure of meanings that channels political thought and action in certain directions. In the new preface he pursues the implications of this perspective for a distinctive conception of ethics and democracy.

Economic theory of democracy

Abstract: Buchanan and Tullock (chapter 6), in the exposition of economic theory of democratic constitutions, argue that the individual expects zero external costs when collective decisions are made under an unanimity rule. This is because the individual, through his own action, can prevent collective outcomes adverse to his own interest. As conditions of unanimity rule are relaxed (majority rule, representative rule, etc.), the individual may expect external costs to increase. The rational individual will therefore willingly agree to relax inclusive voting requirements only if there is compensation by some means (decreased decision costs or other organizational costs) that is equal to or greater than the expected increase in external costs. This compensation must then be the value the individual places on any control over collective outcomes that he is able to exercise. Consider now a situation in which the members of a democratically-organized collectivity must approve or reject a reorganization plan which ~ offer the members various tax savings (or increases) by centralizing collective organization and decision-making, Array all the members of the collectivity in a cumulative distribution according to the net tax effects under the reorganization plan as illustrated in Figure 1. Assume for the moment that present individual control over collective outcomes has zero value. Then those members of the collectivity with a net tax decrease would be expected to approve the reorganization plan and those members of the collectivity with a net tax increase would be expected to reject the reorganization plan. 1 Point 0 on the abscissa in Figure 1 then delineates individual choice behavior. Point P on the ordinate corresponding to point 0 would give the expected division of the collectivity regarding approval or disapproval of the

The Political Economy of New Deal Spending: An Econometric Analysis

Abstract: T HE New Deal years offer a laboratory for testing the hypothesis that political behavior in a democracy can be understood as a rational effort to maximize the prospects of electoral success. This hypothesis is central to the "economic" theories of politics developed and elaborated since the publication of Downs' An Economic Theory of Democracy in 1957, but systematic empirical verification has been meager.' One of the reasons for this paucity is that in the United States political parties are rarely "in power" unambiguously, and actual policies result from the interaction of many competing objectives. But in the 1930's the Democratic party had control of both houses of Congress, and during much of the period Congress was willing to follow Presidential lead on economic policy. At the same time federal spending rose to unprecedented levels, and considerable discretionary allocative authority was concentrated in the executive branch. Most of the spending was carried out by new agencies under new programs which were clearly identified with the New Deal administration. At a time of grave economic distress, this Presidentially-dominated environment provided a stark simplification of the interaction between political and economic forces. This article focuses on the allocation of government expenditures among the states and argues that interstate inequalities in per capita federal spending can be explained in large part as the resultant of a process of maximizing expected electoral votes. Two recent articles (1969, 1970) by Leonard J. Arrington have raised this issue. Upon examination of a newlydiscovered set of figures for the years 19331939, Arrington was struck by the fact that the per capita distribution of loans and expenditures was not at all equal across the country, and furthermore that these inequalities seem perverse in that they favor states with high income. In particular, the West seems to have received far more than its per capita share of benefits, while the South -far behind in income received little.

The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes: Structure, Principles, and Ideology

Abstract: Direct democracy in historical perspective evidence the Athenian Constitution down to 403 BC Athens as city state and as democracy the peoples of Athens the assembly of the people the laws and the Nomothetai the people's court the Magistrates the Council of Five Hundred the political leaders the Council of the Areopagos the character of Athenian Democracy.

Persistence and Change in Political Systems, 1800–1971

Abstract: This study reports the codification of basic authority characteristics of 336 national political systems (polities) that functioned in 91 nation-states between 1800 and 1971. In form the typical 19th-century polity was an autocracy with minimal functions. Its 20th-century counterpart was either an activist plural democracy or an activist autocracy. The incidence of system-transforming political change has been equally high and pervasive in both European and Third-world polities, but greater in the 20th century than the 19th. The data are used to test three hypotheses that attribute the persistence and adaptability of political systems to their authority characteristics. “Institutionalization” arguments about the stability-enhancing effects of complexity and directiveness receive no consistent support. Conventional beliefs about the greater durability of democracies vs. autocracies vs. anocracies (uninstitutionalized polities) are confirmed only in Europe in the 20th century. The most durable historical and Afro-Asian polities have been either autocratic or anocratic. The data generally support the hypothesis that “pure” political systems—consistently democratic or consistently autocratic—are more durable than systems of mixed authority characteristics. Long-term trends in political “development” and their determinants are discussed in the light of the findings.

Max Weber and the theory of modern politics

Abstract: Introduction to the Second Edition. 1. Max Weber as Political Theorist. 2. Weber as Protagonist of Borgeois Values. 3. The Limits of Bureaucratic Rationality. 4. Parliment and Democracy. 5. Nationalism and the Nation State. 6. Society, Class and State: Germany. 7. Society, Class and State: Russia. 8. Class Society and Plebiscitary Leadership. 9.Social Science and Political Practice. Bibliography. Index.

Rejoinder to “Comment” by Jack Citrin: Political Discontent or Ritualism?

Abstract: In 1958 only 22 per cent of the total population felt that they could not “trust the government in Washington to do what is right” all or most of the time. By the fall of 1972 that figure had climbed to 45 per cent. Furthermore, the percentage of eligible voters participating in the 1972 presidential election was the lowest it has been since 1948; crises and scandals have continually plagued the government since the Watergate revelations; and the economic conditions of the country have provoked widespread uncertainty and anxiety among the populace. There is good reason, then, for the intense current interest in attitudes of political disaffection and alienation.Present U.S. conditions demonstrate that political alienation is a phenomenon of fundamental significance in political processes. Feelings of political cynicism and alienation may substantially diminish the willingness of citizens to participate in politics or to support programs directed at resolving the social problems that stimulate discontent. Attitudes of political alienation have likewise been related to public demands for radical political reforms during trying periods of social or economic discontent. Alienation and non-participation, however, go beyond just questions of voluntary compliance with policies or the possibilities for radical change; they strike at a very basic democratic norm. Democratic theory emphasizes voluntary consent as the basis of political obligation and legitimacy. Democratic government assumes—indeed, requires—widespread participation, political equality, the accountability of leaders and protection of the individual citizen's constitutional guarantees. The full attainment of these values is only possible when the relationship between the leaders and the public is based on mutual understanding and reciprocal trust rather than on the use of coercive and arbitrary authority.

The Consociational Democracy Theme

Abstract: The books that are the subject of this review share three important characteristics.1. They deal exclusively, or at least predominantly, with the political experiences of some smaller European countries which have traditionally been terra incognita on the map of comparative politics. Most writing in the field of comparative politics has centered eidier on the larger developed countries or on the developing states in die Third World. The Scandinavian and Benelux countries, Austria, and Switzerland have eidier been neglected or treated as isolated phenomena, mainly of folkloristic interest. As a category, they have been written off (widi die exception of Austria) as “the sober parliamentary democracies,” or as examples (listed with a note of surprise) of “working multi-party systems.”

Political democracy and social equality: a comparative analysis*

Abstract: This paper examines the validity of the propositions that the growth of political democracy has reduced social inequality, and that political democracy mediates much of the effect of the level of economic development on social equality. Social equality is defined empirically in terms of three variables: a measure of experience with social insurance programs; a measure of income inequality; and a social welfare index. The analysis of a cross-section of sixty western and third-world countries (1960) indicates that the effect of the level of economic development on each dependent variable is positive and curvilinear, but that the bivariate effects of political democracy on the latter are quite spurious, once the level of economic development is taken into account. Political democracy exerts no significant effects (additive or non-additive) on social equality. A recurring theme in comparative social analyses has been that the growth of political democracy, with its emphasis on political equality, has resulted in more widespread social and material equality. The argument is often elaborated to incorporate the notion that economic development has resulted in higher levels of democratic performance, and that these two factors, in turn, have led to more egalitarian social systems. This paper seeks to assess the validity of this general viewpoint for a cross-section of sixty Western and Third-World countries.

What America's Leaders Read

Abstract: I N A STUDY OF THE TOP LEADERS of American institutions, respondents were asked which newspapers, columnists, magazines, and professional journals they read. Exposure to mass media was one of the factors being examined for its possible effect on the opinion-forming and decision-making activities of the most influential Americans. The larger study also examined social background, career history, group and interpersonal context, present social position and role, and policy opinions, as these relate to the behaviors of the leadership groups. This article presents the data on what leaders read. The sample for the study was drawn in two stages. First, institutional sectors that have a broad impact on society were identified: industrial corporations, non-industrial corporations (banking, insurance, retailing, etc.), labor unions, the Congress, federal departments and independent agencies, political parties, voluntary associations, and the mass media. In addition, because of interest in the role of the very wealthy, owners of large fortunes were included. Those holding leading positions in each set of institutions were sampled: chief executive officers of major corporations; presidents of the largest unions; Senators, and chairmen and ranking members of House committees; federal political appointees at the level of secretary and assistant secretary; federal civil servants in administrative posts at grades GS 17 and i8; national committeemen and state chairmen of Republican and Democratic parties; presidents and executive directors of such voluntary associations as farm, business, professional, ethnic, religious, women's, and public affairs organizations; and publishers, editors, columnists, TV public affairs executives, and commentators., Approximately fifty persons in each sector were interviewed in 1971-72. During the interview, each respondent was asked to name other in-

Party Coalitions in Multiparty Parliaments: A Game-Theoretic Analysis*

Abstract: This study focuses on A. Lawrence Lowell's classic thesis that a parliamentary democracy must possess a majority party system if durable cabinets are to exist. The argument of this study is that majority party government is not essential to cabinet durability. Rather, in line with the British analyst W. L. Middleton as well as more contemporary game-theoreticians, the critical factor is held to be the coalitional status of the cabinet: (1) cabinets of minimum winning status should be durable; as cabinets depart from minimum winning status, cabinet durability decreases; (2) the coalitional status of the cabinet that forms is partially a product of party system fractionalization, instability, and polarization. Hypotheses derived from the theory are tested with data drawn from 17 Western parliamentary democracies, from 1918 to 1940 and from 1945 to 1970. The findings generally support the theory. A key to durable government is the minimum winning status of the cabinet. Minimum winning cabinets are possible in multiparty and majority party systems.

Some Social Implications of Military Service and the Reserves System in Israel

Abstract: An uneasy relationship between the army and the society within which it operates is a situation characteristic of most contemporary, relatively developed countries. The major tensions crystallize around three foci: first, the incompatibility between the continuous decline in the centrality and salience of the national security issue and the increased allocation of human andmaterial resources to the military institutions. Second, the societal dilemma between an ideology which advocates the total segregation of the army from the other institutional spheres and the tendencies towards overt or latent role expansion of the military system. Third, the decline of military values and roles as a result of the impact of competing values. As a result of these tensions, the balanced exchange between the social system and the military sub-system tends to be disturbed. The military is often geared to maintaining a level of national security which requires a commitment of resources to this function exceeding the actual input of such resources. Consequently, the performance of the military is often impaired, and the government comes under pressure to increase military spending. Our paper deals with two democratic political systems which, to a considerable extent, avoided this kind of tension between the society at large and its military institutions. The comparison will be between Israel and Switzerland, with the emphasis on the former. The comparison will be made in reference to specific points relevant to the problems under study and will not be a general comparison of the two systems.

The Social Origins of Liberal Democracy: The Swedish Case*

Abstract: Implicit in Dahrendorf's Society and Democracy in Germany and explicit in Moore's Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy are respectively a liberal and a radical model of democratic development. Neither of these models adequately accounts for the experience of Sweden, a remarkably successful “late developer.” Although Swedish industrialization proceeded with little public ownership of the means of production, with limited welfare programs until the 1930s, and above all with restricted military expenditure—all factors Dahrendorf implies are crucial for democratic development—it did not produce the traditional liberal infrastructure of bourgeois entrepreneurs nor a vigorous open market society. Similarly only three of Moore's five preconditions for democracy obtained in Sweden: a balance between monarchy and aristocracy, the weakening of the landed aristocracy, and the prevention of an aristocratic-bourgeois coalition against the workers and peasants. There was no thorough shift toward commercial agriculture and, most important, there was no revolutionary break with the past. Consequently, one has to evolve a radical liberal model of development which states the conditions for the emergence of democracy in Sweden without revolution. This model contains implications for the further modernization of American politics.

The first international and after.

Abstract: The crucial texts of Marx's later years - notably "The Civil War in France" and "Critique of the Gotha Programme" - count among his most important work. These articles include a searching analysis of the tragic but inspiring failure of the Paris Commune, as well as essays on German unification, the Irish question, the Polish national movement and the possibility of revolution in Russia. The founding documents of the First international and polemical pieces attacking the disciples of Proudhon and Bakunin and the advocates of reformism, by contrast, reveal a tactical mastery that has influenced revolutionary movements ever since. In a new introduction, the renowned Marxist David Harvey sheds light on the evolution of Marx's notions of democracy and politics.

Perspectives on the History of Women's Education in the United States.

Abstract: THE LIVELY CURRENT DEBATE about developing programs of study which will raise women's consciousness and bring them into American intellectual life on a level of equality with men tends to be ahistorical and to subscribe to many of the unexamined assumptions of American educational history. Among the most revered of these is the interpretation unhesitatingly advanced by historians (1) of education that coeducation automatically was a “liberating experience” for American women and that access to professional education naturally placed women on a level with male professional peers. Advocates of increased participation for women in the creation and transmission of American culture had better examine these assumptions with the skepticism which feminists normally extend to male interpretations of women's experience if they are not to devise a faulty strategy for reform through inability to perceive some of the concealed hazards of the landscape. Although cultural historians have universally concluded that the development of educational institutions in colonial America and in the young republic of the early national period played a decisive role in the creation of an American democratic culture, little effort has been expended in analysing the impact of these institutions on women's social role or on their consciousness of themselves as independent intellects. To understand the dimensions of this impact we must begin, as in all questions of American cultural history, with the colonial period and the Puritan heritage. Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay gave as succinct an expression of Puritan attitudes to women with aspirations to learning as it would be possible to find in his diary entry after meeting the emotionally disturbed wife of a friend.

Political Implications of Gender Roles: A Review of the Literature

Abstract: This essay introduces the reader to the contemporary literature on gender roles and feminine behavior, including the major concepts, empirical findings, and social thought which have implications for political behavior and research. Gender roles as they relate to the psychology and activity of men and women, and their systemic cultural, economic, and legal ramifications provide an explanation and a basis for understanding political behavior, including recurrent women's protest movements. Contemporary writing contributes to building a non-androcentric and accurate body of knowledge regarding political woman, and it calls into question the ideology of the biological determinism of political activity. The literature surveyed has potential usefulness for public policy: an expansion of democracy is viable with the discernment and removal of barriers which hinder substantial proportions of women from achieving political leadership and hence participating in authoritative decision making and value allocation. A bibliography of major references is appended.

Social Equity and Social Service Productivity

Abstract: 15. See "Executive Manpower in the Federal Service" (Washington D.C.: U.S. Civil Service Commission, Bureau of Executive Manpower, January 1972), pp. 2-4. 16. We avoid here the important problem of whether being "color conscious" or "color blind" enhances social equity as a related but separate question. A useful and short discussion of the problem is to be found in Harold Fleming, "The 'Affirmative Action' Debate," City (Summer 1972), pp. 28-31. 17. This philosophy is certainly reflected in the National Civil Service League's, "A Model Public Personnel Administration Law" (November 1970). For a discussion of the law, see Jean J. Couturier, "Model Public Personnel Administration Law: Two ViewsPro," and Harold E. Forbes, "Two Views-Con," Public Personnel Review (October 1971), pp. 202-214. Some preliminary empirical work already indicates that in the federal service graduate work beyond the bachelor's level does not have a measurable, independent effect on upward mobility . See "Executive Manpower in the Federal Servic " ashington D.C : U.S. Civil Service Commission, reau of Executive Manpower, January 1972), pp. of officials who eventually attain the rank of GS-15 and above. Seniority was found to be a far more important explanatory variable, and, indeed, protracted graduate work sometimes was associated with slower upward mobility, seemingly because time spent on an advanced degree was time not spent accumulating seniority, Eugene B. McGregor, Jr., "Social Equity and the Public Service," paper delivered at the 1973 National Conference on Public Administration, Los Angeles, April 1-4. 18. An excellent statement on the slippery definitions of "merit" can be found in Frederick C. Mosher, Democracy and the Public Service (New York: Ocford University Press, 1968), Chapter 7. 19. See Gardner, op. cit., pp. 151-159. 20. U.S. Civil Service Commission, "Analysis of Data and Report on Union Recognition in the Federal Service" (Office of Labor-Management Relations, Bulletin No. 711-27, April 13, 1973), p. 1. 21. IbiL, pp. 5-12. 22. Mosher, op. cit. icials who eventually attain the rank of GS-15 ove. Seniority was found to be a far more tant explanatory variable, and, indeed, proe graduate work sometimes was associated with upward mobil ty, seemingly because time on an advanced degree was time not spent ulating seniority, Eugene B. McGregor, Jr.,

Benefit-cost analysis reconsidered: An evaluation of the Mid-State Project

Abstract: The Bureau of Reclamation has traditionally been accused of distorting benefit-cost analysis to serve political ends. Economists and other critics have usually believed that if only the theoretical tools of benefit-cost were sharpened sufficiently and its logic applied impartially by government analysts, the politics of water resource investment decisions could be neutralized. This study of the controversial Mid-State reclamation project serves both to point out the politically expedient elements of bureau analysis that remain after almost 30 years of refinement and criticism by economists and to act as a lesson to reformers who fail to recognize the limitations on benefit-cost analysis in replacing the inherently political choices of democratic government.

The "Invisible Blockade" and the Overthrow of Allende

Abstract: A STRIKING aspect of the world reaction to the military coup that overthrew Salvador Allende as President of Chile in September 1973 has been the widespread assump tion that the ultimate responsibility for the tragic destruction of Chilean democracy lay with the United States. In a few quarters, the charge includes an accusation of secret U.S. participation in the coup. However, a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, headed by Senator Gale McGee, has just investigated this accusation and concluded that there is no evi dence of any U.S. role whatever. More commonly, however, the bill of particulars relies on what President Allende himself, speaking before the United Na tions in December 1972, called the "invisible financial and eco nomic blockade" exercised by the United States against his gov ernment. Articles taking this line have appeared, for example, in The Washington Post, the National Catholic Reporter and The New York Review of Books. On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal has been critical of what it calls a "simplistic plot" theory espoused by members of the academic community? that "Washington by simply turning off the spigot of low-interest loans" was able to bring down Allende. Was there in fact an undeclared economic war between the Nixon administration and Salvador Allende?to use Allende's own words, "an oblique underhanded indirect form of aggres sion ... virtually imperceptible activities usually disguised with words and statements that extol the sovereignty and dignity of my country"? Did this warfare have a direct relationship to the bloody events in Santiago? A critical examination of the consid erable evidence on this subject available in this country and in Chile can help to answer these questions, and possibly suggest whether wider conclusions are in order about the relations be

Theory and Political Charisma

Abstract: Of the many contributions of Max Weber to the social sciences, his theory of charisma has received the greatest attention. It has been applied to Hitler and the Nazi Party, to Lenin and the Bolshevik Party, to presidents in democracy, and to rulers of dictatorial parties in newly formed nations. In addition, the scope of the term charisma has been widened considerably. Charisma should not be limited to supernatural powers but include any kind of human genius and creative activity. Nor need personal and institutional charisma always follow each other but can run concurrently during the reign of the charismatic leader.