Daring Democracy
An optimistic book for Americans who are asking, in the wake of Trump’s victory, What do we do now? The answer: We need to organize and fight to protect and expand our democracy. Americans are distraught as tightly held economic and political power drowns out their voices and values. Legendary Diet for a Small Planet author Frances Moore Lappé and organizer-scholar Adam Eichen offer a fresh, surprising response to this core crisis. This intergenerational duo opens with an essential truth: It’s not the magnitude of a challenge that crushes the human spirit. It’s feeling powerless—in this case, fearing that to stand up for democracy is futile. It’s not, Lappé and Eichen argue. With riveting stories and little-known evidence, they demystify how we got here, exposing the well-orchestrated effort that has robbed Americans of their rightful power. But at the heart of this unique book are solutions. Even in this divisive time, Americans are uniting across causes and ideologies to create a “canopy of hope” the authors call the Democracy Movement. In this invigorating “movement of movements,” millions of Americans are leaving despair behind as they push for and achieve historic change. The movement and democracy itself are vital to us as citizens and fulfill human needs—for power, meaning, and connection—essential to our thriving. In this timely and necessary book, Lappé and Eichen offer proof that courage is contagious in the daring fight for democracy.
The Philosophy of Dare: Are You One of the Daring Ones?
The Philosophy of Dare, the Daring Philosophy, is all about being willing to take risks, to rise to challenges, to leave behind comfort zones and safe spaces, and seek out storms and wildernesses and mountaintops and all extreme, daring environments. One must always escape mediocrity, and wherever the mediocre congregate. Mediocrity is the original sin. The mediocre are the opposite of the daring. Danton said, "We must dare, and dare again, and go on daring!" Machiavelli said, "Never was anything great achieved without danger." Andre Gide said, "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." The daring don't stand around. They're active, proactive, the people doing things, making things happen, shaking things up. They're not the reactive masses, those that love to sit and wait for Godot. Godot isn't coming. Haven't you heard? William Makepeace Thackeray said, "Let the man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim. Attacking is his only secret. Dare, and the world always yields: or, if it beat you sometimes, dare again, and it will succumb." The attackers always have the initiative. The world reacts to them. The daring decide the agenda. They force the issue. They are the organ grinders. Everyone else dances to the tune of the daring ones. "Who Dares Wins" is the motto of the Special Air Service, Britain's elite special forces unit. Theodore Roosevelt said, "Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." The mediocrities avoid conflict. They duck out. They bale out. They opt out. They don't want to exert themselves. Too much effort. Are you afraid of losing it all? Then you are not one of the daring. Goethe said, "Rest not. Life is sweeping by; go and dare before you die. Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time." The daring are absolutely committed to leaving behind the mighty and sublime. They are the only ones who conquer time. They are the immortals. The great French revolutionary Saint-Just said, "Dare! – this word contains all the politics of our revolution." Will you risk it all? Do you dare? Trigger Warning (for those of a sensitive disposition): This content contains heavy satire, irony, sarcasm and black comedy. Keep your wits about you.
Democracy's Guardians
"In its six-decade history, the German Federal Constitutional Court has become one of the most powerful and influential constitutional tribunals in the world. It has played a central role in the establishment of liberalism, democracy, and the rule of law in post-war West Germany, and it has been a model for constitutional tribunals in many other nations. The Court stands virtually unchallenged as the most trusted institution of the German state. A complex history of the German Federal Constitutional Court from its founding it 1951 up into the twenty-first century, this book explores how the court became so powerful, and why so few can resist its strengths. Through a comprehensive narrative of the Court's remarkable rise and careful analysis of its periodic crises, the work carefully dissects the success of the Court, presenting not only a traditional work of legal history, but a public history - both political and societal - as well as a doctrinal and jurisprudential account. Structured around the Court's major decisions from 1951 to 2001, the book examines popular and political reactions to those decisions, drawing heavily on newspaper accounts of major judgments and material from the archives of individual politicians and judges. The result is an impressive case study of the global phenomenon of constitutional justice"--Unedited summary from book jacket.
Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought
Containing almost 200 entries from 'accountability' to the 'Westminster model' the Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought explores all the ideas that matter to democracy past, present and future. It is destined to become the first port-of-call for all students, teachers and researchers of political science interested in democratic ideas, democratic practice, and the quality of democratic governance. The Encyclopedia provides extensive coverage of all the key concepts of democratic thought written by a stellar team of distinguished international contributors. The Encyclopedia draws on every tradition of democratic thought, as well as developing new thinking, in order to provide full coverage of the key democratic concepts and engage with their practical implications for the conduct of democratic politics in the world today. In this way, it brings every kind of democratic thinking to bear on the challenges facing contemporary democracies and on the possibilities of the democratic future. The Encyclopedia is global in scope and responds in detail to the democratic revolution of recent decades. Referring both to the established democratic states of Western Europe, North America and Australasia, and to the recent democracies of Latin America, Eastern and Central Europe, Africa and Asia, classical democratic concerns are related to new democracies, and to important changes in the older democracies. Supplemented by full bibliographical information, extensive cross-referencing and suggestions for further reading, the Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought is a unique work of reference combining the expertise of many of the world's leading political scientists, political sociologists and political philosophers. It will be welcomed as an essential resource for both teaching and for independent study, and as a solid starting point both for further research and wider exploration.
Dare to Struggle
WHY SHOULD YOU READ A GREEK HISTORY? Because you simply cannot consider yourself an educated person unless you know something about the society of ancient Greece. Because the Greeks discovered the foundation elements of Western society: constitutionalism, rationalism, humanism and the individual. Because Greek history is in effect our own history. Because the Greeks were seriously cool. WHY SHOULD YOU READ THISGREEK HISTORY? Because it answers the important questions that others do not. Because it relates Greek history to contemporary society. Because it covers ALL the topics. Because it is NOT boring or politically correct.
