Democracy as the Political Empowerment of the People: The Betrayal of an Ideal argues that the conception of democracy that prevails in the general consciousness of the contemporary world is a distorted version of the “original” idea of democracy. Democracy originally meant “rule by the people”. An important component of democracy in its original formulation was the ideal of the citizens’ direct participation in the legislative and political decision-making process. The modern representative governments lay claim to being democratic, yet completely disregard this fundamental component of the idea. In the prevailing intellectual and political climate, the absence of the ideal of direct popular participation is often justified in terms of the presumed impracticality of the original idea in the complex conditions of the modern nation-state. This book goes against the current. It argues that there exist ample historical evidence and compelling reasons for making the case that the absence of this ideal in the theory and practice of representative democracies results, in part, from conscious efforts that aim at discrediting the ideal; that there exist (and have existed in the past) powerful intellectual and political-economic forces which fully devote themselves to making sure that the original sense of the idea of democracy appears as impractical, even dangerous, and thus ensuring that it does not receive a fair hearing in the court of the public political opinion. To this end, the book offers a short conceptual history of the idea of democracy. The aim here is to provide an account of the efforts and the relevant historical and theoretical developments that have contributed to the “perversion” of the original idea of democracy. This amounts to presenting a critical examination of the hitherto-existing theories and regimes of democracy. The ultimate aim of the work is to retrieve the original sense of the idea of democracy as the idea of the direct, deliberative, and equal participation of all citizens in political decision-making, and thus help prepare the political-theoretical grounds for restoring to democracy the full scope of its original ideals.  

SCOPE AND THEME OF BOOK ONE

The work examines various regimes and theories of democracy, beginning with ancient Athens and ending with liberal-democracy and deliberative democracy. Views of Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Marx, Lenin, Burke, Madison, Mill, Schumpeter,… are discussed. The result is a conceptual history of the idea of democracy presented from a highly critical perspective. The dominant theme of the book is the contention that the history of the ideal of democracy thus far has been the history of the “perversion” of the “original” idea born in ancient Athens.

Together with its companion volume, Democracy as the Political Empowerment of the Citizen: Direct-Deliberative e-Democracy, this book is essential to scholars interested in the evolution of modern democracy and the future of politics.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Majid Behrouzi holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from York University (Canada).
In addition to philosophy, he has also studied mathematics and engineering
and holds advanced degrees in these fields. He can be reached at maberx@sbcglobal.net.
 

"It is sometimes difficult to interest undergraduates in political theory. By combining a discussion of democracy with the possibilities of modern electronic methods of finding the will of the people, Behrouzi (Cuyahoga Community College) may have provided some help. The author has written two companion volumes on democracy. The first is descriptive, the second proscriptive. As a descriptive volume, Democracy as the Political Empowerment of the People: The Betrayal of an Idea is an impressive work. Tracing the development of democracy from the Greeks to Marx, Behrouzi argues that democracy ends up being treated as an ideal that cannot be recovered. The most unique aspect of the author's intellectual history is his account of "the perversion of the original idea of democracy." The author seeks to recover the "original idea of democracy" developed in ancient Athens, so it can serve as a platform for advancing a theory of direct-deliberative e-democracy in the 21st century… clearly written and accessible to undergraduates…Highly Recommended... Lower-division undergraduates and above."
—Choice Magazine, April 2006
 

"A richly comprehensive and commanding treatment of the many theories of democracy, of much value to students and scholars alike."
—Michael Parenti, Author of Democracy for the Few, and Superpatriotism


"Behrouzi's Democracy as the Political Empowerment of the People: The Betrayal of an Ideal sets out an original and powerful attack on liberal democracy as a perversion of the democratic ideal. By laying claim to the idea that genuine democracy constitutes the direct participation of citizens in the legislative and political decision-making process, Behrouzi persuasively shows that the preoccupation with political representation in both democratic theory and practice is misplaced. This attack by Behrouzi lays the groundwork for his own distinctive account of democracy in the companion volume Democracy as the Political empowerment of the Citizen: Direct-Deliberative e-Democracy."
—Lesley Jacobs, Professor of Law & Society, Director, Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought, York University


"This is a sound and instructive review of the history of democratic thought. It is also extremely well-researched and informed by a broad familiarity with contemporary theory. The author is particularly adept at seeking the authentic democratic kernels and missteps in each vision, as well as the dialogue among the various traditions and their exponents.  In this sense the work is refreshingly broad and synthetic, an achievement that is valuable in the contemporary context of parochialism in political thought."
—Richard Wellen, Professor of Social Sciences, York University (Canada)

"Majid Behrouzi's exhaustive and illuminating account of democracy as the  rule by the people  takes on increased importance with new demands, in the U.S. and around the world, for citizens' substantive participation in the democratic process. Behrouzi puts pressure on democracy to live up to its full ideal and exposes those conceptions of democracy that betray its promise. In his second volume, he finds the solution in e-democracy-a stunning account backed by a genuinely illuminating and full theory."
—Joseph P. DeMarco, Professor of Philosophy, Cleveland State University

"Direct-Deliberative E-Democracy, attempts to resolve the theoretical problems of Rousseau's general will through the technical means provided by various modern technologies. Behrouzi argues that the US has the material and technological means, as well as the political-cultural institutions, needed to actualize Rousseau's idea of the direct exercise of individuated sovereign powers in an electronically amalgamated general will. The authors concept of a "realistic democratic utopia" combines electronic town meetings, discussion forums in the mass media, local talk shops, civic homes, and face-to-face social gatherings with electronic and Internet voting to construct a theory of democracy that utilizes technology for democratic purposes. He concludes that direct-deliberative e-democracy can technologically resolve "some of the important questions that have dogged political philosophy for the longest time."...clearly written and accessible to undergraduates...Highly Recommended... Lower-division undergraduates and above"
—Choice Magazine, April 2006
 

"The effort to construct a positive alternative to social/rational choice theory is highly welcome....The scholarship is first-rate. This is the strength of the manuscript....The scope of the literature covered is broad, and there is also remarkable depth of coverage in all sections...a fresh approach to confronting social choice theorists and economic theorists of democracy who are sceptical of the democratic accuracy of voting, preference aggregation and interest-representation."
—Richard Wellen, Professor of Social Sciences, York University (Canada)


"Behrouzi's Democracy as the Political Empowerment of the Citizen: Direct-Deliberative e-Democracy offers a careful account of how modern technology and existing socio-economic infrastructure can be harnessed to achieve genuine democracy in the United States. Building on the companion volume, Democracy as the Political empowerment of the Citizen: The Betrayal of an Ideal, Behrouzi argues that the ideal of democracy as the sovereignty of the people cannot be represented but can be empowered by individual citizens exercising their individuated sovereign powers directly. Through developments such as e-technologies, Behrouzi argues optimistically that our generation is in the unique position to be able to establish the first feasible democratic society in history."
—Lesley Jacobs, Professor of Law & Society, Director, Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought, York University