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OverviewWhen a government in a democracy acts in our name, are we, as citizens, responsible for those acts? What if the government commits a moral crime? The protestor's slogan--""Not in our name!""--testifies to the need to separate ourselves from the wrongs of our leaders. Yet the idea that individual citizens might bear a special responsibility for political wrongdoing is deeply puzzling for ordinary morality and leading theories of democracy. In Our Name explains how citizens may be morally exposed to the failures of their representatives and state institutions, and how complicity is the professional hazard of democratic citizenship. Confronting the ethical challenges that citizens are faced with in a self-governing democracy, Eric Beerbohm proposes institutional remedies for dealing with them. Beerbohm questions prevailing theories of democracy for failing to account for our dual position as both citizens and subjects.Showing that the obligation to participate in the democratic process is even greater when we risk serving as accomplices to wrongdoing, Beerbohm argues for a distinctive division of labor between citizens and their representatives that charges lawmakers with the responsibility of incorporating their constituents' moral principles into their reasoning about policy. Grappling with the practical issues of democratic decision making, In Our Name engages with political science, law, and psychology to envision mechanisms for citizens seeking to avoid democratic complicity. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Eric BeerbohmPublisher: Princeton University Press Imprint: Princeton University Press Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.624kg ISBN: 9780691154619ISBN 10: 0691154619 Pages: 368 Publication Date: 22 July 2012 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Tertiary & Higher Education , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Temporarily unavailable  The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you. Language: English Table of ContentsPreface ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1- How to Value Democracy 25 Chapter 2- Paper Stones: The Ethics of Participation 51 Chapter 3- Philosophers-Citizens 82 Chapter 4- Superdeliberators 105 Chapter 5- What Is It Like to Be a Citizen? 125 Chapter 6- Democracy's Ethics of Belief 142 Chapter 7- The Division of Democratic Labor 166 Chapter 8- Representing Principles 193 Chapter 9- Democratic Complicity 226 Chapter 10- Not in My Name: Macrodemocratic Design 252 Conclusion 278 Notes 287 Bibliography 327 Index 324ReviewsBeerbohm addresses crucially important questions with philosophical insight and some imagination: When are people in a democratic system complicit in and responsible for unjust government actions and structures? What is required of citizens under unjust circumstances? Choice Author InformationEric Beerbohm is professor of government and director of graduate fellowships for the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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