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Against elections : the case for democracy / David Van Reybrouck ; translated by Liz Waters.

by Reybrouck, David van.

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The Bodley Head, 2016.

Democracy -- Philosophy.

Democracy -- History.

9781847924223 (pbk.)

Tegen verkiezingen. English

200 pages ; 22 cm

"First published in Dutch with the title Tegen Verkiezingen by De Bezige Bij in 2013"--Colophon

Translated from Dutch.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 172-178) and index.

"Democracy is in bad health. The symptoms are familiar: the rise of fear-mongering populists, widespread distrust in the establishment, personality contests, and point-scoring in place of reasoned debate, slogans instead of expertise. David Van Reybrouck reminds us that the original purpose of elections was to exclude the people from power by appointing an elite to govern over them. Over time their effect has been to reduce the people's participation in government to an absolute minimum, ensure power remains in the hands of those who already wield it, and force politicians to judge policies not on their merits but on their likelihood to win or lose votes. And that's when elections go well. For most of democracy's 3000-year history governments were not chosen by election at all: they were appointed, much like the jury system, through a combination of volunteering and lottery. Against Elections demonstrates how a sophisticated and practical version of this ancient system would work today and thus eliminate the underlying cause of democracy's sickness. David Van Reybrouck is a pioneering advocate of participatory democracy. His work has led to trials in participatory democracy throughout the Netherlands. He is the author of Congo: The Epic History of a People."--Provided by publisher.

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