Practical Politics: Five Principles for a Community That Works - Softcover

Briand, Michael K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0252067665 ISBN 13: 9780252067662

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 1999

Synopsis

This wise and sensible guide to practicing democracy will be invaluable to members of community and neighborhood organizations, parent-teacher associations, local government, citizens groups, and other grass-roots organizations.  It will also be of interest to anyone wanting a deeper understanding of how democracy should work--and why it often fails to do just that.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Briand, PhD, is director of the Ethics and Deliberation Project at CivicEvolution. He is the author of Beyond Liberalism:Toward a Purpose-Guided Democracy (Praeger, 2019).

From the Back Cover

"This is a strong, cogent argument for a coherent conception of democratic politics. It provides useful ways in which the general reader can take on his or her bearings for steady sailing amid the swells of conflicts which beset the nation. It is a book likely to make an important contribution to the public it seeks to address."
- William Sullivan, co-author, Habits of the Heart

"Ina time of widespread pessimism about people's ability to create change and even about democracy itself, Practical Politics . . . shows how people can make a difference in their communities and how, in the process, citizens can win a public life for themselves."
- Harry Boyte, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

"Before you give up on democracy, read this book! In an era when public engagement seems ever more contentious and mean-spirited, Michael Briand offers practical, experience-based wisdom--not naïve bromides--about what we can do to make democracy work in our communities. Read this book and gain new insights and new hope."
- Frances Moore Lappé, co-founder, Center for Living Democracy, and author, Democracy's Edge

"Who says Americans have the ability to make sound decisions about their future and act effectively on their common problems? Michael Briand does. This book makes the dream of self-government real and practical. If you want democracy to work as it should, read it."

- David Mathews, President, The Kettering Foundation

From the Inside Flap

Contents

Introduction: The Work of Democratic Communities
1. Impractical Politics
2. The Inescapability of Choice
3. Alternatives to Impractical Politics
4. Value, Needs, and Conflict
5. First Principle: Inclusion
6. Second Principle: Comprehension
7. Third Principle: Deliberation
8. Fourth Principle: Cooperation
9. Public Judgment and Action
10. Fifth Principle: Realism
11. Leadership, Practical Politics, and Hope

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0252067665
• ISBN 13: 9780252067662
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 256