Democracy: How Direct?: Views from the Founding Era and the Polling Era

by Elliott Abrams (Editor), Herman Belz (Contributor), James S. Fishkin (Contributor)

For more than two hundred years Americans have been debating how direct a democracy they want. Many hold that representative government too seldom reflects the people's real views, while others counter that direct popular voting will lead to excesses of passion and deficits of deliberation. In Democracy: How Direct? Elliot Abrams brings together eminent scholars to discuss the issues surrounding the dilemma of a representative versus direct democracy. This collection of previously unpublished essays begins by examining the views of our nation's founders and the historical perspectives on our democracy and then debates modern issues such as polling, public opinion, and the referendum process. With their valuable combination of historical analysis, contemporary data, and theoretical understanding, these essays will surely raise the level of the ongoing debate surrounding the nature of American democracy.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001