The paradox of American democracy
Subtitle: elites, special interests, and the betrayal of the public trust
By: John B. Judis.
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Published: 2000
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 305
Subjects: Political participation -- United States -- History -- 20th century; Democracy -- United States -- History -- 20th century; Elite (Social sciences) -- United States -- History -- 20th century; United States -- Politics and government -- 20th century
Description: "The Paradox of American Democracy is a penetrating examination of our democracy that illuminates the forces and institutions that once enlivened it and now threaten to undermine it.".

"Judis revisits particular moments - the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the 1960s - to discover what makes democracy most efficacious and, consequently, most inefficacious. What has worked in the past is a balancing act between groups of elites - trade commissions, labor relations boards, policy groups - whose mandates are to act in the national interest and whose actions are governed by a disinterested pursuit of the common good.

Judis explains how the displacement of such elites by a new lobbying community in Washington has given rise to the cynicism that corrodes the current political system."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 262-286) and index.