America and Its Critics: Virtues and Vices of the Democratic HyperpowerISBN: 978-0-7456-4250-5
Hardcover
220 pages
September 2008, Polity
Other Available Formats: Paperback
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This book analyses the most widespread criticisms of American
democracy – namely , that it is plebiscitary, devoid of
voters, unduly favours the rich, and imperial. It shows that these
criticisms fail to hit the mark. Yet even if its vices are fewer
and different from what its critics often claim, American democracy
cannot be read as an exemplary catalogue of virtues, as its
apologists would have it. Resting on contradictions rather than
coherence, American democracy cannot be seen as a model and even
less as an ideology. Rather it should be understood as a
method.
Clearing away the misunderstandings and prejudices that cloud contemporary debates about America, this book brings out with exceptional clarity the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the American democratic experience. In a century when no country can hope to escape from the influence of American power, it is vital to understand both.