In this Book
- Downsizing Democracy: How America Sidelined Its Citizens and Privatized Its Public
- Book
- 2020
- Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press
- Funder: Mellon/NEH / Hopkins Open Publishing: Encore Editions
- Program:
-
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

summary
Originally publushed in 2002. In Downsizing Democracy, Matthew A. Crenson and Benjamin Ginsberg describe how the once powerful idea of a collective citizenry has given way to a concept of personal, autonomous democracy. Today, political change is effected through litigation, lobbying, and term limits, rather than active participation in the political process, resulting in narrow special interest groups dominating state and federal decision-making. At a time when an American's investment in the democratic process has largely been reduced to an annual contribution to a political party or organization, Downsizing Democracy offers a critical reassessment of American democracy.
Table of Contents


- Half Title
- pp. i-ii
- Title Page
- p. iii
- Dedication
- pp. v-vi
- Introduction to the Paperback Edition
- pp. xiii-xxiv
- Chapter 3. Elections without Voters
- pp. 47-79
- Chapter 4. The Old Patronage and the New
- pp. 80-105
- Chapter 5. Disunited We Stand
- pp. 106-121
- Chapter 6. From Masses to Mailing Lists
- pp. 122-151
- Chapter 8. Movements without Members
- pp. 182-197
- Chapter 9. Privatizing the Public
- pp. 198-233
- Chapter 10. Does Anyone Need Citizens?
- pp. 234-244
Additional Information
ISBN
9781421430683
Related ISBN(s)
9780801871504, 9780801878862, 9781421430676, 9781421437354
MARC Record
OCLC
1137756864
Pages
310
Launched on MUSE
2020-01-30
Language
English
Open Access
Yes
Creative Commons
CC-BY-NC-ND