Verified Document

Bernard Manin Term Paper

¶ … Representative Government The book "The Principles of Representative Government" is one of the best recent attempts made by any author study political theory that guides governmental structure and influences the changes that has occurred in the form of government since ancient times. Bernard Manin presents his arguments in a lucid manner however the book does suffer from its fair share of weaknesses that we shall discuss later in the paper. For now, it is important to understand that Manin's book revolves around the thesis that democracy is not exactly established with the help of representative government. The latter was meant to control the deficiencies of democracy and not to give it excessive powers. He writes: "Contemporary democratic governments have evolved from a political system that was conceived by its founders as opposed to democracy.... What today we call representative democracy has its origins in a system of institutions... that was in no way initially perceived as a form of democracy or of government by the people" (1).

While the book has a thesis, it is not well defined and is not as properly pursued. More attention has been paid to the method of selecting government representatives as the author feels that selection method says a lot about the influence, scope and effectiveness of government. He starts with the way Athenian governments selected representative. This method has been termed selection by lot. This method has largely been abandoned today in the name of democratic rule. The author feels that selection by lot was not altogether an impractical way of choosing representatives as he argues that "lot was not totally impracticable" (p. 82) Manin explains that the selection method 'lot' was quite popular for a long time in city-states but by late 18th century, it had been replaced by other selection systems. "Never was it seriously...

79). Interestingly Manin feels that selection by lot was a more democratic way of choosing representatives and in his research he found that selection by lot was more closely connected with democracy while election was found in oligarchies.
Important political theorists such as Harrington, Montesquieu, and Rousseau were also more in favor of lottery system since they could see the democratic principles on which this method was based. Lottery system allowed everyone an opportunity to apply for governmental positions. However the same kind of democracy is completely missing from election system where majority is excluded and few are selected for limited seats. Two leading politicians discarded lottery system in America and France namely James Madison and Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes respectively. They are responsible for designing the structure of new representative government and for introducing the election system, which though gave, rise to democratic rule was less democratic in nature than governments chosen by the lottery system.

Manin feels that the conflict that was witnessed at the time of ratification of the constitution was also closely connected with the election system. Anti-federalists were more in favor of a direct form of democracy and felt that election system could endanger the spirit of democracy.

Manin maintains that a representative government is based on four important principles. The first one is the obvious i.e. representatives are chosen by means of an election. The second one identifies independence from the electorate, the third on focuses on the extent of freedom the public enjoys under representative government. The last principle deals with public policy development procedure. While Manin understands that the strength of representative government lies in…

Sources used in this document:
Reference

Bernard Manin. 1997. The principles of representative government. Cambridge:
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Lottery and Games Comparing and
Words: 1334 Length: 4 Document Type: Thesis

" Katniss also represents a girl who is coming of age. In this sense, the film could be called a bildungsroman, which is a genre that is completely opposite of "The Lottery." "The Lottery" is sheer over-the-top satire. The Hunger Games does not set out to ridicule and poke fun at human nature but highlight its good points in an increasingly demented and dystopian world. Katniss is admired for her

Lottery by Shirley Jackson Is a Masterful
Words: 1702 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a masterful short story that tricks its reader initially, and later surprises the reader into the understanding of the dynamics of scapegoat. The value of the book lies in its narrative technique that engages the reader dramatically in the textual process in such a manner that the reader participates in the act of scapegoat by means of identification with the townspeople (Lenemaja 1975). Simultaneously, when the

Lottery and the Rocking Horse Winner an
Words: 1669 Length: 5 Document Type: Thesis

Lottery and the Rocking Horse Winner An Analysis of "Luck" in "The Lottery" and "The Rocking Horse Winner" Both Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and DH Lawrence's "The Rocking Horse Winner" are stories about luck -- and yet in both stories that "luck" turns out to be rather unfortunate -- or, ironically, "unlucky." This paper will examine the concept of luck in both "The Lottery" and "The Rocking Horse Winner" and show how

Lottery Vs. The Hunger Games
Words: 647 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Lottery Hunger Games Picking children at random to be killed cruelly seems like an outlandish premise for any story, but remarkably, Suzanne Collins's 2008 novel The Hunger Games resembles Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" in many ways. Both are about a cruel, senseless annual event, in which people are chosen at random in a lottery situation. The selected people face death, and their death is presented to the public as

Lottery Behind Traditions and Rituals in the
Words: 580 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Lottery Behind traditions and rituals in "The Lottery" Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" is a frightening story to read. The setting seems very familiar to the average reader: Hometown America on a clear Summer day. However, the traditions followed by this small town contrast greatly with the setting in which they are taking place. The Lottery in question in this story is not one to win money or another prize, but rather it

Lottery/Dangerous Game a Reader of
Words: 903 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

When Tessie is chosen, she is quickly stoned to death by the other town people and her family. The village deems murder to be an acceptable tradition… until it is you who is chosen. The reader of "The Most Dangerous Game" is also faced with the question of the acceptability of murder. In this story, the definition of murder is expanded to include the murder of hunted animals and murder

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now