Weale, Albert
The Will of the People: A Modern Myth
In this book Albert Weale dissects the idea of the will of the people, showing that it relies on a mythical view of participatory democracy. As soon as a choice between more than two simple alternatives is involved, there is often no clear answer to the question of what a majority favours. Moreover, because governments have to interpret the results of referendums, the will of the people becomes a means for strengthening executive control – the exact opposite of what appealing to the people’s will seemed to imply.
Weale argues that it’s time to dispense with the myth of the will of the people. A flourishing democracy requires an open society in which choices can be challenged, parliaments strengthened and populist leaders called to account.
Keywords: Democracy, the people, the will of the people, Trump, Brexit, populism, elites, political theory, Democratic Theory, Political Systems, Democratic Theory, Political Systems
- Author(s)
- Weale, Albert
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
- Publication year
- 2018
- Language
- en
- Edition
- 1
- Page amount
- 120 pages
- Category
- Society
- Format
- Ebook
- eISBN (ePUB)
- 9781509533299
- Printed ISBN
- 9781509533275