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Can Democracy Safeguard the Future?

Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Can Democracy Safeguard the Future? explores the persistent short-termism of democratic systems, analysing why democracies struggle to implement policies that protect future generations. Graham Smith examines the failures in areas such as pensions, pandemics, health, social care, climate change, biodiversity, and emerging technologies. He advocates for reshaping legislatures and constitutions, reinforcing independent offices with stable mandates, and, most importantly, embracing participatory and deliberative democracy as powerful tools to overcome political myopia and ensure intergenerational justice.
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This book is ideal for readers interested in politics, democratic reform, long-term policymaking, and intergenerational justice. Scholars, policymakers, students of political science, and citizens seeking to understand and improve the effectiveness of democracy in safeguarding the future will find it valuable.

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"A timely critique of political short-termism and what we can do to counter it"--

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Our democracies repeatedly fail to safeguard the future. From pensions to pandemics, health and social care through to climate, biodiversity and emerging technologies, democracies have been unable to deliver robust policies for the long term.

In this book, Graham Smith asks why. Exploring the drivers of short-termism, he considers ways of reshaping legislatures and constitutions and proposes strengthening independent offices whose overarching goals do not change at every election. More radically, Smith argues that forms of participatory and deliberative politics offer the most effective democratic response to the current political myopia, as well as a powerful means of protecting the interests of generations to come.

Series: Democratic Futures

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  • Can Democracy Safeguard the Future?
    Our democracies repeatedly fail to safeguard the future. From pensions to pandemics, health and social care through to climate, biodiversity and emerging technologies, democracies have been unable to deliver robust policies for the long term. In this book, Graham Smith asks why. Exploring the drivers of short-termism, he considers ways of reshaping legislatures and constitutions and proposes strengthening independent offices...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as crystal clear and utterly persuasive, this book is lauded for providing compelling evidence that deliberative democracy is crucial for long-term justice. Roman Krznaric calls it essential reading for those concerned with future generations, while Jane Mansbridge highlights its deep insights into protective institutions, revealing much previously unknown even to experts.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781509539253

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 22 January 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 15.0mm

Width: 122.0mm

Height: 188.0mm

Weight: 159g

Pages: 160

About the Author

Graham SmithΒ is Professor of Politics and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Westminster, and Chair of the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development. He is an internationally recognised expert on citizens’ assemblies.

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