Ian Shapiro

What should we expect from democracy, and how likely is it that democracies will live up to those expectations? In The State of Democratic Theory, Ian Shapiro offers a critical assessment of contemporary answers to these questions, lays out his distinctive alternative, and explores its implications for policy and political action. Some accounts of democracy's purposes focus on aggregating preferences;...

A spirited defence of the Enlightenment against assaults from both the left and the right that explains its urgent implications for our contemporary politics. Ours is an age when optimism about politics is hard to come by. Ian Shapiro explains why this is so and, without minimising the daunting challenges, spells out an appropriate response. Written in the indomitable spirit...

"It is now beyond debate that rising inequality is not only leaving millions of Americans living on a sharp edge but also is threatening our democracy. For activists and scholars alike who are struggling to create a more equitable society, this is an essential read." - David Gergen "A hard and pragmatic look at how America can ameliorate its inequality....

When do governments merit our allegiance, and when should they be denied it? Ian Shapiro explores this most enduring of political dilemmas in this innovative and engaging book. Building on his highly popular Yale courses, Professor Shapiro evaluates the main contending accounts of the sources of political legitimacy. Starting with theorists of the Enlightenment, he examines the arguments put forward...