Featuring a foreword by Congressman Glen Browder, Politics on a Human
Scale examines political decentralization in the United States, from
the founding of the republic to the present. Part of the desirable
equilibrium is a sense of proportionality. Some sizes, some amounts,
some levels are more appropriate than others. Decentralism is the best
political tool to ensure equilibrium, to promote proportionality, and
to obtain appropriate scale. Power distribution should be as wide as
possible. Government functions should be as close to the people as
practicable. In this way, individual human beings are not swallowed by
a monstrous Leviathan. Persons are not at the mercy of an impersonal
bureaucracy led by the far-away few. Decentralism gives us politics on
a human scale. It gives us more democracy within the framework of a
republic. The longest chapters in the book deal with crucial turning
points in U.S. history—specifically, when decentralists lost the
upper-hand in the two major political parties. Decentralism in our
nation runs deep, both intellectually and historically. It also has
considerable popular support. Yet today it is a virtual political
orphan. In Washington, neither major political party is serious about
dispersing power to lower levels of government or to the people
themselves. Still, there are dissident politicians and political
movements that remain committed to the decentralist principle. Power
needs to be held in check, partly through decentralization, because
power holds a great and dangerous attraction for humans. Recognition
of this human tendency is the first step in guarding against it and
getting back on a better path.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780739175767
Publisert
2015
Utgiver
Vendor
Lexington Books
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter