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Systemic corruption [electronic resource] : constitutional ideas for an anti-oligarchic republic / Camila Vergara.

Vergara, Camila , (Political scientist)

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2020]

1 online resource (xiii, 288 pages) : illustrations

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-281) and index.

Introduction. Crisis of the representative republic -- Corruption as political decay -- Elitist interpretations of the republic -- On material constitutional thought -- Machiavelli on the plebeian power to create and punish -- Condorcet on primary assemblies -- Luxemburg on popular emancipation -- Arendt on the republic of parties and councils -- Contemporary plebeian thought -- Constitutionalizing the power of those who do not rule -- Epilogue what is to be done?

A bold new approach to combatting the inherent corruption of representative democracy. This provocative book reveals how the majority of modern liberal democracies have become increasingly oligarchic, suffering from a form of structural political decay first conceptualized by ancient philosophers. Systemic Corruption argues that the problem cannot be blamed on the actions of corrupt politicians but is built into the very fabric of our representative systems. Camila Vergara provides a compelling and original genealogy of political corruption from ancient to modern thought, and shows how representative democracy was designed to protect the interests of the already rich and powerful to the detriment of the majority. Unable to contain the unrelenting force of oligarchy, especially after experimenting with neoliberal policies, most democracies have been corrupted into oligarchic democracies. Vergara explains how to reverse this corrupting trajectory by establishing a new counterpower strong enough to control the ruling elites. Building on the anti-oligarchic institutional innovations proposed by plebeian philosophers, she rethinks the republic as a mixed order in which popular power is institutionalized to check the power of oligarchy. Vergara demonstrates how a plebeian republic would establish a network of local assemblies with the power to push for reform from the grassroots, independent of political parties and representative government. Drawing on neglected insights from Niccolò Machiavelli, Nicolas de Condorcet, Rosa Luxemburg, and Hannah Arendt, Systemic Corruption proposes to reverse the decay of democracy with the establishment of anti-oligarchic institutions through which common people can collectively resist the domination of the few.

Democracy.
Representative government and representation.
Political corruption, Prevention.
Oligarchy.
Elite (Social sciences)
PHILOSOPHY / Political
Democracy
Elite (Social sciences)
Oligarchy
Political corruption, Prevention
Representative government and representation

Print version : Vergara, Camila Systemic Corruption : Constitutional Ideas for an Anti-Oligarchic Republic Princeton : Princeton University Press,c2020 9780691207537

0691208735 9780691208732