Reconstructing Democracy

This is an urgent manifesto for the reconstruction of democratic belonging in our troubled times. In their theorizing of democracy as a resonant dynamic of local engagements, civic practices, and forms of collective agency, Charles Taylor, Patrizia Nanz, and Madeleine Beaubien Taylor offer robust philosophical and empirical solutions to the deep need for reestablishing a sense of trust in citizen participation and solidarity. -- Davide Panagia, author of The Political Life of Sensation
Reconstructing Democracy at first glance seems modest in its scope and aim, but it is actually quite ambitious. Taylor, Nanz, and Taylor find compelling examples of how engagement by citizens with other citizens at the most basic level of discussion and consultation can reshape communities, and in reshaping communities, reform the public sphere. The various citizen councils, grassroots organizers, and NGOs they highlight are those that don’t simply listen to citizens but encourage their active participation. The effect is to open up a fresh range of ideas for enabling ordinary citizens to shape the priorities of the places where they live. -- Thomas Dumm, author of Home in America
This little book serves as a reminder of what’s missing from public life. -- Scott McLemee * Inside Higher Ed *