The concept of democracy

• Verfasst von: Cappelen, Herman [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: The concept of democracy
• Titelzusatz: an essay on conceptual amelioration and abandonment
• Verf.angabe: Herman Cappelen
• Verlagsort: Oxford
• Verlag: Oxford University Press
• Jahr: 2023
• Umfang: 1 online resource (xii, 231 pages).
• Gesamttitel/Reihe: Oxford scholarship online
• Fussnoten: Also issued in print: 2023. - "This is an open access publication, available online and distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial - No Derivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)"--Title page verso. - Includes bibliographical references and index. - Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed on September 1, 2023)
• ISBN: 978-0-19-199435-7
• DOI: doi:10.1093/oso/9780198886518.001.0001
• Schlagwörter: (s)Demokratie / (s)Politische Theorie
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Bibliogr. Hinweis: Erscheint auch als : Druck-Ausgabe
• Bibliogr. Hinweis: Erscheint auch als : Druck-Ausgabe: Cappelen, Herman, 1967 - : The concept of democracy. - Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2023. - xii, 231 Seiten
• Sach-SW: Politics and Government
• Sach-SW: Politics & government
• K10plus-PPN: 186049370X
• K10plus-PPN:
  Universitätsbibliothek
• Lokale URL UB: Zum Volltext

Abstract

If we don’t know what the words “democracy” and “democratic” mean, then we don’t know what democracy is. This book defends a radical view: these words mean nothing and should be abandoned. The argument for abolitionism is simple: those terms are defective and we can easily do better, so let’s get rid of them. According to the abolitionist, the switch to alternative devices would be a significant communicative, cognitive, and political advance. The first part of the book presents a general theory of abandonment: the conditions under which language should be abandoned. The rest of the book applies this general theory to the case of “democracy” and “democratic”. The book shows that “democracy” and “democratic” are semantically, pragmatically, and communicatively defective. Abolitionism is not all gloom and doom. It also contains a message of good cheer: we have easy access to conceptual devices that are more effective than “democracy”. We can do better. These alternative linguistic devices will enable us to ask better questions, provide genuinely fruitful answers, and have more rational discussions. Moreover, those questions and answers better articulate the communicative and cognitive aims of those who use empty terms such as “democracy” and “democratic”.