Democracy Past and Future by Pierre Rosanvallon: A Critical Review - Essay Example

Democracy Past and Future by Pierre Rosanvallon: A Critical Review The book Democracy Past and Future by Pierre Rosanvallon is one which holds incredible significance and acknowledgement, and it is one which has influenced a number of different issues in the world. It is an incredibly important book which demonstrates the true brilliance and as well the relevance of Pierre Rosanvallon's work in general, and furthermore, this book in particular is considered as being one of today's most original, insightful, and captivating political forms of thinking, and it is also noted for how it asserts the respectable and remarkable political thinking of Rosanvallon, as it was more than able to shed an entirely new light on certain issues, particularly that of the theory and practice of democracy. In order to be able to better understand this particular work of Rosanvallon, as well as to be able to come to a better understanding on Rosanvallon himself, in this paper we are going to critically review the book Democracy Past and Future, namely that of a few chapters in particular - in this case, the first few chapters of the book. By doing this, we will not only be able to understand about what the primary purpose was of Rosanvallon's writing this book, but as well how Rosanvallon himself thinks and what his major goals are. This is what will be dissertated in the following. One of the most major issues that is discussed in this book is that of the matter of repoliticizing democracy, and in the beginning of this discussion, Rosanvallon makes it very clear that he has an approach which "forces the stress to fall on the paradox that the growth of social power, in essentially negative modes, has come linked to forms of the hollowing of the political. The response to undertake, on the basis of the foregoing understanding, has two components: the institutionalization and rationalization of the forms of indirect democracy on the one hand and its politicization on the other" (Rosanvallon, 2006). These two components are incredibly important to take into consideration and in order to take them properly into consideration, we need to compare them with that of other work, such as for instance that of John J. Davenport, who too specializes in the same area as Rosanvallon, and in Davenport's opinion, he rather negatively criticizes that of the institutionalization and rationalization of the forms of indirect democracy, as he points out that there are many flaws that occur within this. As well, he makes statements that moralize around the opinion that the theory of socialization has a lot to do with this matter, and he argues that it is yet not included enough. While someone like Davenport believes that there would be much that would be needed to be done in order to even come to a remote form of civilization in regards to the matter of institutionalization and rationalization of the forms of indirect democracy, Rosanvallon on the other hand, believes that this component is actually the easiest to grasp out of the two, and that it would actually not take all that much to make some sort of a contribution or a change in regards to this matter. With the second component of democratic progress, which Rosanvallon - and many others - believe should be put into action, which is that of the politicization of indirect democracy, he believes that this component is actually the most difficult out of the two given, and as well that it is the most important. Rosanvallon makes it very clear throughout this particular work of his that he believes that there is an incredibly large range of practical works of resymbolization, and as well of the production of generality. He states that "Against exceptionalist conceptions of the political, the return of the political would have to be understood as proceeding from an ensemble of actions and discourses for producing commonality and making the system of social interactions both more legible and more visible. Giving meaning back to politics, then, cannot take place in the first instance through the elaboration of a doctrine or overall project. It is above all a matter of publicly reconstituting and exposing, in order to pave the way for their evaluation and modification, the effective modes by which the social system is produced" (Rosanvallon, 2006). Rosanvallon puts many different views into perspective, and one of the most primary is this regards is that of the possibilities of democratic theory and practice, and in order to do this, throughout the book Rosanvallon provides unique theoretical understandings of certain and specific key moments in democracy's trajectory, and this includes everything from the French Revolution to European unification and all of the struggles and crises that took place within these and other time periods. In the particular section of the book that we have decided to review here, one of the most primary issues in regards to democracy that is discussed is that of how the welfare state has come under quite severe and intense pressure, not only locally but internationally, and particularly so in the last few years. Rosanvallon states that, besides partly being due to the well-known reasons of slowing economic growth and declining confidence in the public sector, that "there is also a deeper and less familiar reason for the crisis of the welfare state". Furthermore, he shows - particularly so in this particular section of the book - that there is a definite and rather obvious fundamental and practical justification for the more traditional welfare policies, and that this has absolutely been undermined by different sides, particularly that of social and intellectual change. There are many solutions to this, as Rosanvallon also makes note of in this literary work, and he believes that if we wish and want to be able to achieve the goals of social solidarity and civic equality, then we must begin the solution process by doing one thing in particular, and that is to radically rethink social programs. This is not going to be necessarily easy, however it can be done if the proper steps are taken in coordination with this, and so thus this is what must be done in order for any proper or even satisfactory solutions to be able to come about. During the process in this section where Rosanvallon begins discussing more specifically about the solutions that need to arise, we see that he begins by tracing the history of the welfare state, so that we can get a better idea about it overall, and so that we can see basically where all the troubles began in this regards. He points out several matters in particular that are involved here, such as the risks of illness and unemployment for instance, and he shows how factors such as these affect the welfare state overall. He also shows how this idea has truly become untenable over time, largely due to the economic diversification that exists and the advances that have taken place in statistical and risk analysis studies. One of the largest arguments that Rosanvallon makes here is that of how "social policies must be more narrowly targeted", and in order to more clearly represent this argument, he points out and brings our attention to certain evidence, such as the evidence from around the world, including France and the United States in particular, and uses this to further prove his point. Rosanvallon discusses so many incredibly significant democratic issues in this book, and really, regardless of what specific issue you want to learn more about in terms of democracy, you will be able to find it in this book. He truly presses many different and yet equally important issues within this work of his, and even from this review which only discussed a specific section of the book, we can still see the multitude and detailed information that is given within it. There are many different books and other literary works that discuss these sort of issues, however this one among all the rest is definitely more critical and analytical, and he brings to attention all of the most important and relevant matters that take place within democracy. He really allows we readers to be able to recognize and understand his primary point of view, which is that he believes that there many changes which have taken place in democracy, especially in regards to the United States of America, and as well that he considers there to be many problematic issues within these changes that have taken place over the years. However we have also been able to see - particularly within the specific section that was discussed in this paper - that he believes there are many solutions which can be brought about which will be able to help this situation drastically overall, and that however, in order to attain these solutions, the issue of democracy needs to be taken more seriously, brought more to attention to the general public, and that solutions need to found in the near future in order for democracy to keep from 'disappearing' altogether. From this review we can conclude many different things, namely in regards to the matter of democracy and the issues that have - and some which still are - taken place in that democracy. We have been able to see through Rosanvallon's historical and philosophical approach that there are many separate issues that need to be taken into consideration in regards to the democracy subject matter, and Democracy Past and Future is truly the best book of its kind in regards to how it openly and understandingly addresses and explains these such issues. Furthermore, by reviewing a particular section of the book as we have done here, it has made it easier to focus on one specific area, thus being able to attain a much more understanding and analytical view on the work overall. Much has been learned from this review, and we have not only been able to understand better about the issue of democracy in general, but as well as about the author, Pierre Rosanvallon, about his views, and about what his primary purpose was in writing this book. If there is any one book about democracy that needs to be read and brought to the attention of the world, then by far this work by Rosanvallon is it. The issues that are discussed within this book are of incredible importance and significance, and from this book we can really see not only the problems that exist within the issue of democracy, particularly that of how democracy is quickly vanishing within the Western world, but as well the solutions that can take place in this regards. Read More