“The
careful and nuanced thinking that Leib brings to this institutional
context of checks and balances is the principal merit of the book.
. . . By positioning his popular branch as an alternative to referenda,
and by situating it in a context in which most of our current institutional
structure is preserved, he contributes to quasi-utopian political
theorizing. Perhaps, in the very long term, if interest in this
sort of institution persists, he will even contribute to changes
in how we actually govern.” —James Fishkin, Political
Science Quarterly
“Leib
makes a bold foray into the realm of Constitutional design that
adds sorely needed suggestions for fundamental institutional change
into debates about deliberative democracy. With uncommon insight
and creativity, he draws upon practical innovations in local deliberation
such as citizen juries and deliberative polls to construct a proposal
for an entirely new branch of government that would inject direct
popular deliberation into law-making. His book is highly profitable
and provocative for anyone interested in the deeply democratic reform
of American government.” —Archon Fung, Harvard University
“Most
contemporary work in political theory that relates to deliberative
democracy has become far too abstract. Ethan Leib goes to the heart
of the matter by asking how deliberative democracy can really work
under existing conditions. In doing this, he has written an important
book for anyone concerned about the future of democracy.”
—Kevin Mattson, Ohio University
We
are taught in civics class that the Constitution provides for three
basic branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative.
While the President and Congress as elected by popular vote are
representative, can they really reflect accurately the will and
sentiment of the populace? Or do money and power dominate everyday
politics to the detriment of true self-governance? Is there a way
to put “We the people” back into government? Ethan Leib
thinks there is and offers this blueprint for a fourth branch of
government as a way of giving the people a voice of their own.
While
drawing on the rich theoretical literature about deliberative democracy,
Leib concentrates on designing an institutional scheme for embedding
deliberation in the practice of American democratic government.
At the heart of his scheme is a process for the adjudication of
issues of public policy by assemblies of randomly selected citizens
convened to debate and vote on the issues, resulting in the enactment
of laws subject both to judicial review and to possible veto by
the executive and legislative branches. The “popular”
branch would fulfill a purpose similar to the ballot initiative
and referendum but avoid the shortcomings associated with those
forms of direct democracy. Leib takes special pains to show how
this new branch would be integrated with the already existing governmental
and political institutions of our society, including administrative
agencies and political parties, and would thus complement rather
than supplant them. |
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