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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Democratic Faith

Democratic Faith

Deneen, Patrick

Paperback

Series: New Forum Books, Book 36

General Political Science

ISBN10: 0691163391
ISBN13: 9780691163390
Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr
Published: Nov 3 2014
Pages: 388
Weight: 1.31
Height: 0.86 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English

The American political reformer Herbert Croly wrote, For better or worse, democracy cannot be disentangled from an aspiration toward human perfectibility. Democratic Faith is at once a trenchant analysis and a powerful critique of this underlying assumption that informs democratic theory. Patrick Deneen argues that among democracy's most ardent supporters there is an oft-expressed belief in the need to transform human beings in order to reconcile the sometimes disappointing reality of human self-interest with the democratic ideal of selfless commitment. This transformative impulse is frequently couched in religious language, such as the need for political redemption. This is all the more striking given the frequent accompanying condemnation of traditional religious belief that informs the democratic faith.?

At the same time, because so often this democratic ideal fails to materialize, democratic faith is often subject to a particularly intense form of disappointment. A mutually reinforcing cycle of faith and disillusionment is frequently exhibited by those who profess a democratic faith--in effect imperiling democratic commitments due to the cynicism of its most fervent erstwhile supporters.

Deneen argues that democracy is ill-served by such faith. Instead, he proposes a form of democratic realism that recognizes democracy not as a regime with aspirations to perfection, but that justifies democracy as the regime most appropriate for imperfect humans. If democratic faith aspires to transformation, democratic realism insists on the central importance of humility, hope, and charity.

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