Is Democracy Possible Here?: Principles for a New Political Debate

"In Is Democracy Possible Here? Ronald Dworkin throws down the gauntlet to conservatives. He articulates a compelling bipartisan account of the abstract principles that govern political decisions and he then argues, trenchantly, that those very principles condemn the conservative agenda. Breathtaking in its conception and peppered with shocking observations about current U.S. domestic and foreign policy, Dworkin's book provides a challenge that conservatives simply cannot ignore. Has he misidentified the principles or misunderstood their implications? The naysayers had better have an answer."--Michael Smith, Princeton University

"Ronald Dworkin is indisputably among the world's leading legal and political philosophers. Here, he tackles major issues of political life in our time and offers challenging analysis and practical conclusions. Writing for a wide audience, he pulls together diverse perspectives in relation to pressing problems and presents difficult ideas in striking and provocative form."--Kent Greenawalt, Columbia University School of Law

Publishers Weekly

Rarely has partisan rhetoric been more divisive or political bickering more infantile than over the last few election cycles. In this short book, Dworkin, a professor of law and philosophy at New York University and Oxford University, argues that liberals and conservatives must realize that each camp is working for the same goal of a better nation. Dworkin (Law's Empire) builds this work on the assertion that most Americans accept certain fundamental principles, the most important of which are the beliefs that "each human life has a special kind of objective value" and "each person has a special responsibility for realizing the success of his own life." From these conventionally conservative maxims, Dworkin constructs an unmistakably liberal legal framework, coming down in favor of due process for terror suspects, same-sex marriage, abortion rights and progressive taxation and social welfare policies. Written in simple and sometimes repetitive language, some of the book's sections are more compelling than others. The too-brief passage on abortion, for instance, is unlikely to make any converts, and the final chapter, on tax-and-spend policies, may strike some as na ve. Though his claim that democracy is imperiled by a dearth of rational public debate is certainly overblown, Dworkin's book deserves careful consideration and response. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Ronald Dworkin, winner of the 2007 Ludvig Holberg International Memorial Prize, is the author of many books, including "Sovereign Virtue, Freedom's Law," and "Life's Dominion". He is the Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law at New York University and the Bentham Professor of Jurisprudence at University College London.