Government By Consent

This book provides a better understanding of some of the central puzzles of empirical political science: how does “government” express will and purpose? How do political institutions come to have effective causal powers in the administration of policy and regulation? What accounts for both plasticity and perseverance of political institutions and practices? And how are we to formulate a better understanding of the persistence of dysfunctions in government and public administration – failures to achieve public goods, the persistence of self-dealing behavior by the actors of the state, and the apparent ubiquity of corruption even within otherwise high-functioning governments?

Moving beyond previous scholarship, he gives us a Locke as much concerned with the effective functioning of government as with the roots of its moral legitimacy."--BOOK JACKET.

Introduces students to political philosophy by raising a relevant, practical question that each of us faces -- What attitude ought we to adopt toward governments and laws? Beginning with this question, the author introduces a variety of political philosophies, each presented as an answer to this question, and shows why it is worth understanding and learning about these views. The text involves the students in the issues and encourages active thinking and learning by stressing what the student needs to make up their mind about the question. By studying this material, students will understand how one can respect the legitimacy of laws while retaining a critical stance that permits disobedience when laws and governments fail to be just.

A scientific study of the political and economic factors influencing democratic decision making