Liberal Democracy and the Social Acceleration of Time

by William E. Scheuerman

"A fine contribution to the literature on the problems of modern liberal democracy."―Choice The pace of American society has quickened exponentially since the Founding Fathers first mapped the constitution. Information travels at the speed of light; so does money. We can hop from one side of the country to the other in a matter of hours, contact our elected officials instantaneously, and share our views with thousands of people at the touch of a button. Both academia and the popular media have grappled with the consequences of this acceleration on every aspect of contemporary life. Most pressing, however, may be its impact on political life. In Liberal Democracy and the Social Acceleration of Time , William Scheuerman offers a sophisticated assessment of the implications of social and technological celerity in the operation of liberal democracies. Specifically, he asks what is acceleration's main impact on the traditional liberal democratic model of the separation of powers? According to Scheuerman, high speed has created an imbalance. The executive branch was intended to react with dispatch; by contrast, legislatures and the courts were designed to be more deliberate and thoughtful. While this system of checks and balances was effective in the age of horse and buggy, Scheuerman argues that the very features that were these institutions' strengths may now be a liability. Throughout this book, Scheuerman offers a constructive critique which articulates ways in which "liberal democracy might be recalibrated in accordance with the tempo of modern society.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 2004

Reviews

[Donna Bahry Bartlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scheuerman notes that the world has speeded up since the last decades of the 20th century -- travel, communication, business and much more now function faster than ever before. The speed, in turn, affects the roles and prominence of different branches of government. Scheuerman notes that the judiciary focuses largely on the past (on constitutional issues and precedents) and is designed to be relatively slow moving -- a stable institution. The legislature focuses on the future -- it's prospective -- adopting new laws to shape future policies. Its deliberations are also relatively slow moving -- meant to include wide public discussion/deliberation, research, and debate before legislation is passed. In contrast, the executive is designed to move more quickly. So, a speeded-up world tends to give more prominence & power to the executive branch (and, I would argue, to populist politicians who ride roughshod over the other two branches). Scheuerman's analysis fits really well with what many analysts have seen as a "democratic recession" around the globe since the early 2000's -- the gradual erosion of democratic norms & institutions.

[Katrinka · Rating 5 out of 5]

A carefully considered exploration of how particular understandings of time are inherent to liberal democracies that make use of the separation of powers-- and how the "socially accelerated time" according to which we currently function troubles this separation and the ability to maintain stable democratic operation as we (think we) know it.