Stealth Democracy: Americans' Beliefs About How Government Should Work

Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology

by John R. Hibbing, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse

Examining how people want their democratic government to work, this study finds that Americans don't like many of the practices associated with democracy: the conflicts, the debates, the compromises. It finds that Americans don't want to have to see democracy in practice, nor do they want to be involved in politics. If American citizens had their way, political decisions would be made by unselfish decision-makers, lessening the need for monitoring government.

Genres: Politics, Political Science, Nonfiction, American, United States, Academic

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 1998

Reviews

[Letotheon · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting interpretation of rather old data. If compared to modern data, the interpretation did not hold up tho.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of the book: citizens do not like how Congress works. The data come mainly from focus groups and a original survey. The idea is quite provocative. However, I remain skeptical. I do not completely agree with their main measure. Also, I could do without the 2nd half of the book and its normative prescriptions.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.
Americans are quite wrong about:
- what other Americans think and
- how goverment works.
But political elites and the punditry are just as wrong about
- what Americans want and
- how governance could be improved.
This is a very, very interesting book.

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking.