The End of Democracy?: The Celebrated First Things Debate With Arguments Pro and Con and "the Anatomy of a Controversy"

by Richard John Neuhaus, m Muncy (Editor)

For people who follow such matters, the intellectual firefight over a 1996 symposium appearing in the conservative monthly journal First Things provided an endless stream of controversy and, perhaps, amusement. The participants--among them Robert Bork and Charles Colson--offered their views on what conservatives commonly call "judicial imperialism." Put another way, they asked whether the judicial branch of government has imperiled representative democracy by subsuming legislative authority. The writers came dangerously close to calling the U.S. government illegitimate--so close, in fact, that several of their critics accused them of fomenting revolution. The End of Democracy? collects the original symposium, all of the important responses to it--including contributions appearing in a variety of journals and by authors such as William J. Bennett, Gertrude Himmelfarb, and William Kristol--and an epilogue by First Things editor Richard John Neuhaus. Wannabe political theorists will devour this book, as will anyone who enjoys internecine warfare on the right. H-3

288 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1997

About the author

Richard John Neuhaus was a prominent Christian cleric (first as a Lutheran pastor and later as a Roman Catholic priest) and writer. Born in Canada, Neuhaus moved to the United States where he became a naturalized United States citizen. He was the founder and editor of the monthly journal First Things and the author of several books, including The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America (1984), The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World (1987), and Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth (2006). He was a staunch defender of the Roman Catholic Church's teachings on abortion and other life issues and an unofficial advisor of President George W. Bush on bioethical issues.

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essays in First Things on power of judiciary, responses from detractors and adherents, with "Analysis of a Conflict"