Examines the impact of liberalism on democratic government and argues that the participation of citizens in government is necessary for the survival of democracy.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition Acknowledgments Preface to the 1990 Edition Preface to the 1984 Edition Part I. Thin Democracy: The Argument Against Liberalism 1. Thin Democracy: Politics as Zookeeping 2. The Preconceptual Frame: Newtonian Politics 3. The Epistemological Frame: Cartesian Politics 4. The Psychological Frame: Apolitical Man 5. Thin Democracy in the Twentieth Century: The Potential for Pathology Part II. Strong Democracy: The Argument for Citizenship 6. Strong Democracy: Politics as a Way of Living 7. A Conceptual Frame: Politics in the Participatory Mode 8. Citizenship and Participation: Politics as Epistemology 9. Citizenship and Community: Politics as Social Being 10. The Real Present: Institutionalizing Strong Democracy in the Modern World Index

About the Author

Benjamin R. Barber is Kekst Professor of Civil Society at the University of Maryland and Director of the New York office of The Democracy Collaborative. He is the author of Fear's Empire: Terrorism, War and Democracy (2003) and Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Reshaping the World (1995).

Reviews

"[Barber] seeks to give the participatory ideal new institutional and intellectual vigor. . . .His distinctive contribution is not to develop a legislative package but to sketch a way of looking at politics from which a stronger democratic practice might emerge. . . .His approach is original and provocative."--"New York Times"