For the many or the few : the initiative, public policy, and American democracy / John G. Matsusaka.

Author
Matsusaka, John G. [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Description
xii, 201 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks JF494 .M38 2004 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Series
    American politics and political economy [More in this series]
    Summary note
    Direct democracy is alive and well in the United States. Citizens are increasingly using initiatives and referendums to take the law into their own hands, overriding their elected officials to set tax, expenditure, and social policies. John G. Matsusaka's For the Many or the Few provides the first even-handed and historically based treatment of the subject. Drawing upon a century of evidence, Matsusaka argues against the popular belief that initiative measures are influenced by wealthy special interest groups that neglect the majority view. Examining demographic, political, and opinion data, he demonstrates how the initiative process brings about systematic changes in tax and expenditure policies of state and local governments that are generally supported by the citizens. He concludes that, by and large, direct democracy in the form of the initiative process works for the benefit of the many rather than the few. An unprecedented, comprehensive look at the historical, empirical, and theoretical components of how initiatives function within our representative democracy to increase political competition while avoiding the tyranny of the majority, For the Many or the Few is a most timely and definitive work.-- Provided by Publisher.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-194) and index.
    Contents
    • An American institution
    • A blizzard of data
    • The evidence
    • Spending and taxes, 1970-2000
    • For the many or the few
    • Conservative or liberal
    • Explaining the facts
    • When legislators get out of step
    • Key episodes in the twentieth century
    • Open questions
    • Majority tyranny and the constitution
    • Delegation, information, and competition.
    ISBN
    • 0226510816 ((cloth ; : alk. paper))
    • 9780226510811 ((cloth ; : alk. paper))
    LCCN
    2004001839
    OCLC
    54365369
    Statement on language in description
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