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In recent decades, and particularly since the US Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision, lawmakers and other elites have told Americans that stricter campaign finance laws are needed to improve faith in the elections process, increase trust in the government, and counter cynicism toward politics. But as David M. Primo and Jeffrey D. Milyo argue, politicians and the public alike should reconsider the conventional wisdom in light of surprising and comprehensive empirical evidence to the contrary. Primo and Milyo probe original survey data to determine Americans’ sentiments on the role of money in politics, what drives these sentiments, and why they matter. What Primo and Mi...
One of the most controversial contemporary debates on the concept of health is the clash between the views of naturalists and normativists. Naturalists argue that, although health can be valued or disvalued, the concept of health is itself objective and value-free. In contrast, normativists argue that health is a contextual and value-laden concept, and that there is no possibility of a value-free understanding of health. This debate has fueled many of the, often very acrimonious, disputations arising from the claims of health, disease and disability activists and charities and the public policy responses to them. In responding to this debate, Ananth both surveys the existing literature, with special focus on the work of Christopher Boorse, and argues that a naturalistic concept of health, drawing on evolutionary considerations associated with biological function, homeostasis, and species-design, is defensible without jettisoning norms in their entirety.
The reason that the right dominates debates on crime, family values, and economic freedom while the left defends diversionary policies such as affirmative actions and equivocates on ecology and the political empowerment of the young, argues Cummings (political science, U. of Colorado) is that too many progressives have avoided politically sensitive issues, thus condemning themselves to intellectual atrophy and political ineffectiveness. c. Book News Inc.
The story of how the First Amendment became an obstacle to campaign finance regulation—a history that began much earlier than most imagine. Americans across party lines believe that public policy is rigged in favor of those who wield big money in elections. Yet, legislators are restricted in addressing these concerns by a series of Supreme Court decisions finding that campaign finance regulations violate the First Amendment. Big Money Unleashed argues that our current impasse is the result of a long-term process involving many players. Naturally, the justices played critical roles—but so did the attorneys who hatched the theories necessary to support the legal doctrine, the legal advocacy groups that advanced those arguments, the wealthy patrons who financed these efforts, and the networks through which they coordinated strategy and held the Court accountable. Drawing from interviews, public records, and archival materials, Big Money Unleashed chronicles how these players borrowed a litigation strategy pioneered by the NAACP to dismantle racial segregation and used it to advance a very different type of cause.
As the European Union moved in the 1990s to a unified market and stronger common institutions, most observers assumed that the changes would reduce corruption. Aspects of the stronger EU promised to preclude—or at least reduce—malfeasance: regulatory harmonization, freer trade, and privatization of publicly owned enterprises. Market efficiencies would render corrupt practices more visible and less common. In The Best System Money Can Buy, Carolyn M. Warner systematically and often entertainingly gives the lie to these assumptions and provides a framework for understanding the persistence of corruption in the Western states of the EU. In compelling case studies, she shows that under certa...
Inequality in income, earnings, and wealth has risen dramatically in the United States over the past three decades. Most research into this issue has focused on the causes—global trade, new technology, and economic policy—rather than the consequences of inequality. In Social Inequality, a group of the nation's leading social scientists opens a wide-ranging inquiry into the social implications of rising economic inequality. Beginning with a critical evaluation of the existing research, they assess whether the recent run-up in economic inequality has been accompanied by rising inequality in social domains such as the quality of family and neighborhood life, equal access to education and he...
There is a clear trend in rich countries that despite rising incomes and living standards, the gap between rich and poor is widening. What does this mean for our health? Does increasing income inequality affect outcomes such as obesity, life expectancy and subjective well-being? Are rich and poor groups affected in the same ways? This book reviews the latest research on the relationship between inequality and health. It provides the reader with a pedagogical introduction to the tools and knowledge required to understand and assess the issue. Main conclusions from the literature are then summarized and discussed critically.
This wide-ranging collection acquaints American college instructors with insightful contributions and critical reflections from Europe on the study of campaigns, elections, Congress, and political behavior. Using an organizing conceptual framework of a "crossroads," which sets two parties apart on traditional democratic values, more than a dozen experts examine the political environment, issues, candidates, campaigns, media, and voters of the 2022 midterm election. Distinctive in its breadth of topics, the book covers many new issues and the most controversial aspects of 2022 using a combination of statistical and descriptive analysis. These include but are not limited to: election results, unique features of midterm elections, the role of the Supreme Court and gerrymandering in 2022, intra-party cleavages, election denialism, the role of media and campaign finance, U.S. support of Ukraine, European public opinion on American democracy, and 2022 midterm as stage setter for the 2024 presidential election.
Election law plays a critical role in regulating the political arena at a time when Americans are witnessing unprecedented levels of polarization. The Oxford Handbook of American Election Law provides a comprehensive overview of the field, a survey of core themes, and summaries of the most pressing debates. Bringing together 47 leading scholars of election law, the Handbook offers readers a clearly written guide to aid navigation through this complex area, tackling controversial issues and situating them within the field's ongoing scholarly dialogue. Unparalleled in the breadth and depth of its coverage, The Oxford Handbook of American Election Law is an invaluable resource for scholars, students, policymakers, and practitioners.
Concern about the integrity of American elections did not start with Trump's election; flaws in procedures have gradually grown during recent decades. The contemporary "tipping point" that raised public awareness was the 2000 Bush v. Gore Florida count, but, the 2016 campaign and its aftermath clearly worsened several major structural weaknesses. This deepened party polarization over the rules of the game and corroded American trust in the electoral process. Disputes over elections have proliferated on all sides in Trump's America with heated debate about the key problems--whether the risks of electoral fraud, fake news, voter suppression, or Russian interference--and with no consensus about...