Listen free for 30 days

  • Summary, Analysis & Review of Christopher H. Achen's & Larry M. Bartels's Democracy for Realists by Instaread

  • Written by: Instaread
  • Narrated by: Dwight Equitz
  • Length: 28 mins

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Summary, Analysis & Review of Christopher H. Achen's & Larry M. Bartels's Democracy for Realists by Instaread cover art

Summary, Analysis & Review of Christopher H. Achen's & Larry M. Bartels's Democracy for Realists by Instaread

Written by: Instaread
Narrated by: Dwight Equitz
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $4.95

Buy Now for $4.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government offers a critique of conventional wisdom surrounding popular theories of democracy. Authors Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels argue that the public, journalists, and political scientists rely on a group of common-sense understandings of democracy. The authors collectively refer to these beliefs as the "folk theory" of democracy. The folk theory presumes that people behave as engaged citizens and that election outcomes reflect public policy preferences. This assumption is inaccurate and misleading, and therefore presents a danger to democracy.

Political scientists have tried in various ways to validate or systematize the intuitions on which the folk theory in based. Anthony Downs put forward a spatial model of voting, which supposes that individuals vote for the politicians who are closest to their own policy preferences.

Please note: This is a summary, analysis and review of the book and not the original book.

©2016 Instaread (P)2016 Instaread

What listeners say about Summary, Analysis & Review of Christopher H. Achen's & Larry M. Bartels's Democracy for Realists by Instaread

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.