Overview

The Dispersion of Power is an urgent call to rethink centuries of conventional wisdom about what democracy is, why it matters, and how to make it better. Drawing from history, social science, psychology, and critical theory, it explains why elections do not and cannot realize the classic ideal of popular rule, and why prevailing strategies of democratic reform often make things worse. Instead, Bagg argues, we should see democracy as a way of protecting public power from capture-an alternative vision that is at once more realistic and more inspiring.Despite their many shortcomings, real-world elections do prevent the most extreme forms of tyranny, and are therefore indispensable. In dealing with the vast inequalities that remain, however, we cannot rely on standard solutions such as electoral reform, direct democracy, deliberation, and participatory governance. Instead, Bagg shows, protecting and enriching democracy requires addressing underlying inequalities of power directly. In part, this entails substantive policies attacking the advantages of wealthy elites. Even more crucially, deepening democracy requires the organization of oppositional, countervailing power among ordinary people. Neither task is easy, but historical precedents exist in both cases-and if democracy is to survive contemporary crises, leaders and citizens alike must find ways to revive and reinvent these essential democratic practices for the 21st century.

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9780192848826

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Reviews

Democrats have failed to confront the realities of power, Samuel Bagg compellingly argues, frustrating their own hopes by thinking about democracy itself the wrong way. In doing so, they have helped reproduce hierarchy rather than prioritize mechanisms to counteract the risk of state capture. Few books are both important and original in their provocation, and even fewer explore an arresting insight with the generality and specifics to make it potent. The Dispersion of Power does all of this-and more. * Samuel Moyn, Yale University *

Democrats have failed to confront the realities of power, Samuel Bagg compellingly argues, frustrating their own hopes by thinking about democracy itself the wrong way. In doing so, they have helped reproduce hierarchy rather than prioritize mechanisms to counteract the risk of state capture. Few books are both important and original in their provocation, and even fewer explore an arresting insight with the generality and specifics to make it potent. The Dispersion of Power does all of this—and more. * Samuel Moyn, Yale University * In this impressive and compelling contribution to realist democratic theory, Samuel Bagg invites us to think about the ways that the concentration of power and money radically disrupts our ideals and practices of democracy. Bagg not only reviews the weaknesses of more conventional ideals of democracy but also outlines multiple practical strategies to fight the scourge of private wealth in politics. The Dispersion of Power is an urgent and important reminder that protecting the democratic state against oligarchic capture should take priority in our efforts to save democracy in this time of peril. * Simone Chambers, University of California Irvine * One of the most important developments in recent political theory is the growth of realist accounts and defenses of democratic politics. In that exciting wave of scholarship, Samuel Bagg has written the most intellectually ambitious book. He treats the central problem of politics as the management and checking of power, not the expression of collective will. From those chastened premises he seeks to build a grand reconciliation of democratic theory with liberal protections and with radical purposes. Realism is often accused of being minimalist, conservative, or sterile. This challenging and major work sets a new standard for what it is like to put realist thought to constructive and far-reaching work. * Jacob T. Levy, McGill University * In recent years, there have been many abstract appeals for 'realism' in political theory. Samuel Bagg's excellent book demonstrates concretely how to be a realist, while holding on to democratic hopes. In an account both subtle and bracing, Bagg focuses on the dangers of concentrated power; and he shows a real path to organizing countervailing powers in order to resist capture of the state by private interests. * Jan-Werner Müller, Princeton University * Though the book is thoroughly researched and scholarly, it is readable, with minimal jargon. Highly recommended. * Choice *

Author Information

Samuel Ely Bagg is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches political theory. He has also taught at the University of Oxford, McGill University, and Duke University, where he received his PhD in 2017. His research in democratic theory has appeared in the American Political Science Review; the American Journal of Political Science; the Journal of Politics; the Journal of Political Philosophy; and Dissent Magazine; among many other venues.

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