{"product_id":"counting-the-many-the-origins-and-limits-of-supermajority-rule-hardback-9780521198233","title":"Counting the Many; The Origins and Limits of Supermajority Rule (Hardback) 9780521198233","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eCounting the Many\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe Origins and Limits of Supermajority Rule\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eExamines the history underlying the use of supermajority voting rules and offers a critique of their ability to remedy the defects of majority decision making.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eMelissa Schwartzberg (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780521198233, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 18 November 2013\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e252 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.54 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e“As she did in her previous, remarkable book on entrenchment provisions, Democracy and Legal Change, Melissa Schwartzberg, in Counting the Many, shows us how little we really understand a widespread practice in modem constitutionalism, in this case supermajoritarianism. Combining sharp rational analysis and subtle historical research, Schwartzberg illuminates the origins of vote counting and the decision rules that developed along with it. Normatively, the book is courageous: Schwartzberg demonstrates in no uncertain terms that there is no justification compatible with democratic principles for supermajority requirements. Historically, the book is revelatory in several respects: for instance, Schwartzberg informs us that ‘one person, one vote’ was originally an aristocratic, not democratic, principle. Counting the Many is an excellent book that will enjoy an enormous scholarly and, hopefully, political impact.” – John P. McCormick, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSupermajority rules govern many features of our lives in common: from the selection of textbooks for our children's schools to residential covenants, from the policy choices of state and federal legislatures to constitutional amendments. It is usually assumed that these rules are not only normatively unproblematic but necessary to achieve the goals of institutional stability, consensus, and minority protections. In this book, Melissa Schwartzberg challenges the logic underlying the use of supermajority rule as an alternative to majority decision making. She traces the hidden history of supermajority decision making, which originally emerged as an alternative to unanimous rule, and highlights the tensions in the contemporary use of supermajority rules as an alternative to majority rule. Although supermajority rules ostensibly aim to reduce the purported risks associated with majority decision making, they do so at the cost of introducing new liabilities associated with the biased judgments they generate and secure.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e1. Introduction\u003cbr\u003e Part I. A Remedy for the Problems of Unanimity: 2. Prelude: acclamation and aggregation in the ancient world\u003cbr\u003e 3. Unanimitas to a two-thirds vote: medieval origins of supermajority rule\u003cbr\u003e 4. Unanimity and supermajority rule in eighteenth-century France\u003cbr\u003e Part II. A Remedy for the Problems of Majority Rule: 5. Equality, majority rule, and supermajorities\u003cbr\u003e 6. Constitutionalism without supermajorities\u003cbr\u003e 7. Constitutionalism under complex majoritarianism\u003cbr\u003e 8. Conclusion.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Political science \u0026amp; theory [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Political science \u0026amp; theory\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Political%20science%20\u0026amp;%20theory%20%5BJPA%5D%22\"\u003eJPA\u003c\/a\u003e], History of ideas [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History of ideas\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20of%20ideas%20%5BJFCX%5D%22\"\u003eJFCX\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46006933618968,"sku":"9780521198233","price":79.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9780521198233i.jpg?v=1694495652","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/counting-the-many-the-origins-and-limits-of-supermajority-rule-hardback-9780521198233","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}