2,362 research outputs found
LA FIN DE LA DĂMOCRATIE LIBĂRALE TELLE QUE NOUS LâAVONS CONNUE?
The theoretical fault-lines in liberal democratic theory have always been located in at least two important sites: that of process or procedure, and that of outcome. As to the former, the problem has been that of trying to ensure that the âwill of the peopleâ â or at least of the relevant people, the eligible voters â gets to be expressed through meaningful, practical mechanisms. According to the consensus shared by most mainstream liberal democratic theorists of the recent past, elections to representative bodies and subsequent votes by the winners of these elections are such mechanisms. But of course at every turn we constantly find instances of elected governments thwarting the majority views of the same body of individuals by which they were originally elected.
Liberal democratic theory says that, as long as the appropriate procedures for manifesting the majority (or, in some instances, mere plurality) will of the people concerning who is to represent them were followed, then the representatives are justified in voting against the apparent will of the people. But this is a clear practical contradiction.
As for the the question of outcome, here recent liberal democratic theory has dug an even deeper hole for itself by abandoning the notion of a common good, to which at least some earlier theorists in this tradition still subscribed.
Liberal democratic theory has ultimately denied itself any critical function with respect to outcomes. Instead, it is forced to ratify every outcome, however clearly misguided or even tragic it may be, as long as it is the product of the accepted authoritative set of procedures and institutions.
Surely the new theoretical direction will need to come to grips with all the elements mostly absent from the Rawlsian approach and from the writings of most of Rawlsâ liberal democratic fellow travelers: power, violence, domination, ideology, decision, interpretation, political expression, revolution, history, economy, biopolitics.
New models for social and political philosophy are desperately needed!Theoretisch befanden sich die falschen Linien in der Theorie der liberalen Demokratie schon immer an mindestens zwei wichtigen Stellen: im Prozess oder Prozedere und im Resultat. Was das Erste betrifft, so bestand das Problem darin, dass versucht wurde sicherzustellen, dass der âWille des Volkesâ â oder zumindest der der relevanten Menschen, der wĂ€hlbaren WĂ€hler â durch anschauliche, praktische Mechanismen zum Ausdruck kommt. Entsprechend dem Konsens der bedeutendsten Theoretiker der liberalen Demokratie in der neueren Vergangenheit gelten als solche Mechanismen die Wahlen fĂŒr ReprĂ€sentativorgane und die nachfolgenden Stimmen der Wahlsieger. Doch auf jedem Schritt stoĂen wir auf Instanzen der gewĂ€hlten Regierungen, die die Mehrheitsansichten desselben Personenkreises, von dem sie ursprĂŒnglich gewĂ€hlt worden waren, preisgeben. Die Theorie der liberalen Demokratie besagt, dass solange angebrachte Verfahren zum Ausdruck des Willens der Mehrheit angewandt werden (oder in einigen FĂ€llen, der bloĂen Mehrzahl) im Hinblick darauf, wer sie vertreten soll, die Vertreter berechtigt sind, gegen den manifesten Willen des Volkes zu stimmen. Doch dies ist natĂŒrlich ein offensichtlicher Widerspruch. Was die Frage der Resultate betrifft, so hat sich die neueste Theorie der liberalen Demokratie eine noch tiefere Grube gegraben, da sie sich vom Begriff des Allgemeinwohls abgewandt hat, zu dem zumindest einige frĂŒhere Theoretiker in dieser Tradition standen. Die Theorie der liberalen Demokratie hat sich letztlich selbst jegliche kritische Funktion in Bezug auf die Resultate abgesprochen. Statt dessen ist sie gezwungen, jedes Ergebnis zu ratifizieren, ohne RĂŒcksicht darauf, wie offensichtlich es irrefĂŒhrend oder sogar tragisch sein mag, solange es das Erzeugnis einer akzeptierten autoritativen BĂŒndels von Verfahren und Institutionen ist. Eine neue theoretische Richtung wird sicherlich gegen alle Elemente ankĂ€mpfen mĂŒssen, die gröĂtenteils im Rawlsschen Ansatz und den Schriften der meisten seiner liberaldemokratischen MitlĂ€ufer fehlen: mit Macht, Gewalt, Domination, Ideologie, EntschlĂŒssen, Deutungen, politischem Ausdruck, Revolution, Geschichte, Ăkonomie, Biopolitik. Was wir dringend brauchen, sind neue Modelle sozialer und politischer Philosophie!Les failles dans la thĂ©orie de la dĂ©mocratie libĂ©rale ont Ă©tĂ© toujours localisĂ©es dans au moins deux sphĂšres importantes : celle de la procĂ©dure et celle des rĂ©sultatst. En ce qui concerne la premiĂšre, le problĂšme rĂ©side dans le fait que lâon tĂąche que «la volontĂ© du peuple» â ou du moins celle du peuple pertinent, des Ă©lecteurs Ă©ligibles â sâexprime Ă travers des mĂ©canismes signifiants et pratiques. Suivant le consenus partagĂ© jusquâĂ rĂ©cemment par la plupart des thĂ©oriciens orthodoxes de la dĂ©mocratie libĂ©rale, les Ă©lections Ă des cops reprĂ©sentatifs et les votes ultĂ©rieurs des gagnants de ces Ă©lections constituent de tels mĂ©canismes. Or, on constate Ă tout bout de champ que diffĂ©rentes instances des pouvoirs Ă©lus agissent Ă lâencontre de lâopinion des groupements de personnes qui les ont Ă©lus. La thĂ©orie de la dĂ©mocratie libĂ©rale dit que, tant que lâon respecte les procĂ©dures appropriĂ©es permettant lâexpression majoritaire (ou, Ă certaines instances, seulement plurielle) de la volontĂ© du peuple quant Ă ceux qui le reprĂ©senteront, les reprĂ©sentants sont lĂ©gitimĂ©s Ă voter contre la volontĂ© apparente du peuple. Or, câest une pure condradiction pratique.
En ce qui concerne la question des rĂ©sultats, la thĂ©orie rĂ©cente de la dĂ©mocratie libĂ©rale sâest creusĂ© lĂ une fosse encore plus profonde en abandonnant le concept de bien commun, auquel souscrivaient du moins quelques-uns des thĂ©oriciens plus traditionnels. La thĂ©orie de la dĂ©mocratie libĂ©rale a finalement renoncĂ© Ă toute fonction critique Ă lâĂ©gard des rĂ©sultats. Par contre, elle est obligĂ©e de ratifier tout rĂ©sultat, quelque dĂ©plorable ou mĂȘme tragique quâil puisse ĂȘtre, tant quâil soit le produit de lâensemble habilitĂ© des procĂ©dures et des institutions admises.
Or, la nouvelle orientation thĂ©orique devra sâattaquer Ă tous les Ă©lĂ©ments qui sont absents dans lâapproche rawlsienne et dans les Ă©crits de la plupart des disciples libĂ©raux de Rawls : pouvoir, violence, domination, idĂ©ologie, dĂ©cision, interprĂ©tation, expression politique, rĂ©volution, histoire, Ă©conomie, biopolitique.
On a désespérément besoin de nouveaux modÚles opour la philosophie sociale et politique
Sartre Đ°nd America
The article is devoted to the North American Sartre Society, which was founded in 1985. The author as its co-founder develops his point of view presenting during panel discussion of Sartreâs relations with the United States on the 2015 meeting. He devoted a lot of papers and books to Sartreâs philosophy. Some of them are presented in the references. The author reflects at a somewhat deeper level on Sartreâs attitudes towards USA in the context of its history and international relations, saying about philosopherâs contradictions, the strategy and tactics of his self-disinvitation. The author traces Sartreâs transition from one myth of America to another in later life. Sartreâs initial experiential encounter with the American reality was by no means entirely positive, but he did like New York City, feeling a sense of freedom in the midst of its crowds that he retained as an important part of his picture of America when back in France. Freedom, an open future, almost unlimited possibilities, and a lack of a sense of history of the sort by which Europe is shackled. Several events of the postwar world history such as Korean war, then Vietnam war paved the way for Sartreâs most salient later attitudes towards America. Meanwhile, Sartre had accepted an invitation to present lectures at Cornell University in 1965. But after American massive bombing of North Vietnam in 1965 Sartre responded by disinviting himself from Cornell by way of protest. Recounting these events, the author of the paper recalls so-called âCornell Lecturesâ, which were saved in unfinished manuscript form and have been given the title âMorale et Histoireâ. A serious interest in American political life is shown on Sartreâs and Beauvoirâs visit to Cuba as guests of Fidel Castro and Sartreâs participation in Lord Bertrand Russellâs independent War Crimes Tribunal
The End of Liberal Democracy as We Have Know It?
The theoretical fault-lines in liberal democratic theory have always been located in at least two important sites: that of process or procedure, and that of outcome. As to the former, the problem has been that of trying to ensure that the »will of the people« â or at least of the relevant people, the eligible voters â gets to be expressed through meaningful, practical mechanisms. According to the consensus shared by most mainstream liberal democratic theorists of the recent past, elections to representative bodies and subsequent votes by the winners of these elections are such mechanisms. But of course at every turn we constantly find instances of elected governments thwarting the majority views of the same body of individuals by which they were originally elected.
Liberal democratic theory says that, as long as the appropriate procedures for manifesting the majority (or, in some instances, mere plurality) will of the people concerning who is to represent them were followed, then the representatives are justified in voting against the apparent will of the people. But this is a clear practical contradiction.
As for the the question of outcome, here recent liberal democratic theory has dug an even deeper hole for itself by abandoning the notion of a common good, to which at least some earlier theorists in this tradition still subscribed.
Liberal democratic theory has ultimately denied itself any critical function with respect to outcomes. Instead, it is forced to ratify every outcome, however clearly misguided or even tragic it may be, as long as it is the product of the accepted authoritative set of procedures and institutions.
Surely the new theoretical direction will need to come to grips with all the elements mostly absent from the Rawlsian approach and from the writings of most of Rawlsâ liberal democratic fellow travelers: power, violence, domination, ideology, decision, interpretation, political expression, revolution, history, economy, biopolitics.
New models for social and political philosophy are desperately needed
County government in South Carolina today; Municipal government in South Carolina today, 1993 November 11
This publication contains two lectures, the first by William L. McBride on County Government in South Carolina Today and the second by William D. Workman, III on Municipal Government in South Carolina Today
Profits, Costs, and the Changing Structure of Dairy Farming
U.S. dairy production is consolidating into fewer but larger farms. This report uses data from several USDA surveys to detail that consolidation and to analyze the financial drivers of consolidation. Specifically, larger farms realize lower production costs. Although small dairy farms realize higher revenue per hundredweight of milk sold, the cost advantages of larger size allow large farms to be profitable, on average, even while most small farms are unable to earn enough to replace their capital. Further survey evidence, as well as the financial data, suggest that consolidation is likely to continue.Dairy farming, economies of scale, economies of size, dairy farm structure, milk costs, Farm Management, Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,
The alcohol-preferring (P) and high-alcohol-drinking (HAD) rats â Animal Models of Alcoholism
The objective of this article is to review the literature on the utility of using the selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) and high-alcohol-drinking (HAD) lines of rats in studies examining high alcohol drinking in adults and adolescents, craving-like behavior, and the co-abuse of alcohol with other drugs. The P line of rats meets all of the originally proposed criteria for a suitable animal model of alcoholism. In addition, the P rat exhibits high alcohol-seeking behavior, demonstrates an alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) under relapse drinking conditions, consumes amounts of ethanol during adolescence equivalent to those consumed in adulthood, and co-abuses ethanol and nicotine. The P line also exhibits excessive binge-like alcohol drinking, attaining blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 200 mg% on a daily basis. The HAD replicate lines of rats have not been as extensively studied as the P rats. The HAD1,2 rats satisfy several of the criteria for an animal model of alcoholism, e.g., these rats will voluntarily consume ethanol in a free-choice situation to produce BACs between 50â200 mg%. The HAD1,2 rats also exhibit an ADE under repeated relapse conditions, and will demonstrate similar levels of ethanol intake during adolescence as seen in adults. Overall, the P and HAD1,2 rats have characteristics attributed to an early onset alcoholic, and can be used to study various aspects of alcohol use disorders
Daily patterns of ethanol drinking in adolescent and adult, male and female, high alcohol drinking (HAD) replicate lines of rats
The rationale for our study was to determine the pattern of ethanol drinking by the high alcohol-drinking (HAD) replicate lines of rats during adolescence and adulthood in both male and female rats. Rats were given 30 days of 24 h free-choice access to ethanol (15%, v/v) and water, with ad lib access to food, starting at the beginning of adolescence (PND 30) or adulthood (PND 90). Water and alcohol drinking patterns were monitored 22 h/day with a âlickometerâ set-up. The results indicated that adolescent HAD-1 and HAD-2 males consumed the greatest levels of ethanol and had the most well defined ethanol licking binges among the age and sex groups with increasing levels of ethanol consumption throughout adolescence. In addition, following the first week of adolescence, male and female HAD-1 and HAD-2 rats differed in both ethanol consumption levels and ethanol licking behavior. Adult HAD-1 male and female rats did not differ from one another and their ethanol intake or licking behaviors did not change significantly over weeks. Adult HAD-2 male rats maintained a relatively constant level of ethanol consumption across weeks, whereas adult HAD-2 female rats increased ethanol consumption levels over weeks, peaking during the third week when they consumed more than their adult male counterparts. The results indicate that the HAD rat lines could be used as an effective animal model to examine the development of ethanol consumption and binge drinking in adolescent male and female rats providing information on the long-range consequences of adolescent alcohol drinking
Involvement of Purinergic P2X4 Receptors in Alcohol Intake of High-Alcohol-Drinking (HAD) Rats
Background: The P2X4 receptor is thought to be involved in regulating alcohol-consuming behaviors and ethanol (EtOH) has been reported to inhibit P2X4 receptors. Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic agent that acts as a positive allosteric modulator of the P2X4 receptor. The current study examined the effects of systemically- and centrally-administered ivermectin on alcohol drinking of replicate lines of high-alcohol-drinking (HAD-1/HAD-2) rats, and the effects of lentiviral-delivered short-hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) targeting P2rx4 on EtOH intake of female HAD2 rats. Method: For the 1st experiment, adult male HAD-1 & HAD-2 rats were given 24-hr free-choice access to 15% EtOH vs. water. Dose-response effects of ivermectin (1.5 to 7.5 mg/kg i.p.) on EtOH intake were determined; the effects of ivermectin were then examined for 2% w/v sucrose intake over 5 consecutive days. In the 2nd experiment, female HAD-2 rats were trained to consume 15% EtOH under 2-hr limited access conditions, and dose-response effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of ivermectin (0.5 to 2.0 ÎŒg) were determined over 5 consecutive days. The 3rd experiment determined the effects of microinfusion of a lentivirus expressing P2rx4 shRNAs into the posterior ventral tegmental area (VTA) on 24-hr EtOH free-choice drinking of female HAD-2 rats. Results: The highest i.p. dose of ivermectin reduced alcohol drinking (30-45%) in both rat lines, but did not alter sucrose intake. HAD-2 rats appeared to be more sensitive than HAD1 rats to the effects of ivermectin. ICV administration of ivermectin reduced 2-hr limited access intake (âŒ35%) of femal
Scheduled access alcohol drinking by alcohol-preferring (P) and high-alcohol-drinking (HAD) rats: modeling adolescent and adult binge-like drinking
Binge alcohol drinking continues to be a public health concern among todayâs youth and young adults. Moreover, an early onset of alcohol use, which usually takes the form of binge drinking, is associated with a greater risk for developing alcohol use disorders. Given this, it is important to examine this behavior in rat models of alcohol abuse and dependence. Toward that end, the objective of this article is to review findings on binge-like drinking by selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) and high-alcohol-drinking (HAD) lines of rats. As reviewed elsewhere in this special issue, the P line meets all, and the HAD line meets most, of the proposed criteria for an animal model of alcoholism. One model of binge drinking is scheduled ethanol access during the dark cycle, which has been used by our laboratory for over 20 years. Our laboratory has also adopted a protocol involving the concurrent presentation of multiple ethanol concentrations. When this protocol is combined with limited access, ethanol intake is maximized yielding blood ethanol levels (BELs) in excess, sometimes greatly in excess, of 80 mg%. By extending these procedures to include multiple scheduled ethanol access sessions during the dark cycle for 5 consecutive days/week, P and HAD rats consume in 3 or 4 h as much as, if not more than, the amount usually consumed in a 24-h period. Under certain conditions, using the multiple scheduled access procedure, BELs exceeding 200 mg% can be achieved on a daily basis. An overview of findings from studies with other selectively bred, inbred, and outbred rats places these findings in the context of the existing literature. Overall, the findings support the use of P and HAD rats as animal models to study binge-like alcohol drinking and reveal that scheduled access procedures will significantly increase ethanol intake by other rat lines and strains as well
- âŠ