Citizens and Subjects by Tony Wright

Citizens and Subjects by Tony Wright

Citizens and Subjects is an essay on the nature and condition of democracy in Britain at the end of the twentieth century. It looks at the commonly held view that Britain is a model democracy, exposing it as a dangerous myth that inhibits both radical thought and actual constitutional change. The book looks at the tradition of political and constitutional thought in Britain and at contemporary political reality, revealing a wide gulf between the two. Dr Wright, a respected teacher and academic recently elected a Labour MP, considers Britain's particularly acute form of a general problem of modern government. While the nation thinks of itself as a liberal democracy, its liberalism was in fact in place well before democracy came onto the agenda. From the outset, democracy was seen as a problem by both conservatives and liberals. Constitutional issues have re-emerged on the political agenda in recent years. Dr Wright discusses the means by which we might move towards a pluralistic, open and participatory democracy; he also argues, however, that practical reforms will not be possible unless they are linked to a new tradition of radical constitutional thought.

`In this gloomy period for those who wish to see the British state modernised, this essay from Tony Wright comes as a refreshing read' - Financial Times

`Wright ... argues persausively for the urgent need to give a "contemporary meaning to the democratic idea" - a meaning that can be articulated in a public philosophy and put to work in political practice'. - Stuart Weir, New Statesman and Society

`... a book that will surely be numbered among the few classic essays on the British constitution.' - Bernard Crick, Political Quarterly

`... a sparkling essay on the problems of the current poitical order... moving upwards and outwards from where Hailsham left off in his Dimbeleby lecture.' - Parliamentary Affairs

`... a highly seminal work on the the most important political problem facing Britain at the end of the twentieth century... should be compulsory reading for all politicians and everyone concerned with their country's future wellbeing. We can expect to hear reverberations from it for many years.' - Representation

`Both students and teachers will find it a thought provoking essay and parts of it have already produced some interesting debates among my own students.' - Talking Politics

`... examines some of the traditionally held views about the nature of British politics and offers some cogent and alarming conclusions.' - Sunday Times

`... this book has caught the breeze that heralds the storms to come.' - Tribune

Andrew Gamble is Professor of Politics and a Fellow of Queens' College in the University of Cambridge, and currently Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies and joint editor of The Political Quarterly. His research interests lie in political economy, political theory and British politics, and his books include Between Europe and America: the future of British politics and The Spectre at the Feast: capitalist crisis and the politics of recession. In 2005 he received the Isaiah Berlin Prize from the Political Studies Association for lifetime contribution to political studies.

Tony Wright is Professorial Fellow in the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London, working on the development of the new Centre for the Study of British Politics and Public Life and contributing to the teaching of British Politics. Tony was educated at LSE, Harvard and Oxford. Before being elected to Parliament in 1992, he was Reader in British Political Thought at the University of Birmingham, where he taught in the School of Continuing Studies. In the House of Commons he chaired the Select Committee on Public Administration for over a decade; and also chaired the Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons which recommended major changes in how the Commons works. He stood down from the Commons at the last election.

He is joint editor of The Political Quarterly and his many books include GDH Cole and Socialist Democracy (1979), Socialisms: Theories and Practices (1986), RH Tawney (1987), Citizens and Subjects (1994), British Politics: A Very Short Introduction (2003) and several edited volumes including The British Political Process (2000).A collection of his other writing is to appear shortly as Doing Politics.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780415049641
ISBN 10	0415049644
Titel	Citizens and Subjects
Autor	Tony Wright
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	Taylor & Francis Ltd
Erscheinungsjahr	1993-11-04
Seitenanzahl	166
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar