Power, inequality, and democratic politics : essays in honor of Robert A. Dahl /

The first of two major sections in this volume addresses the relationship between power and democracy. Douglas Rae develops a taxonomy of power; James March and Nancy Schwartz address problems with the shaping of interests and the making of assumptions about preference structures. Jack Nagel expresses doubts about the applicability of power to democracy and Robert Lane compares the effects of inequalities of wealth with those of power. Raymond Wolfinger, Kenneth Fox, and Jeffrey Isaac conclude this section with issues raised by Dahl's Who Governs? (1961). The second section focuses on the relationship between inequality and democracy, beginning with a round table that includes Dahl. Jennifer Hochschild then argues that the equal-opportunity ideology both facilitates and hinders the advancement of groups. David Apter compares positive with negative pluralism; David Cameron examines the weak relationship between policy instruments and income distribution in capitalist democracies. Nelson Polsby and John Harsanyi suggest that certain policies or conditions may have overall effects opposite to what is desirable, while Ian Shapiro challenges Harsanyi's assumptions. This book advances our understanding of the themes addressed by Dahl. For advanced students. -E. R. Gill, Bradley University