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In “The Sixth Extinction,” Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before.
Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
A central paradox of democracies is that they are always ruled by elites. What can democracy mean in this context? Today, it is often said that a populist revolt against elites is driving democratic politics throughout the West.
But in “Elites and Democracy,” Hugo Drochon argues that democracy is more accurately and usefully understood as a perpetual struggle among competing elites—between rising elites and ruling elites.
Real political change comes from the interaction between social movements and elite political institutions such as parties. But, although true democracy—the rule of the people—may never be achieved, striving toward it can bring about worthwhile democratic results.
Moving away from conceptions of democracy, “Elites and Democracy” develops a dynamic theory of democracy.
At the turn of the 20th century, Gaetano Mosca, Vilfredo Pareto, and Robert Michels put forward “elite” theories of democracy and gave us terms such as the “ruling class” and “elites” itself.
