In Our Name: The Ethics of Democracy

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When a government in a democracy acts in our name, are we, as citizens, responsible for those acts What if the government commits a moral crime The protestor's slogan--"Not in our name!"--testifies to the need to separate ourselves from the wrongs of our leaders. Yet the idea that individual citizens might bear a special responsibility for political wrongdoing is deeply puzzling for ordinary morality and leading theories of democracy. In Our Name explains how citizens may be morally exposed to the failures of their representatives and state institutions, and how complicity is the professional hazard of democratic citizenship. Confronting the ethical challenges that citizens are faced with in a self-governing democracy, Eric Beerbohm proposes institutional remedies for dealing with them. Beerbohm questions prevailing theories of democracy for failing to account for our dual position as both citizens and subjects. Showing that the obligation to participate in the democratic process is even greater when we risk serving as accomplices to wrongdoing, Beerbohm argues for a distinctive division of labor between citizens and their representatives that charges lawmakers with the responsibility of incorporating their constituents' moral principles into their reasoning about policy. Grappling with the practical issues of democratic decision making, In Our Name engages with political science, law, and psychology to envision mechanisms for citizens seeking to avoid democratic complicity.

Reviews

"Beerbohm addresses crucially important questions with philosophical insight and some imagination: When are people in a democratic system complicit in and responsible for unjust government actions and structures What is required of citizens under unjust circumstances"--Choice "Beerbohm's research and range are impressive; he is precise in definition and argumentation: he tests his proposed principles against a staggering variety of hypothetical situations (and the occasional real one): and he is fearless in suggesting that our current political practices may defy justification... Although other books have sought to treat the theme of citizen complicity in public wrongdoing, none approaches this one in its care, seriousness, and sophistication."--Andrew Sabl, Perspectives on Politics "[T]houghtful and expansive... In Our Name is a distinctive and important contribution to democratic theory."--Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Author Bio

Eric Beerbohm is assistant professor of government and social studies and director of graduate fellowships for the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.