Against Elections: The Case for Democracy

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An ingenious, heretical and timely argument to save democracy from elections Whenever there are elections, the results are the same- fear-mongering, division and broken promises. Against Elections offers a new diagnosis - and an ancient remedy. 'Excellent . . . Why does our system keep electing people whose incomes, assets, interests and psychology are hugely at variance with ours Because that is what it is designed to do' George Monbiot, Guardian 'Very persuasive . . . invigorating' Daniel Finkelstein, The Times As this ingenious book shows, the original purpose of elections was not democracy- it was to exclude the people from power by appointing an elite to govern over them. In fact, for most of its 3000-year history, democracy did not involve elections at all- members of the public were appointed to positions in government through a combination of volunteering and lottery. Based on studies and trials from around the globe, this hugely influential manifesto presents the practical case for a true democracy - one that actually works. Urgent, heretical and completely convincing, Against Elections leaves only one question to be answered- what are we waiting for 'Riveting' Irish Examiner 'Persuasive' Financial Times 'A convincing case' Observer

Reviews

Excellent . . . Why does our system keep electing people whose incomes, assets, interests and psychology are hugely at variance with ours Because that is what it is designed to do -- George Monbiot * Guardian *
Very persuasive There are few new big ideas in politics and few answers to the serious challenge faced by democratic politics ... invigorating and advance[s] a promising practical idea fresh, challenging and uncomplicated * The Times *
Riveting * Irish Examiner *
Van Reybrouck wants to revive a system in which government is not just for the people, but really by the people a persuasive description of a system designed to be soundly based in popular assent * Financial Times *
Mounts a convincing case that we have wrongly conflated democracy with elections * Observer *
This fine iconoclastic work could not be more timely ... demonstrate[s] that far from safeguarding our right to self-determination, elections are actually impeding our democracy
Choosing our rulers by popular vote has failed to deliver true democratic government: that seems to be the verdict of history unfolding before our eyes. Cogently and persuasively, David Van Reybrouck pleads for a return to selection by lot, and outlines a range of well thought out plans for how sortitive democracy might be implemented. With the popular media and political parties fiercely opposed to it, sortitive democracy will not find it easy to win acceptance. Nonetheless, it may well be an idea whose time has come
A sovereign remedy for the raging crypto-oligarchy of our turbulent times
Very persuasive There are few new big ideas in politics and few answers to the serious challenge faced by democratic politics ... invigorating and advance[s] a promising practical idea fresh, challenging and uncomplicated -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times *
This fine iconoclastic work could not be more timely ... demonstrate[s] that far from safeguarding our right to self-determination, elections are actually impeding our democracy -- Karen Armstrong

Author Bio

David Van Reybrouck (Author) David Van Reybrouck is the author of Congo- The Epic History of a People, which won twenty prizes, sold over half a million copies and has been translated into a dozen languages. His book Against Elections has been translated into more than twenty languages and has led to the trial use of participatory democracy in numerous countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. His plays Mission and Para have been performed across Europe, and his novel Zinc won the European Book Prize 2017. Revolusi was first published in the Netherlands, where it was a major bestseller. David Van Reybrouck has been described as 'one of the leading intellectuals in Europe' (Der Tagesspiegel) and 'one of the most brilliant European intellectuals of the moment' (Le Soir). He is Belgian, writes in Dutch and is based in Brussels.