Book Reviews and Notices : Elements of Democratic Government. By J. A. CORRY. (New York : Oxford University Press. 1947. Pp. viii, 507. $3.75.)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591294800100211
• Author: Thomas I. Cook
• Date: 01 June 1948
• Published date: 01 June 1948
• Subject Matter: Articles

187

istrative

Class,&dquo;

&dquo;Depression,&dquo;

&dquo;Greatest

Happiness

Principle,&dquo;

&dquo;Self

Preser-

vation,&dquo;

and

by

such

insights

as

that

&dquo;gangrene

cannot

be

cured

by

a

sprink-

ling

of

lavender

water&dquo;

(p.

132),

&dquo;why

bludgeon

the

obvious

till

it

bleeds

at

the

nose?&dquo;

(p.

55)

and,

that

&dquo;From

a

’strictly

engineering

point

of

view,’

it

is

clear,

the

Greatest

Happiness

Principle

must

be

rewritten

in

the

indicative

mood,

on

a

parallel

with

the

anthropological

observation

that

Esquimaux

are

fond

of

tripe.&dquo;

(p.

81)

One

admits

for

these

items

an

interesting,

lively

influence.

The

sum

conclusion

towards

which

eleven

chapters

lead

suggests

that

Perhaps

&dquo;administrative

thought

must

establish

a

working

relationship

with

every

major

province

in

the

field

of

human

learning.&dquo;

This

emphasizes

the

&dquo;appalling

gap&dquo;

extant

between

administrative

curricula

and

modem

as-

sumptions

regarding

social

purpose

and

the

responsibility

of

&dquo;experts

of

things-in-general.&dquo;

One

might

add,

without

ignoring

theory

or

begging

pragmatic

leanings,

that

professors

might

well

establish

working

relationships

with

the

body

politic

as

an

adjunct

to

administrative

thought.

G.

HOMER

DURHAM.

University

of

Utah.

Elements

of

Democratic

Government.

By

J.

A.

CORRY.

(New

York :

Ox-

ford

University

Press.

1947.

Pp.

viii,

507.

$3.75.)

Professor

Corry

possesses

ample

learning,

well

digested

and

carried

lightly;

urbanity

of

temper;

balance

combined

with

considerable

critical

ability;

and

a

faculty

for

simple

and

direct

presentation

not

debased

by

naivet6

or

over-simplification

in

analysis.

In

addition,

he

has

perceived

the

importance

of

wedding

theoretical

analysis

to

descriptive

precision,

of

illuminating

doctrine

by

vivid

example.

Finally,

he

is

profoundly

aware

of

the

need

for

students

and

citizens

to

obtain

clear

insight

into

the

nature,

the

functioning,

the

limitations

and

the

problems

of

democratic

government

and

the

democratic

way

of

life

under

the

difficult

conditions

of

the

modern

world,

with

its

alternative

offerings

and

its

intricate

governmental

issues.

The

result

should

be

a

superbly

good

textbook.

I

regret

to

record

that

Elements

of

Democratic

Government

falls

far

short

of

such

achievement.

Why

this

failure?

First

of

all,

granting

that

they

are

among

the

chief

democracies,

I

think

that

the

United

States,

Great

Britain

and

Canada

do

not

alone

and

of

themselves

adequately

reveal

and

illumine

all

the

issues

of

democratic

government.

I

feel

especially

that

to

do

this

adequately

it

is

necessary

to

examine

those

countries

where

social

conditions,

geographical

location

and

tradition

have

led

at

once

to

the

undertaking

and

to

the

failure

of

democratic

regimes.

I

feel

too

that,

while

a

work

on

democratic

government

cannot

properly

be

required

to

analyze

and

discuss

totalitarian-

ism

at

any

length,

no

adequately

penetrating

analysis

of

democracy

itself