Book Reviews : Challenges to Democracy: The Next Ten Years. Edited by EDWARD REED. (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1963. Pp. v, 245. $5.00 cloth; $1.95 paper.)
| Published date | 01 December 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296401700456 |
| Date | 01 December 1964 |
| Author | Clyde E. Jacobs |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
846
Bundesrat,
by
the
unquestionably
high
competence
of
its
members
and
their
business-
like
scrutiny
of
legislative
complexities,
has
accepted
a
major
responsibility
for
that
part
of
parliamentary
management
that
has
been
surrendered
wholesale
in
this
cen-
tury
to
the
on-the-spot
control
of
executive
agencies.&dquo;
In
short,
this
work
is
a
care-
fully
defined
and
solidly
developed
analysis
of
how
the
forces
of
state
bureaucracy,
national
and
state
politics,
bicameralism,
legislative
procedures,
constitutional
com-
petence,
and
federalism
achieve
dynamic
adjustment
within
a
single
institutional
arena.
DONALD
DOUGLAS
DALGLEISH
Arizona
State
University
Challenges
to
Democracy:
The
Next
Ten
Years.
Edited
by
EDWARD
REED.
(New
York:
Frederick
A.
Praeger,
1963.
Pp.
v,
245.
$5.00
cloth;
$1.95
paper.)
In
celebration
of
the
tenth
anniversary
of
the
Fund
for
the
Republic,
the
Center
for
the
Study
of
Democratic
Institutions
conducted
a
two-day
convocation
in
which
a
number
of
distinguished
men
and
women
participated.
This
volume
presents
the
addresses
of
the
main
speakers,
together
with
comments
by
other
participants
and
an
introduction
by
Robert
M.
Hutchins.
Six
general
topics
are
treated
in
the
addresses.
Gunnar
Myrdal
analyzes
the
role
of
government
in
the
economy.
Lewis
Mumford
and
Gerard
Piel
examine
the
rela-
tionship
between
democracy
and
technology.
Senator
Fulbright
and
Senator
Clark
presented
their
views
on
&dquo;The
Elite
and
the
Electorate:
Is
Government
by
the
People
Possible?&dquo;
a
topic
with
which
two
distinguished
Europeans,
Viscount
Hailsham
and
Pierre
Mendes-France
also
deal
in
their
addresses.
The
problem
of
concentration
of
private
power
in
corporations
and
labor
unions
is
discussed
by
Adolph
A.
Berle,
Jr.,
and
Walter
Reuther.
Newton
Minow
and
Lord
Francis
Williams
consider
the
re-
sponsibilities
of
the
mass
media
in
a
democratic
society,
and
the
objectives
and
func-
tions
of
education
in
a
free
society
are
analyzed
by
Lord
James
of
Rusholme.
Adlai
Stevenson
provided
the
concluding
chapter,
&dquo;The
Prospects
for
Democracy.&dquo;
Per-
haps
some
will
attribute
significance
to
the
fact
that
not
a
single
contributor
may
be
classified
as
a
political
scientist
although
the
challenges
which
the
next
decade
will
pose
will
require
political
responses.
In
this
volume,
as
with
many
if
not
most
symposia,
the
material
is
not
well
inte-
grated
nor
is
the
treatment
balanced.
And,
despite
the
eminence
of
both
the
main
speakers
and
the
commentators,
the
contributions
are
generally
disappointing.
Some
of
the
addresses
merely
embellish
upon
familiar
democratic
shibboleths
and
bro-
mides,
while
others
succeed
only
in
providing
a
superficial
survey
of
recognized
prob-
lems.
A
few
of
the
pieces,
however,
seem
worthy
of
their
illustrious
authorship.
Cer-
tainly
Gerard
Piel’s
address
on
the
impact
of
technology
upon
the
economic
system
is
an
incisive
and
perceptive
analysis
containing
some
original
ideas.
Senator
Clark’s
address,
while
suffering
somewhat
from
oversimplification,
makes
some
sensible
sug-
gestions
for
reform
of
the
institutions
of
government,
a
subject
which
on
the
whole
is
slighted
in
the
symposium.
Adolph
Berle’s
paper,
in
which
he
examines
the
rela-
tionship
between
the
individual,
government,
and
concentrations
of
private
power,
is
interesting
and
at
times
exciting
reading.
But,
on
the
whole,
the
volume
may
leave
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