Authentic Democracy

"This is a highly readable and provocative book. Its author works within the best traditions of normative political theory, posing questions about what political structures and institutions are for and whether our current systems are the best we can come up with. The discussion combines an insightful survey of the familiar versions of contract theory that have been used to justify the state, with an account of the material conditions necessary to ensure a liveable human life, and a trenchant critique of the reality of life in contemporary capitalist societies. The conclusion, that only anarchism - as a federated, fully active and participatory democratic system - can meet the minimal ethical obligation of preventing unnecessary human suffering, will perhaps be an uncomfortable one for readers whose response to contemporary concerns about "the crisis of democracy" has been to argue for more, not less, state power. It deserves to be read, both for its challenges to conventional narratives about the normative desirability and practical inevitability of representative democratic states, and for its contribution to the project of dispelling some common misunderstandings about what anarchism means and what it can offer."

Professor Judith Suissa, Professor of Philosophy of Education, UCL Institute of Education, author of Anarchy and Education

Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like. In recent years, such chants - in the main aimed at democratically-elected governments by free citizens - have become common in anti-government protests across the world. Something is clearly amiss with democracy. In Authentic Democracy, this democratic deficit is exposed. By unpacking the underlying arguments and assumptions which justify the current political order, Authentic Democracy shows that the existing democracies are in fact highly undemocratic; and that anarchism is what authentic democracy looks like.
"Dan McKee offers an engaging and accessible case for anarchism, deeply rooted in ethics and powerfully responding to conventional defences of authority. This book is an original and valuable contribution which deserves a wide audience."
- Uri Gordon, author of "Anarchy Alive!"

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