Law Pragmatism and Democracy Author:Richard A. Posner A liberal state is a representative democracy constrained by the rule of law. Richard Posner argues for a conception of the liberal state based on pragmatic theories of government. He views the actions of elected officials as guided by interests rather than by reason and the decisions of judges by discretion rather than by rules. He emphasizes t... more »he institutional and material, rather than moral and deliberative, factors in democratic decision making. The great advantage of democracy is not that it is the rule of the wise or the good but that it enables stability and orderly succession in government and limits the tendency of rulers to enrich or empower themselves to the disadvantage of the public. Posner's theory steers between political theorists' concept of deliberative democracy on the left and economists' public-choice theory on the right. "Posner … presents a brilliant defense of the manner in which Americans organize and operate their government … This book is to be read and reread if one is to understand the intricacies of American constitutional democracy." —R. J. Steamer, Choice« less