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Support-Bargaining: The Mechanics of Democracy Revealed
SupportBargaining The Mechanics of Democracy Revealed Author:Patrick Spread Democracy is treasured in the West as the means of ensuring the involvement of ordinary people in government and giving protection against the arbitrary exercise of political power. Yet how it works, beyond the general principles, is obscure. Patrick Spread reveals the mechanics of democracy by reference to a theory of support-bargaining. He... more » suggests that individuals feel a basic sense of insecurity that causes them to seek support from those around them. They adjust their opinions and behaviour to gain support. The connection of support with security is reflected in the emergence of a support convention, whereby support substitutes for violence. This convention is used in formal support-bargaining structures, or electoral structures, for the establishment of government. Dr Spread suggests that the same support-bargaining process is involved in the creation of theories and ideas about society. People in similar situations support each other in the creation of theories about their circumstances and the interests that arise. Theories and ideas blend into the competition for social ascendancy because all are based on the accumulation of support. This book displays the remarkable explanatory force of the theory. It represents a watershed in the social sciences comparable to the work of John Locke and Adam Smith.« less