March 30. Daniel Allen: The first paragraph on page 161 & the Prologue and pp. 3-24. In one of the blue books I will give you, write responses to the following prompts:

• Prologue: According to Allen, what is the greatest threat to Democracy? What are the 3 bad options facing people in such a failing system, and how can we fix things?

• Chapter 1: What does the photograph on page 4 (fig. 1) illustrate, according to Allen?

• Chapter 2: What is citizenship (in a democracy)?

April 6.  Allen, Chapters 3 & 4. Write in your bluebook about some or all of these things: 

• Any epiphanies you got about the nature of democratic citizenship. 

• How politics is a heroic activity.

• The conflict between sovereignty and sacrifice ("powerless sovereigns").

• What does the Biblical Jeptha story teach us about democratic citizenship.

• How the NYT headlines illustrate Allen's point about sacrifice (43-44).

• How do we deal with the anger of the losers? why would they agree to submit themselves to the state?  (Consider J6).

April 13. 

• We're skipping the middle section, "Why We Have Bad Habits."  Here are my takeaways from those chapters:

  • In chapter 5, "Imperfect Democracy," she argues that philosophers of democracy and the social contract theory, Allen argues, advanced the misguided idea that citizens could come to perfect agreement on the "common good," if only they would deliberate properly, based on universalizing principles rather than self interests and if they based their arguments on pure facts and reason rather than emotion.  They focused on methods aimed at production of knowledge rather than trust. 

  • Chapter 6: In "Imperfect People" Allen argues against the effort to define a "people" with one will. Thinkers like Hobbs saw repression of individual self interest in deference to the will of "the people" as a duty of citizenship.  How, she asks, can a multitude of individuals with separate interests have just one will and act as a unit?  Doing so leads to festering resentments and corrodes the bonds between citizens and their institutions and among the citizens. 

  • Chapter 7. "Imperfect Pearls/Imperfect Ideals." Theorists have aspired to perfect democratic polity--consensus and oneness--but in reality, democracy never achieves perfect consensus, so we should aspire to imperfect wholeness.  This means striving for maximal agreement and satisfactory treatment of residual disagreement.  Losers in democratic processes (elections, etc.) need to be convinced that arguing is worth while so they don't resort to civil war.  And winners need to avoid arrogance and contempt. 

• In Section 3, DO READ:

  • Chapter 8.  "Beyond Invisible Citizens," just the full paragraph on p. 111 and the full paragraphs on p. 118.

  • Chapter 9. "Brotherhood, Love, and Political Friendship," The whole thing.

  • Chapter 10. "Rhetoric, a Good Thing," just the bulleted lists on 157-158.

  • Chapter 11. "Epilogue: Powerful Citizens," 161-163, and the only full paragraph on 165. 

• As you read and reflect, consider:

  • The difference between rivalrous and equitable self interest.

  • How friendship could be a model for citizenship.

  • How might we heed Allen's call to find and cultivate cultural habits that enhance security and improve the quality of our interactions among citizens? 

  • How might you work to transform the institutions you are (or will be) part of? (As an example, Allen includes in the Epiloque, a letter she wrote to the University of Chicago proposing "boundary-crossing policies" that would improve relations between the university and the surrounding neighborhood--175-184).