For the Many or the Few

The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy

Bibliographic Data

ID6325365
AuthorsDaniel A Smith (0000-0003-0621-1098, University of Florida, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume3
Issue3
Pages646-647
Publication date2005-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePerspectives on Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1537-5927 • E-ISSN: 1541-0986
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1537592705510259
OpenAlexW2050510064
LanguageEN
Citations received5

For the Many or the Few: The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy. By John G. Matsusaka. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2004. 206p. $29.00.In the most recent wave of initiative use in the American states, citizens have passed an eclectic range of ballot measures. Voters have banned gay marriage, punished negligent doctors, prohibited the confinement of pregnant pigs, limited the taxation and spending powers of state governments, funded stem cell research, and ended affirmative action. Critics of the process claim that this plebiscitary system is out of control, with special interests dominating the process and threatening democratic governance. Defenders, in contrast, claim that ballot measure outcomes reflect the will of the people and are certainly more representative of public opinion than legislative bodies

Ballot · Corporate governance · Democracy · Democratic governance · Direct democracy · Economics · Legislative process · Legislature · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · State (computer science · Voting · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Law, Rights, and Freedoms · Legal and Constitutional Studies · Public Administration

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