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This book is part of the Towards the New Millennium Series, featuring the works of thoughtful Canadians who are profoundly interested in the future of Canada and the world. Most democracies do not use Canada's «first past the post» voting system. To give a party more seats than its share of the popular vote warrants is deemed undemocratic by most. Such democracies use proportional representation to ensure a party's seat-share does not exceed its vote-share. Former MLA, Nick Loenen, examines what proportional representation can do for Canadian politics. He finds that a change to proportional representation holds the potential to involve citizens more meaningfully and give political parties a more significant policy development role. It would also move power from the prime minister's office to Parliament, and from the premiers to provincial legislatures, shifting the focus in politics from leaders, style and images, to parties, principles and platforms. Instead of the adversarial politics of confrontation, which aim to exclude and eliminate political opponents, proportional representation holds promise for a consensual, cooperative style of governing that includes a broad spectrum of political diversity. The book also counters many popular misconceptions about proportional representation. It traces Canada's most intractable political problems such as national unity, high taxation, government over-spending, excessive party discipline, the concentration of power in our leaders, and our peculiar archaic voting system. The end product is the most detailed analysis of the effects of proportional representation on Canadian politics ever published. Получить ссылку |
Healing the Heart of Democracy. The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit
Автор: Parker Palmer J.
Год издания:
Hope for American democracy in an era of deep divisions In Healing the Heart of Democracy, Parker J. Palmer quickens our instinct to seek the common good and gives us the tools to do it. This timely, courageous and practical work—intensely personal as well as political—is not about them, «those people» in Washington D.C., or in our state capitals, on whom we blame our political problems. It's about us, «We the People,» and what we can do in everyday settings like families, neighborhoods, classrooms, congregations and workplaces to resist divide-and-conquer politics and restore a government «of the people, by the people, for the people.» In the same compelling, inspiring prose that has made him a bestselling author, Palmer explores five «habits of the heart» that can help us restore democracy's foundations as we nurture them in ourselves and each other: An understanding that we are all in this together An appreciation of the value of «otherness» An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways A sense of personal voice and agency A capacity to create community Healing the Heart of Democracy is an eloquent and empowering call for «We the People» to reclaim our democracy. The online journal Democracy & Education called it «one of the most important books of the early 21st Century.» And Publishers Weekly, in a Starred Review, said «This beautifully written book deserves a wide audience that will benefit from discussing it.»
The British Citizenship Test For Dummies
Автор: Julian Knight
Год издания:
Includes chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 from the Home Office’s Life in the United Kingdom book. This fully updated edition of The British Citizenship Test For Dummies covers all the most up to date information that you need to know to pass the latest UK Government’s Life in the UK test – valid for tests taken after April 2007. With an in-depth coverage of the nation’s history, culture, customs and educational, political and social institutions, and over 300 questions to practice on, this is the perfect helping hand on your way to becoming a British citizen. The British Citizenship Test For Dummies 2nd Edition covers: Part I: Deciding to Stay in the UK. Part II: Getting to Know the Immigration and Citizenship Players. Part III: Taking Care of Immigration and Citizenship Paperwork. Part IV: Taking the Citizenship Test. Part V: Troubleshooting Your Application. Part VI: Reaping the Rewards of Citizenship. Part VII: Ten Helpful For Dummies Books. Appendix A: Revision Material for the Life in the UK Test. Appendix B: Sample Questions and Answers for the Life in the UK Test. Index