Research Catalog

Authority and democracy : a general theory of government and management

Title
Authority and democracy : a general theory of government and management / Christopher McMahon.
Author
McMahon, Christopher, 1945-
Publication
Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, ©1994.

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Book/TextUse in library HM271 .M39 1994Off-site

Details

Description
xiv, 307 pages; 25 cm
Summary
  • Should the democratic exercise of authority that we take for granted in the realm of government be extended to the managerial sphere? Exploring this question, Christopher McMahon develops a theory of government and management as two components of an integrated system of social authority that is essentially political in nature. He then considers where in this structure democratic decision making is appropriate.
  • In the first part of the book, McMahon examines the main varieties of authority: the authority of experts, authority grounded in a promise to obey, and authority justified as facilitating mutually beneficial cooperation. He also presents an account of democracy as reflexive authority, the collective exercise of authority by those subject to it, and asks what justifies democracy so understood. In the second part of the book, McMahon applies his earlier conclusions to the phenomenon of managerial authority, the authority that guides nongovernmental organizations. He argues that managerial authority is best regarded not as the authority of a principal over an agent, but rather as authority that facilitates mutually beneficial cooperation among employees with different moral aims.
  • Viewed in this way, there is a presumption that managerial authority should be democratically exercised by employees. McMahon concludes by considering how this presumption constrains the social choice of constitutions for nongovernmental organizations.
Series Statement
Studies in moral, political, and legal philosophy
Uniform Title
Studies in moral, political, and legal philosophy
Subject
  • Authority
  • Democracy
  • Management > Employee participation
  • 89.32 forms of government
  • Autorität
  • Demokratie
  • Management
  • Gezag
  • Democratie
  • Management
  • Medezeggenschap
  • Autorité
  • Démocratie
  • Personnel > Participation à la gestion
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
1. Introduction -- pt. I. Authority in General and in Government. 2. Authority. 3. Moral Principles and Social Facts. 4. The Justification of Authority. 5. Democracy -- pt. II. Managerial Authority. 6. Management and Morality. 7. Managerial Authority as P-Authority. 8. Managerial Authority as C-Authority. 9. Managerial Democracy.
ISBN
  • 0691036624
  • 9780691036625
  • 0691016291
  • 9780691016290
LCCN
94001366
OCLC
  • ocm29913830
  • 29913830
  • SCSB-8802673
Owning Institutions
Princeton University Library