{"product_id":"for-the-many-or-the-few-the-initiative-public-policy-and-american-democracy-9780226510811","title":"For the Many or the Few: The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): John G. Matsusaka\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Political Advocacy\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirect democracy is alive and well in the United States. Citizens are increasingly using initiatives and referendums to take the law into their own hands, overriding their elected officials to set tax, expenditure, and social policies. John G. Matsusaka's \u003ci\u003eFor the Many or the Few\u003c\/i\u003e provides the first even-handed and historically based treatment of the subject. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing upon a century of evidence, Matsusaka argues against the popular belief that initiative measures are influenced by wealthy special interest groups that neglect the majority view. Examining demographic, political, and opinion data, he demonstrates how the initiative process brings about systematic changes in tax and expenditure policies of state and local governments that are generally supported by the citizens. He concludes that, by and large, direct democracy in the form of the initiative process works for the benefit of the many rather than the few. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn unprecedented, comprehensive look at the historical, empirical, and theoretical components of how initiatives function within our representative democracy to increase political competition while avoiding the tyranny of the majority, \u003ci\u003eFor the Many or the Few\u003c\/i\u003e is a most timely and definitive work.","brand":"University of Chicago Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47781028692119,"sku":"9780226510811","price":9529.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780226510811.webp?v=1778050007","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/for-the-many-or-the-few-the-initiative-public-policy-and-american-democracy-9780226510811","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}