Self Interest and Public Interest in Western Politics

✍ Scribed by Leif Lewin, Donald Lavery

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 153
• Series: Comparative European Politics
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Is it self-interest or public interest that dominates Western politics? In this book, which combines in a novel way insights from different fields, including rational choice theory, political philosophy, and electoral research, Leif Lewin examines more than two- hundred studies of democracy in action from seventeen countries. He looks at the behavior and attitudes of voters, bureaucrats, and politicians, in turn, and shows that the plausible and prevalent theory that egoism rules simply doesn't match the facts. This intriguing study will be of special interest to students of comparative politics , West European politics, political science, and economics.

✦ Table of Contents

0198277253......Page 1
Contents......Page 6
1. Self-Interest and Public Interest......Page 8
2. Does the Voter Follow His Pocket-Book?......Page 36
3. Are Politicians Vote-Maximizers?......Page 67
4. Are Bureaucrats Budget-Maximizers?......Page 82
5. Individual and Collective Rationality......Page 105
Notes......Page 120
Bibliography......Page 136
C......Page 148
E......Page 149
L......Page 150
P......Page 151
S......Page 152
Y......Page 153