Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue presents a theory of leadership drawing on insights from Plato’s Republic, while abandoning his authoritarianism in favor of John Dewey’s democratic thought. The book continues the democratic turn for the study of leadership beyond the incorporation of democratic values into old-fashioned views about leading. The completed democratic turn leaves behind the traditional focus on a class of special people. Instead, leadership is understood as a process of judicious yet courageous guidance, infused with democratic values and open to all people.The book proceeds in three parts, beginning with definitions and an understanding of the nature of leadership in general and of democratic leadership in particular. Then, Part II examines four challenges for a democratic theory of leadership. Finally, in Part III, the theory of democratic leadership is put to the test of addressing problems of poverty, educational frustration, and racial divides, particularly aggravated in Mississippi.
Eric Thomas Weber is associate professor of public policy leadership at the University of Mississippi. He is the author of Rawls, Dewey, and Constructivism and Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy.
PrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart I The Nature of Leadership and the Democratic TurnChapter 1 Leadership, Old and New: Aims and DefinitionsChapter 2 Lessons from PlatoChapter 3 Dewey on Democratic LeadershipChapter 4 Democratic Political LeadershipPart II Intellectual, Moral, and Cultural Challenges for Leadership Chapter 5 Wisdom in Pragmatic HumanismChapter 6 How Is Leadership Learned?Chapter 7 Democratic Leadership, East and WestChapter 8 Ethics and Justice for Democratic LeadershipPart III A Test for Democratic LeadershipChapter 9 Democracy and Leadership in MississippiChapter 10 ConclusionAppendixes
Weber is direct and interesting.... Weber demonstrates critical and creative thinking skills when detailing solutions to public problems such as the controversial presence of sex education and corporal punishment in public schools, and the challenge of respecting free speech while confronting the prospects of a KKK rally at the University of Mississippi.... Weber’s book is useful and even inspiring, and the weight of common opinion should incline in favor of this work.