For Americans, legitimate government means self-government. In this brilliant and disturbing analysis, Paul W. Kahn shows that the American Constitution itself makes self-government impossible. Constitutional theory, he argues, has been a history of failed attempts to resolve this paradox.

This book presents new research results on the challenges of local politics in different European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and Switzerland, together with theoretical considerations on the further development and strengthening of local self-government. It focuses on analyses of the most recent developments in local democracy and administration.

First published in 1975. VOLUME ONE covers Historical Development Social and Political Philosophy. No study or collection of material approaching self-government as a worldwide phenomenon and dealing with all The purpose of the present Reader is to fill this gap. This Reader traces the development self-government as a worldwide phenomenon and dealing with all This Reader traces the development of self-government from its beginnings as an apparently utopian idea of a handful of visionaries a century and a half ago to its implementation on a national scale in the contemporary world. All fundamental aspects of this development are dealt with--historical, philosophical, sociological, political, and economic. Contributions from some twenty countries are included. Several synthetic papers have been written especially for this book; because of their inclusion, as well as the comprehensiveness of the book's coverage, this work transcends the usual confines of a reader.The edtiors' goal was to assemble all important contributions of historical and theoretical value in one book.

Excerpt from The Origin and Development of Local Self-Government: In England and the United States An eminent historian has said that the institution of municipal corporations contributed more, perhaps, than any other cause to the emancipation of Europe from the thraldom of feudalism. If we may believe all that the prophets of evil have to say about the condition of local self-government in the United States, the future historian will trace the destruction of liberty in the great republic to the development of those corporations, the original institution of which brought light out of darkness. The more conspicuous instances of misgovernment have been dwelt upon with such force, and to such an extent, that there is some danger of breeding a spirit, which, instead of seeking a remedy consistent with the preservation of the rights of self-government, will be content with nothing less than the destruction of those rights by the establishment of a centralized system of administration, such as exists in republican France. There has been a significant change during the last quarter of a century, and more especially since the late war, in the feelings with which the people of this country exercise what may be called their minor political duties. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.