Authority and democracy

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.

Year

1994

Language

English

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Editions

1

Pages

324

ISBN

9780691016290

Data source: Wikidata