Review of The Right to Nominate
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Review of The Right to Nominate
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Right to Nominate" by Thomas E Peterson.]
The Right to Nominate: Restoring The Power of The People Over The Power of The Parties by Thomas E. Peterson is a political history book that claims that, for the government to truly be "of the people, by the people, and for the people", the people must have and exercise the right to nominate their own candidates for public office. He demonstrates how this right is currently being taken advantage of by parties. What he is trying to do is get us to return to the idea of the Framers' original design (with an amendment) to end party control of the government and, instead, return to that role being majorly played by the people.
The book starts with the establishment of the ideological resentment that the Framers had for factions when they designed the Constitution. Because Peterson believes that the original design of the constitution of the USA was framed by this resentment, he shows us why that hatred existed and why it was (and has to be) held in an attempt build a successful republic. He paints a clear picture of how how parties are an inevitable liberty that should still be exercised in a republic but checked by the people's right to nominate so that it does not undermine government's ability to actually serve the people.
Peterson mainly uses simple diction and many historical examples to make his argument easy to understand. He contextualises the events that brought forth the ideologies held toward parties quite clearly. He develops his argument frame by frame as if it is a puzzle; explaining each piece and its significance in great detail. The way he pieces all of this together is worth applauding as it shows that he did remarkably significant research. His well thought-out plans for the implementation of the Right to Nominate are a great foundation to transformative electoral discourse.
As much as the diction is simple, this is a political (i.e. sector-specific) book that uses political jargon which Peterson sometimes either does not define or defines after a word has been used repeatedly. For example, "republic" is used a few times before he defines it. This tendency can create a discouraging start to the book for a novice in political affairs if they have to look up a word every couple of sentences.
As this book deals with the electoral process and the rights that the constitution protects to ensure that, indeed, people in public office are chosen by the people and for the people, I would suggest that those interested in electoral political theory give this book a read. Although the book speaks specifically about the American Constitution and its electoral process, the ideas discussed are universally applicable and can therefore appeal to anyone who is interested in such matters or is researching possible forms of improvement that can be made to their republic.
I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars because the book had multiple errors that sometimes took away from my understanding of what the author was trying to say and disrupted my enjoyment of the book. Even with the book's flaws, I still think that Peterson made his argument clear in his writing and accessible through his diction so you should still give it a chance. Peterson has done potentially revolutionary work that I recommend that those who are interested in its contents at least hear his position on how people can take back their electoral power and challenge the political status quo.
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The Right to Nominate
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Right to Nominate: Restoring The Power of The People Over The Power of The Parties by Thomas E. Peterson is a political history book that claims that, for the government to truly be "of the people, by the people, and for the people", the people must have and exercise the right to nominate their own candidates for public office. He demonstrates how this right is currently being taken advantage of by parties. What he is trying to do is get us to return to the idea of the Framers' original design (with an amendment) to end party control of the government and, instead, return to that role being majorly played by the people.
The book starts with the establishment of the ideological resentment that the Framers had for factions when they designed the Constitution. Because Peterson believes that the original design of the constitution of the USA was framed by this resentment, he shows us why that hatred existed and why it was (and has to be) held in an attempt build a successful republic. He paints a clear picture of how how parties are an inevitable liberty that should still be exercised in a republic but checked by the people's right to nominate so that it does not undermine government's ability to actually serve the people.
Peterson mainly uses simple diction and many historical examples to make his argument easy to understand. He contextualises the events that brought forth the ideologies held toward parties quite clearly. He develops his argument frame by frame as if it is a puzzle; explaining each piece and its significance in great detail. The way he pieces all of this together is worth applauding as it shows that he did remarkably significant research. His well thought-out plans for the implementation of the Right to Nominate are a great foundation to transformative electoral discourse.
As much as the diction is simple, this is a political (i.e. sector-specific) book that uses political jargon which Peterson sometimes either does not define or defines after a word has been used repeatedly. For example, "republic" is used a few times before he defines it. This tendency can create a discouraging start to the book for a novice in political affairs if they have to look up a word every couple of sentences.
As this book deals with the electoral process and the rights that the constitution protects to ensure that, indeed, people in public office are chosen by the people and for the people, I would suggest that those interested in electoral political theory give this book a read. Although the book speaks specifically about the American Constitution and its electoral process, the ideas discussed are universally applicable and can therefore appeal to anyone who is interested in such matters or is researching possible forms of improvement that can be made to their republic.
I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars because the book had multiple errors that sometimes took away from my understanding of what the author was trying to say and disrupted my enjoyment of the book. Even with the book's flaws, I still think that Peterson made his argument clear in his writing and accessible through his diction so you should still give it a chance. Peterson has done potentially revolutionary work that I recommend that those who are interested in its contents at least hear his position on how people can take back their electoral power and challenge the political status quo.
******
The Right to Nominate
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Intense Reality of Eternity by John Carpenter
