- Paperback: 324 pages
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press (28 Mar 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0521665612
- ISBN-13: 978-0521665612
- Product Dimensions: 15.2 x 22.9 x 1.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 978,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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"All three sections of the book are rich in historical examples. Elster is very good at illustrating his points with concrete cases, at seeing connections among disparate fields, and at steering discussions in novel and very suggestive directions. ... Elster is at his best in raising interesting questions for further interdisciplinary research." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism
Product Description
Common sense suggests that it is always preferable to have more options than fewer, and better to have more knowledge than less. This provocative book argues that, very often, common sense fails. Sometimes it is simply the case that less is more; people may benefit from being constrained in their options or from being ignorant. The three long essays that constitute this book revise and expand the ideas developed in Jon Elster's classic study Ulysses and the Sirens. It is not simply a new edition of the earlier book, though; many of the issues merely touched on before are explored here in much more detail. Elster shows how seemingly disparate examples which limit freedom of action reveal similar patterns, so much so that he proposes a new field of study: constraint theory. The book is written in Elster's characteristically vivid style and will interest professionals and students in philosophy, political science, psychology, and economics.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Why countries promulgate constitutions
18 Jan 2011
Format:Hardcover
Jon Elster's Ulysses Unbound: Studies in Rationality, Precommitment, and Constraints takes a hard-nosed approach to the question of why governments would agree to commit themselves under a constitution. His analogy of Ulysses bound while passing the sirens is extremely helpful. The book is filled with both theoretical insights and discussions of cases from not only the U.S., but also Europe. Not only does it discuss the usual reasons for precommitment (e.g., tempering passions, efficiency), but it also explores their relationship with commitment mechanisms (e.g., delay, supermajority). No wonder this has become a classic in the comparative constitutions field.
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