Guadalupe and Reckers Guide to Democracy

Guadalupe and Recker's Guide to DemocracyGuadalupe and Recker focus on the dynamics of social change. In their introduction, they note that after reading The Wages of Whiteness, I could not figure out what the social movements in this book were for. They took a swipe at diversity as a natural byproduct of globalization, rather than a result of it. I think the fact that we still need a series of books such as Guadalupe and Recker to keep us in line with changing societies is probably one of the reasons that globalism continues to persist.In their first chapter, Guadalupe and Recker discuss the dynamics of change. They argue that, 'change and the character of the tasks that come with change are internal. The internal conditions for change are internalized as the mechanisms of change, so that the conditions for change also work internally and are part of the world-system of legitimation.'In a chapter titled, 'Freedom: Explaining Freedom,' Guadalupe and Recker provide a definition of fre edom. They then proceed to argue that the concept of freedom is embedded in Western society. From their description, it is apparent that they are quite well versed in this topic, given that they are referencing Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand's ideas on the matter.The reason why the concept of freedom is included in their argument is because it is the basis of democracy. When people are free to make their own choices and have these choices respected, then it is not only a way to live life to the fullest, but it is also a way to prevent bad choices.Guadalupe and Recker address the different kinds of choices people make. Choices are often the same as choices made when individuals choose what foods to eat. However, choices made by groups are more complex, because there are many more potential outcomes and implications in a group setting.In this group setting, Guadalupe and Recker refer to the dynamics of 'intergroup conflict' and the common framework for understanding them. Intergroup con flict is defined as a conflict between two or more groups of people who are motivated by several different motives.Differences and group conflicts have also been an important topic in sociology, which was a sub-field of anthropology until quite recently. In fact, this difference is an important factor in their perspective of democracy, because democracy necessitates the basic existence of democracy, and a group has to recognize each other as an equal to form a community.Since these two authors are from the US, they believe that the United States has a democratic group or state. As it turns out, though, they also show their disdain for the US at the end of their book. I have to wonder if they would have given a less glowing review of the US if it were not their home country.