Originally published in 1985, Retrieving Democracy offers a thorough and systematic answer to the familiar objection that genuine democracy is utopian. The book outlines an imaginary, yet imaginable, society that would be non-racist, non-sexist, and sufficiently classless to support true civic equality.

Part 1: Introduction 1. Social Equality and Political Equality 2. Pseudo-democracy Part 2: Social Equality 3. Prolegomena to Any Future Theory of Social Equality 4. Constrained Inequality 5. The Democratic Division of Labor 6. Socialization of the Means of Production 7. Planning and Accumulation Part 3: Political Equality 8. What is Political Equality? 9. Participation and Representation 10. The Rights of Equals Part 4: Conclusion 11. Program for a Future that Will Be Here Sooner Than We Think 12. The Pursuit of Equality.