Benjamin Ginsberg (born 1947) is an American political scientist who is David Bernstein Professor, and Chair of Center for Advanced Governmental Studies, at Johns Hopkins University.

[citation needed] He is a co-author, along with Matthew Crenson, of Downsizing Democracy, 2004, which received critical attention in mainstream newspapers.

[13] While Ginsberg sees voting as a passive and meaningless act which gives the illusion of public control over government, he sometimes criticizes both political parties as having a "resistance" to sincerely working towards increased voter participation.

He believes citizen participation in the military is good since it strengthens patriotism, which means "sacrifice and a willingness to die for one's country.

"[15] Ginsberg suggested that the "government learned the lessons of Vietnam and has found ways to insulate the use of military force" from society.

[16][17] He also commented on the tight presidential primary race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in 2008, and compared the two candidates to "Walmart and Kmart – they're occupying the same space.

"[19] In another instance, Ginsberg criticized the administration of FDR for the tactic of having federal investigators sift through tax and financial records of opposition politicians.

There is general consensus that Ginsberg's observations are correct with some studies showing that administrators not qualified to be assistant professors in their own discipline are hired to oversee faculty at all levels.