POL S101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Elitism, Liberal Democracy, Jeremy Bentham
7 Jun 2018
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CHAPTER 3
Democracy and Our Relationship to the State
What Is Democracy?
•Essentially contested concept
•Generally considered to be a positive term
•Set of institutions built around competitive elections that enable all adult citizens to
choose and remove their government leaders (Stoker, 2006)
•Illiberal democracies, also called competitive authoritarian regimes or semi-democracies,
are also on the rise
oTurnover from elections is smaller than might be expected
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A Core Definition of Democracy
•Regime in which political power is widely distributed and power in some way rests with the
people
•Political equality as a central theme
•This leaves plenty of room for differing interpretations as to what counts as democracy
Lively’s Seven Possible Democracies
1. That all should govern in the sense that all should be involved in legislating, in deciding
on general policy, in applying laws, and in governmental administration
2. That all should be involved in crucial decision-making (i.e., in deciding on general laws
and matters of general policy)
3. That rulers should be accountable to the ruled (i.e., obliged to justify their actions to the
ruled and be removable by the ruled)
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Lively’s Seven Possible Democracies, cont’d
4. That rulers should be accountable to the representatives of the ruled
5. That rulers should be chosen by the ruled
6. That rulers should be chosen by the representatives of the ruled
7. That rulers should act in the interests of the ruled
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Lively’s Interpretations
•Lively argues that interpretations 1–4 can justifiably described as democratic
•5–7 cannot be described as democratic, since there is no provision for rulers to be
removed by the ruled
•Point 7 allows for systems without elections to call themselves “democratic”
oe.g., the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (North Korea)
Forms of Democracy
•Direct democracy
oDirect rule by the people, traditionally considered possible only in small societies
•Representative democracy
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Representative democracy
oRule by representatives elected by the people
Historical Background
•Originates from the Greek words, demos, the people, and kratos, power or rule
•Classical example is ancient Athens, which had a form of direct rule by its citizens, although
it did exclude women, slaves, and foreigners
•Office holders were subject to regular rotation and chosen by the other citizens
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Historical Background, cont’d
•Plato and Aristotle consider democracy to be a less desirable form of government,
equating it to mob rule
•Democracy remained a negative term in political theory until relatively recently
oEven the American constitution was arranged so as to avoid being overly democratic
The Six Nations Model
•Much of what is considered to be democratic today is drawn from a model used by the
Indigenous populations of North America
•“Great Law of Peace” allowed the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and
Iroquois nations to live together for over 200 years
•Based in popular election, women’s suffrage, and merit-based promotion
The French and American Revolutions
•Both proclaimed democracy as a central goal
•In America, there was still concern over establishing a system of majority tyranny inherent
to “pure democracy”
•Directly elected legislature (the House of Representatives) had limits placed on its power
The Nineteenth-Century Move
toward Democracy
•Highly influenced by utilitarian theory of democracy as developed by Jeremy Bentham and
James Mill
•Utilitarian democracy gives rise to the idea of liberal democracy
•Conjoining of capitalism and democracy
Capitalism and Democracy
•How does one reconcile political equality with economic disparity?
•Some concerns among property owners that universal suffrage would lead to a rise in
socialism (at the expense of their privilege)
•Universal suffrage (achieved in 1928) did not produce political equality, nor economic
equality
•Importance of free and fair competition between groups
Competing Theories of Democracy
•By the middle of the 20th century, two competing theories of democracy predominated:
1. Democratic elitism or “protective” democracy
2. Participatory democracy
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Document Summary
Forms of democracy: direct democracy, representative democracy odirect rule by the people, traditionally considered possible only in small societies. Representative democracy orule by representatives elected by the people. The six nations model: much of what is considered to be democratic today is drawn from a model used by the. Indigenous populations of north america: great law of peace allowed the mohawk, oneida, onondaga, cayuga, seneca, and. Iroquois nations to live together for over 200 years: based in popular election, women"s suffrage, and merit-based promotion. The nineteenth-century move toward democracy: highly influenced by utilitarian theory of democracy as developed by jeremy bentham and. James mill: utilitarian democracy gives rise to the idea of liberal democracy, conjoining of capitalism and democracy. Competing theories of democracy: by the middle of the 20th century, two competing theories of democracy predominated, democratic elitism or protective democracy, participatory democracy. Participatory democracy: origins in ancient greece, rousseau, j. s.
