PO101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Minority Rights, Joseph Schumpeter, Essentially Contested Concept
Document Summary
Essentially contested concept: democracy take(cid:374) fro(cid:373) greek de(cid:373)os, (cid:373)ea(cid:374)i(cid:374)g (cid:862)the people(cid:863) a(cid:374)d kratos, (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h (cid:373)ea(cid:374)s (cid:862)authority(cid:863, how we define people and authority is equally contested, leading to many competing understandings of democracy. Many famous thinkers thought democracy was bad. Historical overview: the relationship between capitalism, liberalism, and democracy. Theories of democracy: participatory democracy vs. democratic elitism, deliberative democracy. Equality of political rights: everyone may participate. Political participation: division of political responsibilities among ruled and rulers. Political freedom: freedom to participate in process. Regim in which political power in widely distributed and power in some way rests with the people. This leaves plenty of room for differing interpretations as to what counts as democracy. Illiberal democracy: competitive authoritarian regime/semi democracy difficult for those who oppose the ruler to organize. Much of what is considered to be democratic today is present in a model used by the.
