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Chapter 2: Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy?

Daily Dilemma #4: Which is better, a government that is highly responsive to public

opinion on all matters or one that responds to organized groups

that argue their case effectively?

Introduction

Should Congress agree with the President since

he won a majority of the vote?

I. The Theory of Democratic Government

Demos – People

Kratos – Power

The Procedural View of Democracy

Who should participate in decision making?

How much should each participant’s vote count?

How many votes are needed to reach a decision?

The Procedural View of Democracy

Universal Participation

Political Equality

Majority Rule

Direct vs. Indirect Democracy

Participatory democracy– all members of the group, rather than representatives, meet to make decisions, observing political equality and majority rule

Direct democracy only works well for small societies Some city council’s, including St Paul, have

something close to participatory democracy and rank-and-file citizens make decisions together

E-government

Online communication channels that enable citizens to easily obtain information from government and facilitate the expression of opinions to government officials

Direct vs. Indirect Democracy

Representative, or indirect, democracy was instituted by the framers of the constitution

4 principles of representative democracy under direct democracy1. Universal Participation

2. Political Equality

3. Majority Vote

4. Responsiveness– Representatives should do what the majority of people wants

Discuss with those around you…

The origins of democratic theory lie in ancient Greek political thought, and were predicated on the notion that citizens should vote on every issue. Considering modern technology, whereby it would be possible to accommodate large numbers of citizens voting on seemingly every issue with great frequency, should the United States go back to this sort of system? What would be the costs and benefits?

The Substantive View

Focuses on substance of policies, not procedures, to prove a government is democratic.

The core of our substantive policies are embedded in the Bill of Rights and other constitutional amendments.

There is debate among substantive theorists about the need for promoting social and economic rights to be considered a democracy.

Procedural Democracy vs. Substantive Democracy

Both views have problems. The procedural view can limit minority rights and the substantive view does not provide clear criteria to define whether a government is democratic

Procedural democracy can prey on minority views (because of the emphasis on majority decision making)

Daily Dilemma #5

Should U.S. foreign policy promote democracy in other countries? What are the issues involved?

II. Institutional Models of Democracy

Democratic government is not guaranteed through democratic elections. Governments must have a way to determine what people want and must have a way to translate public opinion into policy.

The Models of Democracy…

Majoritarian Participation by the

people in general

Pluralist Participation by the

people in groups

The Majoritarian Model of Democracy

Government by the people = government by the majority of the people

Citizens can control the government as long as they have enough mechanisms for participation

Popular election of government officials is the primary mechanism for democratic government Referenda, initiatives and recalls can be used to

decide government policies

Majoritarian Model (continued)

Assumes citizens are knowledgeable enough to participate, that they want to participate and that they’ll make rational decisions in elections

Critics say that Americans are not knowledgeable enough for the majoritarian model to work

An Alternative: Pluralist Democracy

Developed in the 1950’s to account for the limited knowledge of the real electorate, not the ideal electorate

“Government by the people” = people operating through various interest groups

Interest group: an organized group of individuals that seeks to influence public policy, also called a lobby

Pluralist democracy operates based on interest groups and a decentralized structure of government that provides access to public officials and is open to hearing from interest groups

Pluralist Model (con’t)

The pluralist model believes that the perfect system is one where all interest groups can organize and be heard

Authority must be divided in this model instead of having a single sovereign power

In America, pluralism is working well based on representative democracy but the decreasing participation in civic life challenges the pluralist model

Majoritarian Model

Relies on electoral mechanisms that harness the power of the majority to make decisions

Features responsiveness to majority opinion

Pluralist Model

Does not demand much knowledge from citizens in general

Seeks to limit majority action so interest groups can be heard

Allows minority interests to organize and present claims

Elite Theory

Argues that a few individuals wield power in America because they control key financial, communication, industrial and government institutions

Elite Theory (con’t)

According to elite theory, the U.S. is not a democracy, but an oligarchy

Elite Theory (con’t)

Most studies show there is not an identifiable ruling elite but elite theorists believe that power comes from keeping people from questioning capitalism

Elite Theory vs. Pluralist Theory

It’s possible that pluralist theory means that not all parts of the population are equally well-represented

Critics attack pluralist theory because it appears to justify great disparities in levels of political organization of resources among different groups of society

The Global Trend Towards Democracy

Democratization is a difficult process and many countries fail to complete the transition or succeed only in the short run

Ethic and religious conflict means that many rivals are more interested in creating governments that oppress their opponents than democracies This makes majoritarian democracy especially dangerous

Political and economic instability that typically accompanies transition to democracy makes new democratic governments vulnerable to attacks

American Democracy: More Pluralist than

Majoritarian The U.S. democratic system rates

low according to the majoritarian model but fulfills the pluralist model

“The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the

heavenly chorus sings with a strong

upper-class accent”

Should government promote social equality to qualify as a democracy? Why or why not?

Social Equality- equality in wealth, education and status

Is it possible to achieve political equality without first

having universal participation?

Big Questions

1. Is the pluralist model truly an adequate expression of democracy, or is it a perversion of classical ideals, designed to portray America as democratic when it is not?

2. Does the majoritarian model result in a “better” type of democracy?

3. If it does, could new mechanisms of government be devised to produce a desirable mix of majority rule and minority rights?