Democracy
What is a democracy?
• Aristotle’s definition: “rule of the many”
• Majority rule (government by the people)
• Two types of democracies:
1. Direct (participatory democracy) “pure”
2. Indirect (representative democracy)
Direct (participatory democracy)
• All or most of the citizens participate directly
in either holding office or making policy (laws)
• Exists only in very small population sizes
• Exists in some small towns in the U.S. today
Direct (participatory democracy)
• Allows the people to directly make laws and govern
themselves. (people make all the decisions)
• Impractical in large populations or countries
• The founding fathers did not favor a direct
democracy (un-educated masses)
• Very time consuming: most citizens do not have
the time, information, interest, or expertise to make
reasonable choices or political decisions
• Even highly educated people could be manipulated
by demagogic leaders who play on people’s fears
and prejudices
Direct Democracy Examples Today:
• Referendum: Legislature (Congress) submits a
proposed law to a popular vote by the citizens (voters)
during an election
• Initiative: Citizens write and submit a proposed law to a
popular vote by the citizens (voters) during an election
after obtaining a required number of signatures (people
take the initiative and write the bill themselves)
• Also referred to as Propositions or Ballot Measures
2010 Propositions
• Arizona Proposition 203: Medical Marijuana
Yes: 841,348 (50%), No: 837,008 (50%)
• California Proposition 19: Legalizing Marijuana
No: 5,333,230 (53%), Yes: 4,643,592 (47%)
• Rhode Island Question 1: State Name Change
No: 250,466 (78%), Yes: 71,162 (22%)
2012 Ballot Measures
(Washington State)
• Referendum 74: (Allow Same-Sex Marriage)
Yes: 1,527,272 (53%), No: 1,341,926 (47%)
• Initiative 502: (Legalize Marijuana)
Yes: 1,593,680 (55%), No: 1,279,005 (45%)
Indirect (representative democracy)
• Also referred to as a “Republican form of
government” in the Constitution (a Republic)
• The people elect officials to make laws, policies, and
political decisions for them
• Works well in large populations when its impractical
to bring the entire population together
• Not time consuming and creates professional
politicians
Laws
Elects
Makes
Policy
People
Politicians
Constitutional Democracy
• A system of government in which political authority is
defined, limited, and distributed by a body of
fundamental law called a “Constitution" and the
majority of people have voting power to elect it’s
government officials as outlined in the Constitution.
• Constitutionalism: the idea that there are limits on
the power of government and that these limits can be
defined in a constitution.
Basic Concepts of Democracy
1. Recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity
of every person
2. Respect for the quality of all persons
3. Faith in majority rule and an insistence upon
minority rights
4. Acceptance of the necessity of compromise
5. Insistence upon the widest possible degree of
individual freedom (freedom versus order)
6. Government derives it power and legitimacy from
the people
Dictatorship
• Autocracy: rule by one
• Oligarchy: rule by few
• All are authoritarian in nature
Theories of Democratic
Government
• Who Governs? Who has power and influence
over public policy and the decision making at the
local, state, and national levels of government?
1. Traditional (Majoritarian) Democratic Theory
2. Pluralist Theory
3. Elite Theory
4. Bureaucratic Theory
5. Hyper-pluralism Theory
Theories of Democratic Government
• Traditional Democratic Theory: the
people have the majority of power and
control the government by electing
officials and representatives (Majoritarian)
• Pluralist Theory: Interest groups
compete for influence over
government, each promoting its own
policy preferences and agenda.
Conflict among groups may result,
requiring negotiation, bargaining, and
compromise, nobody dominates
(Robert Dahl)
Theories of Democratic Government
• Elite Theory: A small number of
powerful elite (corporate leaders, top
military officers, government leaders)
form an upper class, which rules in it’s
own interest (C. Wright Mills)
• Bureaucratic Theory: The hierarchical
structure and standardized procedures
of modern governments allow
bureaucrats, who carry out the day-today functions and workings of the
government, to hold the real power
over public policy (Max Weber)
Theories of Democratic Government
• Hyper-pluralism theory: Democracy is a system of
many groups having so much strength that
government is often “pulled” in numerous directions
at the same time, causing gridlock and
ineffectiveness (negative view, government is weakened)