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?
S
Introduction
S Should Congress agree with the
President since
he won a
majority
the vote?
of
I. The Theory of Democratic
Government
S Demos – People
S Kratos – Power
The Procedural View of
Democracy
S Who should participate in decision making?
S How much should each participant’s vote
count?
S How many votes are needed to reach a
decision?
The Procedural View of
Democracy
S Universal Participation
S Political Equality
S Majority Rule
Direct vs. Indirect Democracy
S Participatory democracy– all members of the
group, rather than representatives, meet to
make decisions, observing political equality
and majority rule
S Direct democracy only works well for small
societies
S Some city council’s, including St Paul, have something
close to participatory democracy and rank-and-file
citizens make decisions together
E-government
S 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
S Representative, or indirect, democracy was instituted by the
framers of the constitution
S 4 principles of representative democracy under direct
democracy
1.
2.
3.
4.
Universal Participation
Political Equality
Majority Vote
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
S Focuses on substance of policies, not procedures, to prove a
government is democratic.
S The core of our substantive policies are embedded in the
Bill of Rights and other constitutional amendments.
S 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
S 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
S Procedural democracy can prey on minority views (because
of the emphasis on majority decision making)
Daily Dilemma #5
S Should U.S. foreign policy
promote democracy in other
countries? What are the issues
involved?
II. Institutional Models of
Democracy
S 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
Pluralist
S Participation by the
S Participation by the
people in general
people in groups
The Majoritarian Model of
Democracy
S Government by the people = government by the
majority of the people
S Citizens can control the government as long as they
have enough mechanisms for participation
S Popular election of government officials is the
primary mechanism for democratic government
S Referenda, initiatives and recalls can be used to decide
government policies
Majoritarian Model (continued)
S Assumes citizens are knowledgeable enough
to participate, that they want to participate
and that they’ll make rational decisions in
elections
S Critics say that Americans are not
knowledgeable enough for the majoritarian
model to work
An Alternative: Pluralist
Democracy
S Developed in the 1950’s to account for the limited
knowledge of the real electorate, not the ideal electorate
S “Government by the people” = people operating through
various interest groups
S Interest group: an organized group of individuals that
seeks to influence public policy, also called a lobby
S 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)
S The pluralist model believes that the perfect
system is one where all interest groups can
organize and be heard
S Authority must be divided in this model instead of
having a single sovereign power
S In America, pluralism is working well based on
representative democracy but the decreasing
participation in civic life challenges the pluralist
model
Majoritarian Model
S Relies on electoral
mechanisms that
harness the power of
the majority to make
decisions
S Features responsiveness
to majority opinion
Pluralist Model
S Does not demand much
knowledge from
citizens in general
S Seeks to limit majority
action so interest
groups can be heard
S Allows minority
interests to organize
and present claims
Elite Theory
S Argues that a few
individuals wield
power in America
because they
control key
financial,
communication,
industrial and
government
institutions
Elite Theory (con’t)
S According to elite
theory, the U.S. is not
a democracy, but an
oligarchy
Elite Theory (con’t)
S 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
S It’s possible that pluralist theory means that
not all parts of the population are equally
well-represented
S 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
S Democratization is a difficult process and many countries fail
to complete the transition or succeed only in the short run
S Ethic and religious conflict means that many rivals are more
interested in creating governments that oppress their
opponents than democracies
S This makes majoritarian democracy especially dangerous
S Political and economic instability that typically accompanies
transition to democracy makes new democratic governments
vulnerable to attacks
American Democracy: More
Pluralist than Majoritarian
S The U.S. democratic system rates low
according to the majoritarian model but
fulfills the pluralist model
S “The flaw in the pluralist
heaven is that the
heavenly chorus
sings with a strong
upper-class accent”
S 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?