Chapter 1, Section 3 (pp. 20-24) Concepts of Democracy

Recognition of everyone’s fundamental worth and dignity Political theorists have concluded that there are five basic concepts of Democracy. We could try to think of others, but for now, let’s just go over the meaning of these five: Recognition of everyone’s fundamental worth and dignity Respect for the equality of all persons Faith in majority rule but insistence on minority rights Acceptance of the necessity of compromise Insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom

Recognition of everyone’s fundamental worth and dignity: This means that in a democracy, society can make individuals do things they don’t want to do. But it can’t degrade them or deny them basic rights.

Respect for the equality of all persons: Keep in mind that this means equality before the law and equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. The latter would lead to the sort of futuristic horror portrayed in Harrison Bergeron.

Faith in majority rule but insistence on minority rights: This is a little different than the first two, in that it refers to the minority in a political sense. The party that lost the election must not be kept from expressing itself, or from participating in legislative votes, nor can it face special burdens in trying to become the majority.

Acceptance of the necessity of compromise: Mr. Montaigne especially worries that the two major parties have forgotten this one. The kind of partisan warfare we have seen since the 1990s is the opposite of a spirit of compromise!

Insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom: This almost sounds like a bias in favor of libertarianism!

But be mindful of what Justice Holmes said: “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.”

In Section 3, you’re also reminded that citizenship brings with it duties and responsibilities. Just to be clear, duties are things citizens must do, like obey the law, pay taxes, perform jury duty if asked, go to court as a witness if summoned, go to/send your kids to school, register for the draft, and respect others’ rights.

Responsibilities are not things you must do, but in fact, if too many people shirk these responsibilities, a democratic system ceases to function. They include: Voting Volunteering Participating in civic life Learning about and staying informed about issues and how our government works

Then, to conclude the chapter, we’re reminded that democracy, a political system, and free enterprise (or capitalism), an economic system, are not the same. There are democracies that are not capitalistic, and capitalist economies ruled by dictatorships. But the two- democracy and free enterprise- “reinforce each other in practice”. They go together like cheese and tomato, lettuce say (sorry).

Expect a quest on Wednesday, 9/21 (give or take a day) Expect a quest on Wednesday, 9/21 (give or take a day). It will include all three power points, and the intro vocabulary packet. After that, while you work on the essay, we’ll move on to Chapter 2 (Period 4A will use its own textbook from now on).