The Challenge of Democracy

The Challenge of Democracy
CHAPTER 2 Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy?

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Learning outcomes Distinguish between the two theories of democratic government used in political science: procedural and substantive. Compare and contrast the majoritarian and pluralist models of democracy. Evaluate the challenges facing countries trying to move toward a democratic form of government. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Partisan Differences over Immigration
FIGURE 2.1 Few issues are as divisive in America as what to do with the nation’s more than 11 million undocumented immigrants. Republicans, Democrats, and independents view the solution differently. Source: CNN/ORC Poll, January 31–February 2, 2014. Question: What should be the main focus of the U.S. government in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration—developing a plan that would allow illegal immigrants who have jobs to become legal U.S. residents, or developing a plan for stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States and for deporting those already here? Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The theory of democratic government
Democratic Origins Ancient Greek philosophies Autocracy Power in the hands of a monarch Oligarchy Power in the hands of the elite Democracy Power in the hands of the people Greek philosophers classified governments according to the number of citizens involved in the process. Imagine a continuum running from rule by one person, through rule by a few, to rule by many. autocracy A system of government in which the power to govern is concentrated in the hands of one individual. oligarchy A system of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few people. democracy A system of government in which, in theory, the people rule, either directly or indirectly. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Meaning and Symbolism of Democracy Originated with the Greeks Demos = common people, Kratos = power Greeks feared democracy Demagogue Two schools of thought today: Democracy is a form of government Democracy is a procedural approach The ancient Greeks were afraid of democracy—rule by rank-and-file citizens. That fear is evident in the term demagogue. We use that term today to refer to a politician who appeals to and often deceives the masses by manipulating their emotions and prejudices. There are two major schools of thought about what constitutes democracy. The first believes democracy is a form of government. It emphasizes the procedures that enable the people to govern: meeting to discuss issues, voting in elections, running for public office. The second sees democracy in the substance of government policies, in freedom of religion and the provision for human needs. The procedural approach focuses on how decisions are made; the substantive approach is concerned with what government does. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Procedural View of Democracy Universal participation Who should participate in decision making? Political equality How much should each participant’s vote count? Majority rule How many votes are needed to reach a decision? procedural democratic theory A view of democracy as being embodied in a decision-making process that involves universal participation, political equality, majority rule, and responsiveness. universal participation The concept that everyone in a democracy should participate in governmental decision making. political equality Equality in political decision making: one vote per person, with all votes counted equally. majority rule The principle—basic to procedural democratic theory—that the decision of a group must reflect the preference of more than half of those participating; a simple majority. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

A Complication: Direct Versus Indirect Democracy Participatory democracy Town meetings Rare in U.S. E-government Boston’s “Street Bump” Representative democracy Instituted by U.S. Constitution Responsiveness participatory democracy A system of government where rank-and-file citizens rule themselves rather than electing representatives to govern on their behalf. e-government Online communication channels that enable citizens to easily obtain information from government and facilitate the expression of opinions to government officials. representative democracy A system of government where citizens elect public officials to govern on their behalf responsiveness A decision-making principle, necessitated by representative government, that implies that elected representatives should do what the majority of people wants. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

E-government Online communication channels that enable citizens to easily obtain information from government and facilitate the expression of opinions to government officials. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

A Complication: Direct Versus Indirect Democracy Four principles of procedural democracy Universal participation Political equality Majority rule Government responsiveness to public opinion Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Substantive View of Democracy Focuses on substance, not procedures Based on Bill of Rights and amendments Government should guarantee civil liberties and civil rights Disagreement among theorists over social rights Conservatives have narrow view Liberals have broader view substantive democratic theory The view that democracy is embodied in the substance of government policies rather than in the policymaking procedure. Theorists disagree most sharply on whether a government must promote social equality to qualify as a democracy. For example, must a state guarantee unemployment benefits and adequate public housing to be called democratic? Some insist that policies that promote social equality are essential to democratic government. Others restrict the requirements of substantive democracy to policies that safeguard civil liberties and civil rights. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Health care: government’s responsibility?
Figure 2.2 Is health care a right in a democracy like ours? Opinions change over time, and interestingly, support for the position that health care is a government’s responsibility began to drop before Barack Obama took office. There’s a sharp partisan split, with Republican’s more antagonistic toward a government role in health care and Democrats more supportive. Source: Gallup Poll, “Majority in U.S. Say Healthcare Not Gov’t Responsibility,” 18 November Copyright Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. The content is used with permission; however, Gallup retains all right of republication. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Procedural Democracy versus Substantive Democracy Substantive No clear, precise criteria Procedural Can produce undesirable social policies Clashes with minority rights Choosing procedures or policies Compromise: balance minority and majority interests minority rights The benefits of government that cannot be denied to any citizen by majority decisions. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Institutional models of democracy
Institutional Mechanisms Required Elections Political parties Legislatures Interest groups Two Models of Democracy Majoritarian Pluralist We can summarize the theoretical positions by using two alternative models of democracy. As a model, each is a hypothetical plan, a blueprint for achieving democratic government through institutional mechanisms. The majoritarian model values participation by the people in general; the pluralist model values participation by the people in groups. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Majoritarian Model of Democracy Government by majority of the people Popular election of government officials Elections decide government policies Referendum Initiative Recall Critics: Americans not knowledgeable enough Defenders: Americans have coherent opinions majoritarian model of democracy The classical theory of democracy in which government by the people is interpreted as government by the majority of the people. Usually we think of elections only as mechanisms for choosing among candidates for public office. Majoritarian theorists also see them as a means for deciding government policies. An election on a policy issue is called a referendum. Twenty-four states allow their legislatures to place a policy question on the ballot and allow citizens to vote on it. When citizens circulate petitions and gather a required minimum number of signatures to put a policy question on a ballot, it is called an initiative. Twenty-four states (mostly the same ones) allow for initiatives. Eighteen states also allow the recall of state officials, a means of forcing a special election for an up-or-down vote on a sitting governor or state judge. Like initiatives, a specified percentage of registered voters must sign a petition asking that a vote be held. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

An Alternative Model: Pluralist Democracy Government by people operating through competing interest groups A shift from mass electorate to organized groups Two major mechanisms Interest groups Decentralized government Robert Dahl Divided authority Decentralization Open access pluralist model of democracy An interpretation of democracy in which government by the people is taken to mean government by people operating through competing interest groups. interest group An organized group of individuals that seeks to influence public policy; also called a lobby. For pluralists, the ideal system is one that divides government authority among numerous institutions with overlapping authority. Under such a system, competing interest groups have alternative points of access for presenting and arguing their claims. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Majoritarian Model Versus the Pluralist Model Majoritarian Mass public controls government Relies on majority rule Cohesive political parties Centralized government Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Majoritarian Model of Democracy
In 2013, after the governor vetoed a bill to increase the state’s minimum wage, New Jersey voters took matters into their own hands and approved a referendum to raise the minimum wage to $8.25 an hour. Annual cost of living increases were also mandated by the referendum. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Majoritarian Model Versus the Pluralist Model Pluralist Relies on interests of specialized groups Limits majority action Decentralized government Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

An Undemocratic Model: Elite Theory A small group makes most important decisions Government controlled by wealthy; business connections Control key financial, communications, industrial, government institutions Would call U.S. an oligarchy Difficult to test validity of theory According to elite theory, important government decisions are made by an identifiable and stable minority that shares certain characteristics, particularly vast wealth and business connections. elite theory The view that a small group of people actually makes most of the important government decisions. Political scientists have conducted numerous studies designed to test the validity of elite theory, but it has proven to be an exceptionally difficult idea to prove in any conclusive manner. Perhaps the strongest evidence is the documentation of a correspondence between the preferences of the wealthy and policy outcomes. If the wealthy and the rest of the population are divided on a course of action by government, the wealthy are more likely to prevail (though not assured of doing so). Another form of great influence is the elite’s alleged power to keep issues off the political agenda. That is, its power derives from its ability to keep people from questioning fundamental assumptions about American capitalism. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Elite Theory Versus Pluralist Theory Difference: durability of ruling minority Pluralist believes in struggle between competing interests Wealthy have advantage in struggle Justifies disparities among segments of society In fact, unorganized segments of the population may not even get their concerns placed on the agenda for government consideration, which means that what government does not discuss (its ‘‘nondecisions’’) may be as significant as what it does discuss and decide. Indeed, studies of the congressional agenda demonstrate that it is characterized by little in the way of legislation concerned with poor or low-income Americans, while business-related bills are plentiful.28 This is a critical weakness of pluralism, and critics relentlessly attack the theory because it appears to justify great disparities in levels of political organization and resources among different segments of society Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Americans Divided over whether America is divided
Figure 2.3 Some people think of American society as divided into two groups—the ‘’haves’’ and “have nots”—while others think it’s incorrect to think of America that way. Do you, yourself, think of America as divided into haves and have nots, or don’t you think of America that way? Note that the Gallup Poll did not ask this question between 1990 and 1998. Are we a nation of “haves” and “have nots”? In 1989, most Americans believed that the country was not divided. Over time, the proportion of those indicating that the country is divided into haves and have nots increased. The most recent poll (2011) to ask this question found a modest majority believing we are not divided into two camps. Source: Lymari Morales, “Fewer Americans See U.S. Divided into ‘Haves,’ ‘Have Nots,’” Gallup Poll, 15 December Copyright Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. The content is used with permission; however, Gallup retains all right of republication. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The global challenge of democratization
Two Models of Democratic Government Majoritarian: representative government No government achieves responsiveness demanded Pluralist: respond to minority interests No government offers equal access to all competing groups No consensus on which is preferable Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Establishing Democracies Governments meet some criteria but not others Slight decline in democracies in recent years Democratization a difficult process The Arab Spring – did not lead to democracy Ethnic and religious conflicts Vulnerable to attack by opponents Nations need democratization to succeed economically democratization A process of transition as a country attempts to move from an authoritarian form of government to a democratic one. The ‘‘Arab Spring’’—revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya, and protest movements in other Arab countries—raised the hope that democracy would spread across the Middle East but this has not been the case. Authoritarian regimes, some of them quite brutal have maintained themselves in power in the Middle East or, in some cases, such as Egypt, democracy was stillborn as the military stepped in after the revolution and replaced a popularly elected government. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Critical Thinking Question: For a newly emerging democracy, should constitution writers create a government facilitating majoritarian rule, or design an electoral system using proportional representation? Would the United States’ government work better if we had multiple parties instead of just two? Source: Nils-Christian Bormann and Matt Golder, “Democratic Electoral Systems Around the World, 1946–2011,” Electoral Systems 32 (2013): 360–369. ? Critical Thinking Question Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

American Democracy: More Pluralist Than Majoritarian Principle drawback of pluralism: favors the well-organized so affluent receive more benefits Recently, parties more sharply divided making U.S. system more majoritarian People’s trust in American government fallen in past years Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

video discussion questions
Why is a minimum wage increase a controversial issue? Are we a nation of “haves” and “have nots”? Is this executive order a step toward economic equality? Should special interests control the federal minimum wage discussion? Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Challenge of Democracy

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "The Challenge of Democracy"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

The Challenge of Democracy

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "The Challenge of Democracy"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback