1. democracy Experts and Justification Matt Bennett mpb74@cam.ac.uk
drmattbennett.weebly.com

2. Democracy as self-rule
demo-, demos, roughly translated as “the people”
-cracy, kratia, roughly translated as power or rule
i.e. democracy is self-rule of the people, by the people
A people can self-rule in one of two ways:
Expressions of the will of all citizens play a role in making political decisions e.g. through voting
Political decisions that govern society reflect the will of the people, but are not causally determined by expressions of that will by all citizens

3. Problems with voting (last week)
Not all citizens vote
Unanimity is extremely unlikely
Basic first-preference votes can contradict multiple preference-ordering votes
Votes can generate a paradox of pre- and post-vote policy judgements
Further problems fall into two categories:
Reasons to think voting are an unreliable mechanism for an individual to express a judgement/preference
Reasons to think that what people say they want is different from what they really want

4. Votes fail to track evolving opinion
Votes ask for a judgement or preference at a specific moment in time But judgements and preferences can change (and develop/evolve)

5. Votes oversimplify complex political opinions

6. Available options may not reflect what voters really want

7. Votes are vulnerable to some survey biases
E.g. acquiescence bias: agree/disagree survey questions are more likely to generate ”agree” responses Consider the question posed in the Scottish Independence referendum 2014

8. Voters are vulnerable to misinformation

9. No one has time to be fully informed on everything

10. Voter preferences are vulnerable to manipulation
Voters’ wishes can be influenced by
Campaigning
Marketing
Social expectations
Ideology
Cf. Marxist concept of false consciousness:
the proletariat is convinced to adopt and defend the ideology of the wealthy ruling class

11. Alternatives to voting?
A people can self-rule in one of two ways:
Expressions of the will of all citizens play a role in making political decisions e.g. through voting
Political decisions that govern society reflect the will of the people, but are not causally determined by expressions of that will by all citizens
Elected representation (e.g. House of Commons)
Non-elected representation (e.g. House of Lords)
Civil service
An unelected “People’s Assembly”

12. Democratic decisions and democratic procedures
A people can self-rule in one of two ways:
Expressions of the will of all citizens play a role in making political decisions e.g. through voting
Decisions based on votes do not necessarily reflect what the people really want
Political decisions that govern society reflect the will of the people, but are not causally determined by expressions of that will by all citizens
These decisions lack sufficient participation of all citizens in decision making procedures
A democracy ought to have both A and B. Which we value more will determine our democratic theory and democratic practice

13. Justifications for democracy
Democratic participation in decision making is valuable Non-instrumentalist justification of democracy: democratic procedures for reaching decisions are better than any other form of political decision-making Democratic decisions are valuable Instrumentalist theories: democratic procedures generate the best political decisions

14. Instrumentalist justifications
Democracy procedures the best political decisions. What do we mean by “best”? At least one of the following:
Decisions with the best consequences
Decisions that are just
Decisions that accord with the popular will
Consider e.g. John Stuart Mill:
Representative government is the
best arrangement for protection of
the rights of all
Representative government is best
suited for prosperity

15. Instrumentalist justifications
Democracy procedures the best political decisions. What do we mean by “best”? At least one of the following:
Decisions with the best consequences
Decisions that are just
Decisions that accord with the popular will
Consider e.g. Amartya Sen
Politicians held accountable have greater
incentive to make decisions with good
consequences for everyone

16. Cultivating good citizens
Democracy procedures the best political decisions. What do we mean by “best”? At least one of the following:
Decisions with the best consequences
Decisions that are just
Decisions that accord with the popular will

17. Epistemic Justification
Some argue democratic procedures are more likely to reach the “right answer” in politics. This is because:
More people means a more diverse range of expertise
More comprehensive coverage of the interests we aim to satisfy
More critical scrutiny of proposed policy
Aggregation of judgements over a large cohort best “tracks truth”.
Probability theorems and decision theory often underpin these arguments e.g. Condorcet jury theorem

18. Objections to instrumentalism
Platonic objection: good political decisions are easier to reach through ruling philosophers Hobbesian objection: multiple competing opinions will generate instability

19. Non-instrumentalism Argument for the value of self-government:
All people have a right to personal autonomy.
Our lives are significantly affected by social and political factors.
The only way to have control over those factors is through the right to equal participation in social and political decision making.
To protect the right to personal autonomy, citizens need a further right of equal participation in politics
Objection1: if this argument holds, democracies will often fail to respect rights
Objection2: this argument might lead to anarchy, not democracy

20. Non-instrumentalism Argument from legitimacy
Decisions must be justifiable to citizens to be considered legitimate
Justifiability is best ensured if citizens make decisions themselves
Objection1: non-democratic governments might be able to justify themselves to citizens
Reply: an accountable government is very close to a democratic government
Objection2: the public could be misled into accepting government decisions (misinformation, false consciousness)