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1. What’s good about democracy? 2. Evaluate arguments for and against universal suitability of democracy.
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1. Prevent famine (Sen). ◦ Case of Niger? 2. Democracies do not conduct mass killings of citizens. 3. (Liberal) democracies do not fight one another. ◦ Institutional reasons: controls on war decisions. ◦ Normative reasons: used to nonviolent dispute resolution. Amartya Sen
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1. If you believe that human freedom is a good thing, democracy provides it. Authoritarian regimes do not. “Liberal autocracy” no longer feasible. 2. Being prevented from social and political participation is a “major deprivation”.
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Universal value does not mean universal consent. Instead, a value that people anywhere may have reason to see as valuable. Wherever democracy has been introduced and then overthrown, massive protests against its demise.
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PRO: Asian cultures value order, responsibility, allegiance to state over individualized freedoms. Democracy and individual rights would undermine values and disrupt society. CON: Selective interpretation of Confucian and Western philosophies (Sen). ◦ Eastern and Western texts both include elements of democracy, liberalism, and authoritarianism.
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PRO: Cultural beliefs crash against the principles of equal individual rights and universal citizenship. CON: ◦ There are many interpretations of Islam. ◦ What is a “cohesive community”? Is there ever no dissent? ◦ Democracy can have varying approaches to individual rights (Diamond).
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PRO: Need different rights that apply to different citizen groups depending on religion or ethnicity of citizens involved. CON: ◦ Liberal democracy typically includes minority rights to protect various communities. (e.g. Canada) ◦ India exactly this kind of society, but sustains democracy.
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PRO: Authoritarian governments can provide economic goods (including food) more efficiently than democratic governments. CON: ◦ Poor people benefit from ability to voice complaints and protest (Sen). ◦ Very little evidence that poor people reject democracy once instituted (Sen). ◦ Scant evidence that authoritarian regimes provide economic goods better than democracies.
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