10
Not Quite Right, but
Still Good:
The Democratic Ideal
in Modern Politics
Arrow’s Theorem
• All democracies are fraught with problems.
• Economist Kenneth Arrow demonstrated that
even free and fair elections do not ensure that
the majority’s preference will be selected
• Whenever there are more than two choices in an
election, the method used to add up the votes
has a tremendous impact on who wins
• Further, one can never be certain that any one
method of counting votes will lead to the
majority’s single preferred option
Arrow’s Theorem
• There are many types of elections that are possible, e.g.,
winner-take-all, winner-take-all with a runoff to ensure a
majority, multiple rounds of voting eliminating those with the
lowest vote first, ranked votes, the use of open primaries, or
an electoral college
• These methods are all fair but could provide different results
• The example also assumes that the process of conducting the
election was perfect
• However, in the real world problems come up, e.g., hanging
chads, misprinted ballots, voting machine failures, etc.
• Arrow’s Theorem shows us that elections cannot be the
perfect means of making decisions because part of the
process, the way you tally the votes, can significantly alter the
outcome, even when it is done perfectly and fairly
Democracy
• What is it?
• A method of governing in which the
people rule directly or through
representatives
• Examples of Pure (Direct) Democracy?
• Athenian Democracy, New England town meetings,
CA ballot propositions (referenda and initiatives)
• What’s wrong with Direct Democracy?
• Matter of Scale
• People have neither the expertise or the interest
What does Democracy Mean to You?
• What does
Democracy Mean
to you?
• Take a few
moments and write
down a definition of
democracy
What is Democracy?
• Joseph Schumpeter defines
Democracy as, “the democratic
method is that institutional
arrangement for arriving at political
decisions in which individuals acquire
the power to decide by means of a
competitive struggle for the people’s
vote”
• Is Democracy just casting votes or
does it mean something more?
The Ideals of Liberal Democracy
1. Popular Control of Government
• Government does what the
people want, not vice versa
• Representative government
• Responsible government
• General welfare government
2. Rule of Law
• Constitutional government
• Limits and restraints on rulers
• Rights-respecting government
• Prevent tyranny of the majority
3. Contestation
• Genuine alternatives who do
gain power
Liberal Democracy: A Working Definition
• Constitutional
government
characterized by popular
rule,
• protection of basic rights,
• and political and
economic competition.
In Defense of Liberal Democracy
• Guiding vision and ideals have led to greater
measure of civilized life, healthy growth, and
creative fulfillment as evidenced in the American
case.
• Has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to
changing circumstances.
• Has been able to effectively respond to the worst
examples of the abuse of power and tyranny.
• Is realistic about politics, and this creates a
stable regime.
The Attack on Liberal Democracy from
the Left
• American liberal
democracy has failed to
fulfill its own promise.
• Individuals are not free;
they are confined in an
exploitive economic and
social system of
inequality, racism, and
sexism.
The Attack on Liberal Democracy from
the Right
• Liberal democracy has
degenerated into mobocracy,
serfdom, and socialism.
• The dangers of participatory
democracy threatened
representative democracy and
equality of opportunity.
• The political right is fearful of the
state’s growing bureaucratic power
to regulate economic affairs and
undermine private property and
enterprise.
Variations on the Liberal Democratic
Theme
_______________________________________________________________
Government Intervention
in Economic Affairs
For Against
Expansion of For Liberal Libertarian
Personal ______________________________________
Freedoms
Against Populist Conservative
_______________________________________________________________
Source: William S. Maddox and Stuart A. Little, Beyond Liberal and Conservative:
Reassessing the Political Spectrum (Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 1984), 5.
Contemporary American
Liberals
•Seek to expand popular power
•In general, they favor a greater concern
for the least free and the least powerful in
society,
• Markets can also limit freedoms, how?
• Advocate employing government to
help people overcome obstacles –
poverty, illness, ignorance, prejudice –
allowing fair play for society’s most
needy.
•Concern that free markets do not do
these things
•They are also more favorably disposed
to political, economic, and social change.
Contemporary American Conservatives
While they are genuinely concerned
about the most needy in society, they
are deeply skeptical of the ability of
government to solve the problems
associated with poverty.
They generally endorse a laissez-faire
position and are opposed to adverse
government interference in their
economic, political, and social affairs.
Seek to maintain the existing economic,
political, and social scheme of things.
Contemporary American
Conservatives
• Uneasy Alliance:
• Free-Market Conservatives: Government should
not interfere with markets (sound familiar?)
• Social Conservatives: need government to
protect “traditional” morality and passions
(sound familiar?)
• Also, Neoconservatives: Disillusioned with
unintended consequences of liberal social
programs and Willingness to use force abroad
Democracy and the Liberal Ideal
• Plato believed that simply because a
majority of people had an opinion, it did
not make them correct
• Aristotle believed that democracies self-
interested factions fighting for their own
selfish interests without concern for the
public good
• The framers of the U.S. constitution
shared these negative views of democracy
Democracy and the Liberal Ideal
• The Framers created a republic in which
decisions are made by representatives of
the citizens rather than by the citizens
themselves
• Think of the many undemocratic features
of the Constitution, e.g.:
– the Supreme Court
– the Senate
– the Electoral College
• Despite its flaws, democracy remains a
powerful ideal
Representative Democracy
• The framers of the U.S. Constitution consciously and
rationally designed it from nearly a blank slate
• Four factors are critical to the effectiveness and the
remarkable endurance of the U.S. system:
• First, the Constitution uses representatives to create a
democratic government of specialists
• Second, it institutionalizes revolt through frequent
elections of representatives
• Third, the Constitution recognizes the potential downside
of democracy by specifically limiting the power of
government
• Fourth, it recognizes democracy’s limits by adding a few
undemocratic features.