Dilemmas of Democracy

Plato’s Cave

• Plato’s Cave • Ideology

– Myths and Reality• Competing Myths • False Security Myths • Assumption Myths • Desire and Hope Myths

– Political Ideology • Politician’s and Interest Groups use of• Need for Political Education

The Purposes of Government• Three Principles

– Maintaining Order• Original Purpose • Thomas Hobbs

– Leviathan, “State of Nature”– Leaders protect sovereignty and provide survival

• John Locke– Two Treatises of Government, “life, liberty, property”

• Karl Marx – Communist Manifesto, “economic equality”

– Providing Public Goods• Services that benefit all in a society • Requires Taxes – can be controversial

– Promoting Equality• Modern Purpose

– Economic Equality - Increases Taxes – Controversial– Social Equality – Can be Controversial – Political Equality – Not often Controversial

Concepts of Government• Values pursued by government

– Freedom, positive• Freedom of = Liberty • Freedom from = Immunity

– Order, negative • Preserve, protect, and maintain social order

– Equality, positive• Political Equality

– Difficult to maintain

• Social Equality – Class structure

• Equality of opportunity – Key word is opportunity = Positive reaction

• Equality of outcome– Key word is outcome = negative outcome

The Two Dilemmas of Government

• The Original Dilemma:– Freedom vs. order– Protect Life and Property – Principles Conflict – Finding a balance

• The modern Dilemma:– Freedom vs. equality– Promote Social Equality – Principles Conflict – Finding a Balance

Ideology and the Scope of Government

Continue • Political Ideology

• Anarchism • Libertarianism • Liberalism

– Democratic Liberalism

• Totalitarianism– George Orwell’s 1984

• Economic Ideology• Laissez faire • Capitalism • Democratic Socialism • Socialism • Communism

Continue • Conservatives

– Small Government Economics• Support free enterprise

– Big Government Social Order• Restrict behavior

• Liberals – Small Government Social Order

• More personal freedoms

– Big Government Economics• Support equality

The Scale • The Political Spectrum Scale

– Liberals = Center Left (Moderates)• Improving society• Supports Change

– Conservatives = Center Right (Moderates)• Providing Security• Supports Tradition

– Radicals = Far Left• Progressive society

– Reactionaries = Far Right• Restoring Society

– Revolutionary Radicals = Extreme Left• Bold New Society

– Revolutionary Reactionaries = Extreme Right• Glorious Resurrection

The Bell Curve

RRad Rad Lib Con React RReact

The Left v The Right • The Left

– More Government and Less Government • Values equality and freedom over order

– Positive view of human nature

• Great economic, social, and political opportunities– Supports Social Mobility – Egalitarian Principles

• The Right– Less Government and More Government

• Values order over freedom– Negative view of human nature

• Values Freedom over equality– Equality is natural – Talents should be basis of mobility

Compare of the Left and the Right• Moderates

– Liberals and Conservatives • More in common then with their extreme counterparts• Will compromise to reach goals• Encourages Stability of the System to reach long term goals• Mild political engagement

• Activists– Radicals and Reactionaries

• Active engagement in politics – The work horse of politics • Feel threatened by opposing side – Believe people will come to

their side if they are told the “Truth”• Rarely Compromise

• Extremists– Revolutionary Radicals and Revolutionary Reactionaries

• More in common then with moderates • Violent and Totalitarian • Will not compromise and will die for beliefs

Level of Intensity • As one moves outward on the Political

Spectrum Scale their intensity of conviction increases

RRad Rad Lib Con React RReact

Two-Dimensional Ideology Scale• Accurate classifications require

looking at values of freedom, order, and equality– Libertarians value freedom more than

order or equality– Liberals value freedom more than

order, but not more than equality– Conservatives value freedom more

than equality, but are willing to restrict it to preserve social order

– Communitarians favor programs that support both order and equality

Continue

Theories of Democracy• Democracy

– Greek, demos (masses) and kratos (power)

• Procedural democratic theory– How gov makes decisions– Participatory (direct) vs.

representative democracy (indirect) • Substantive view of democracy

– Substance of gov policy– Civil liberties, civil rights, social rights, and

economic rights

Majoritairian Model of Democracy• The majoritarian model of democracy:

– Interprets government "by the people" as government by the majority of people

– Assumes mass participation in politics is required to ensure government accountability

– Assumes that the people will be well informed on political issues and make thoughtful voting decisions

– Encourages citizens to participate directly in decision making through the institutional mechanisms of the referendum and the initiative.

– Is this the United States?

The Pluralist Model of Democracy

• The pluralist model of democracy:– Is based on the idea of pluralism, which

assumes that people in modern society often form groupings along economic, religious, ethnic, or cultural lines

– Involves people with similar interests form interest groups to try to influence government policymakers

Cont.

• The pluralist model of democracy:– Interprets government "by the

people" to mean government by people operating through competing interest groups

– Favors a decentralized and organizationally complex governmental structure that provides these groups open access to public officials who consider their views.

– Is this the United States

Elite Theory

• A small group of people makes most important government decisions

• Oligarchy, a system of goverment in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few

• Is this the United States?