POLI 245 Ch:2 Flashcards
What did democracy originally mean? (In the time of the Greeks)
Rule of the common people. Demos means people and kratos which means to rule.
What are the main features of the republican tradition as it evolved from Aristotle and Polybius
to the American founding?
Emergence of democracy by the Greeks which eventually got replaced by republicanism in Rome, republicanism fades away in the Middle Ages then came back during the reniascance and during the American revolution.
What are some contrasts between republicanism and democracy?
Democracy means rule of the many, mainly the poor, while republicanism refers to a government with a mixed constitution that is ruled by one, the few, and the many.
How has the meaning of democracy changed over the years?
Democracy used to be generally considered a bad thing because the old understanding of democracy was basically mod rule. Today democracy is seen by most as the ideal form of government because of the freedom it usually grants to the people.
How can non liberal regimes like China claim to be democratic?
In the case of China, Mao viewed his regimes dictatorship as the beginning of democracy, believing a dictatorship was needed to pave the way for democracy.
What does it mean that democracy is an “essentially contested concept”?
It means that democratic ideologies vary extensively and have different contents of their ideal society, and that even non democratic forms of government like facism and nazism are based upon reactions to democracy.
What are some examples of how voting rights have been curtailed or denied?
One example is how in the US, the electoral college is responsible for who becomes president. This curtails voting because democratic voters in a red state will be grossly out numbered by republican voters and the electoral votes coming from that state will only support the republicans in the presidential race.
What are the reasons for and against some issues being settled by democratic vote?
Reasons against include voting shouldn’t be able to deny the rights of individuals as outlined in the nations constitution, like how in the US, majority voting threatened to remove the ability for Americans of the same sex to get married. Arguments for being that if the majority of people agree, it is right to do so.
What are the 4 varieties of democracy and how do they differ?
The 4 varieties of democracy are liberal democracy (a representative democracy with majority rule and attempted protection of minority rights and freedoms), social democracy (created in response to the unfairness of capitalism. Wants to uphold civil rights but seeks to give economic equality), people’s democracy (communism sees the people as the working class, leading communist party that sees the working class. interest as the common interest), illiberal democracy (response to liberal democracy the utilizes populism to erode trust in current system).
What is populism?
A response to liberal democracy that involves leaders using “us vs. them” tactics to erode trust in the system to gain power over the masses. Politics as expression of the general will.
