Democracy

Question 1

define aggregative democracy.

Answer 1

interprets democracy as a process of aggregating the preferences of citizens in choosing public officials and policies (Young, 2000)

all citizens’ preferences have equal weight in an open process of preference aggregation to determine a collective decision (Cohen & Sabel, 1997)

Question 2

define deliberative democracy.

Answer 2

“a form of government in which free and equal citizens (and their representatives), justify decisions in a process in which they give one another reasons that are mutually acceptable and generally accessible, with the aim of reaching conclusions that are binding in the present on all citizens but open to challenge in the future” (Gutmann & Thompson, 2004)

Question 3

define adversary democracy.

Answer 3

democracy premised on conflict of interests and on giving citizens fair opportunities to advance their interests against others (Mansbridge, 1983)

Question 4

what is political equality?

Answer 4

each group member must have an equal (chance of) influence over the group’s decisions

Question 5

what is majority rule?

Answer 5

the option that gets the most votes should be the group decision (Saunders, 2010)

Question 6

what is lottery voting?

Answer 6

all individuals cast votes for their preferred options but, instead of these being counted, one is randomly selected and that vote determines the outcome (Saunders, 2010)

Question 7

what are the two main models of democracy in contemporary political theory?

Answer 7

aggregative & deliberative

mixed conception of system might be best, best applicable to complexity of system we live in, some situations require deliberative, some require aggregative

Question 8

what is the best conception of democracy?

Answer 8

mixed conception of system might be best, best applicable to complexity of system we live in, some situations require deliberative, some require aggregative

Question 9

what is the aggregative model of democracy?

Answer 9

all citizens’ preferences have equal weight in an open process of preference aggregation to determine a collective decision (Cohen & Sabel, 1997)

interprets democracy as a process of aggregating the preferences of citizens in choosing public officials & policies (Young, 2000)

democracy is a competitive process in which political parties offer their platforms & attempt to satisfy the largest number of people’s preferences

Question 10

what are the 4 main criticisms of the aggregative model? which scholar puts these forward?

Answer 10

Young (2000) gives 4 main criticisms of aggregative model:

1. takes individuals’ preferences as given - no criteria for distinguishing quality of preferences by contents, origin or motive
2. no account of the possibility of political coordination & cooperation
3. carries a thin & individualistic form of rationality
4. this model is sceptical about the possibility of normative & evaluative objectivity

Question 11

what is the deliberative model of democracy?

Answer 11

“a form of government in which free and equal citizens (and their representatives), justify decisions in a process in which they give one another reasons that are mutually acceptable and generally accessible, with the aim of reaching conclusions that are binding in the present on all citizens but open to challenge in the future” (Gutmann & Thompson, 2004)

democracy is a form of practical reason, “nothing other than a competition between private interests and preferences” (Young, 2000)

a public consists of a plurality of different individuals & collective experiences, histories, commitments, ideals & interests. Reasonable people enter discussion to solve collective problems with the aim of reaching agreement

• promotes free & equal opportunities to speak which requires freedom from domination
• requires an open mind
• entails several normative ideals for the relationships & dispositions of deliberating parties: inclusion, equality, reasonableness & publicity

Question 12

what are the four elements of deliberative democracy?

Answer 12

(i) decisions are preceded by discussion which involves reason-giving between equals

• “deliberation is reasoned in that the parties to it are required to state their reason for advancing proposals, supporting them or criticising them” (Cohen, 2002)
• “everyone with deliberative capacities has equal standing at each stage of the deliberative process” (Cohen, 2002)

(ii) reason-giving requires appeal to considerations of the common good

• citizens must respect a norm of reciprocity in reason-giving…this will incline us to find reasons rooted in shared interests, our common good

(iii) citizens’ preferences over laws & policies are not fixed nor taken as given but stand to be transformed through discussion & reason-giving

(iv) discussion is oriented towards agreement & consensus

• “ideal deliberation aims to arrive at a rationally motivated consensus” (Cohen, 2002)

Question 13

in what ways is the ideal deliberation free?

Answer 13

1. the participants regard themselves as bound only by results of their deliberation & by the preconditions for that deliberation
2. the participants suppose that they can act from the results

Question 14

what assumptions are made in the deliberative model?

Answer 14

ends & values are subjective, non-rational, exogenous to the political process

participants are not pressed for time in the decision-making process & they can dedicate significant energy to the discussion

freedom from domination, freedom to speak & mutual respect

Question 15

what are the advantages of the deliberative model?

Answer 15

epistemic benefits

enhances civic character / mutual respect

liberty

response to ‘social choice’ problems