Lecture 3 Flashcards
Civil and Political Rights
What is liberal democracy?
A system of government in which the people rule themselves, directly or indirectly (through chosen officials), but are run on the power of majority
What are the four operating principles of Liberal Democracy?
- Equality of political rights
- Political Participation
- Political Freedom
- Majority Rule
Examples of ‘equality of political rights’ ?
Right to vote
Run for office
Serve on a jury
Speak out on public issues
What are the types of political participation?
- Directly, where citizens vote on everything
- Indirectly, through a democracy (people elect the decision)
What do ‘equality of political rights’ and ‘political freedom’ have in common?
Right to vote
Right to run for office
What is political freedom?
freedom of speech
freedom of association
existence of political competition
right to vote
right to run for office
What are the problems with Liberal Democracy?
- Elite Rule
- Liberal Democracies are “not designed to run efficiently”
- Crisis of governability
What is the Elite Rule?
when a minority of the population makes the major decisions in society
(consists of members of the economic elite, people who hold the most power)
contradicts equality of political rights & participation
How are liberal democracies not designed to run efficently?
Justin Trudeau believes that a dictatorship is better through his admiration of China
What is the crisis of governability?
The inability of representative governments to respond to the demands of its citizens when their action is most needed
What is totalitarianism?
Everything is controlled by a single party
Ex. nazi germany, soviet union
What is despotism?
a form of government in which an individual rules through fear without regard to law, and is not answerable to the people
What is authoritarianism?
a system of government in which leaders are not subject to the test of free elections
How did cultural / ethnic diversity occur?
- occurred because not all identities were assimilated
- immigration and refugees
(such diversity was not a problem in pre-modern times)
What is cultural assimilation?
the process where individuals and groups of culture acquire the basic habits of another culture
