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Political Science > Week #4: (Democracy) > Flashcards

Week #4: (Democracy) Flashcards

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1
Q

types of rule

A
  • Monarchy/ tyranny (the one)
  • Aristocracy/ oligarchy (the few)
  • Polity/ democracy (the many)
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2
Q
  • Democracy
A
  • bad = mob
  • good = power to the people
  • collective self rule
  • Government, of, for, and by the People
  • Historically unpopular view
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3
Q

athenian democracy

A
  • Direct democracy
  • Exclusionary
  • Intolerant
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4
Q

plato against democracy

A
  • democracy is rule by the many
  • the are selfish, ignorant, and unpredictable
  • the many are unqualified to rule
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5
Q

The craft analogy

A
  • Making political decisions requires judgment and skill, that should be left to experts
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6
Q

plato: Philosopher rulers

A

philosophers should rule

  • philosophical training: acquiring knowledge of the human good
  • philosophers don’t want power
  • motivated to contemplate good, and think about morality and what’s correct
  • but they realize that the alternative is unacceptable
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7
Q

Plato: three types of people

A
  • First type: Most people are people you must be metaphorical with because they aren’t capable of knowing what’s good for them
  • Second type of people – military folk that recognize they should be ruled by the people at the top, the philosophers
  • Third type of people – the actual philosophical rulers
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8
Q

plato vs. corruption

A
  • Educate rulers to be concerned for the common good
  • Rulers possess no private property
  • Rulers are denied family ties
  • Are there likely to be many volunteers?
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9
Q

Aristotle vs. Plato: should any group have absolute power?

A
  • Aristotle: We can consult the experts and make an informed decision
  • Plato: Believes ONE particular group absolute power
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10
Q

Two tensions of democracy

A
  • First Tension – idea of democracy as a system of ‘majority rule, and the idea of democratic ‘consideration for individuals’
  • Second Tension - ‘representative’ and ‘direct’ models of democracy
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11
Q

Tyranny of the Majority

A

– the issue is that most people think if a majority rule then the people won’t do anything repressive, but a people don’t have a single interest
- minority will lose

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12
Q

direct democracy

A
  • the electorate votes for or against laws rather than candidates, major issues are put before the electorate by way of referendum
  • uncommon
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13
Q

representative democracy

A
  • citizens vote to determine who will represent them at governmental level, these representatives then go on to make laws
  • common
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14
Q

Plato: Voting

A
  • we need expert rulers

- Anti Plato – experts need to know the people’s interests, and only voting shows this

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15
Q

Two Models of voting and why:

A
  • If we do not want mixed-motivation voting then we must choose between two models:
  • First model – voters vote in accordance with their preferences
  • Second model – voters vote in accordance with their estimates or opinions of the common good
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16
Q

condorcet arguement on voting:

A
  • if we assume that people have a better than even chance of choosing the right answer then allowing the majority is an excellent way of getting the right result
17
Q

2 conditions of condorcet argument:

A
  • Condition 1: the average individual must have a better than even chance of being right
    • If this fails majority voting leads to the wrong result
  • Condition 2: each individual must be motivated to vote according to their ideas of the common good, rather than particular interests
    • If this fails we are back to mixed-motivation voting
18
Q

Rousseau: The General Will

A
  • Agrees that ruling requires a general training or education like Plato, but he denies this training is only for the few
19
Q

Rousseau: Sovereign

A
  • body of citizens acting collectively, with authority over themselves
20
Q

Rousseau: Citizenship

A
  • implies active public service, and political decision making through direct democracy
21
Q

Rousseau: mixed motivation voting & Particular will

A

voting in your interests

22
Q

Rousseau: mixed motivation voting & general will

A

be voting for the will of the community

‘general in its object as well as its essence’

23
Q

Rousseau vs. Plato - Application of Law

A
  • Laws should not be enforced by the sovereign but by the executive or government
  • The government has a very restricted role in which they don’t make laws, but they administer them and enforce them
  • The key difference between Rousseau’s rulers and Plato’s philosopher kings is that Rousseau’s rulers don’t have the power to make laws
24
Q

Rousseau: Two Skepticisms of Rousseau

A
  • Why should we think there is a general will at all: a policy that affects everyone equally?
  • Even if there is one, its not easy determine what it is
    Rebuttal: Large inequalities must be absent in his system
  • a good state passes few laws, people aren’t called upon often
25
Q

Rousseau: obstacles

A
  • Not that people won’t be able to determine the general will, but that they might fail to act upon it
  • When ‘interest groups’ form, and people vote for the interest of their particular group, then the general will probably won’t come from voting
  • Because people have a general will within their group, but particular will between groups.
26
Q

Rousseau: response to obstacles

A
  • no/few political parties, or factions
  • interests of particular groups should have little influence on the decisions of the whole
  • make them identify very strongly with the group as a whole by:
    • Education for civic virtue
27
Q

Rousseau: Radical Criticism

A
  • The idea of general will
  • Rousseau has a bad view of minorities
  • Critics do not accept that freedom should be equated with obedience
28
Q

Rousseau: Criticism conclusion

A
  • In order for Rousseau to be able to argue that democracy is instrumentally justified and achieves moral outcomes, he has to draw the bonds of social unity very tight
  • Treating conscientious disobedience as treason, in order to preserve social unity, is surely a mistake
29
Q

Participatory democracy

A
  • form of direct democracy
30
Q

Three claims of participatory democracy that extend to Rousseau

A
  • First Claim:• Claims we must find more room for individual involvement in political discussion and decision making than Rousseau allows
    • more room and respect for dissenting voices
  • Second claim: Once we abandon the assumption that there is a general will, we don’t have to restrict individual decision making to legislation, rather we don’t have to vote on every single thing…. Maybe just the most important
  • Third claim:Only democratic involvement in all matters of concern can achieve real freedom and equality for all
    • Only in participatory democracy are the Voluntaristic assumptions of social contract theory satisfied
31
Q

Mill & Representative Democracy

A
  • The people elect representatives who then both make laws and put them into practice
32
Q

Mill vs. Despotism

A
  • Believes against a absolute monarchy to carries all decisions
  • But believes a despot could carry out management functions
33
Q

Mill vs. Direct Democracy

A
  • Direct democracy might be the best way of improving the citizens, but is completely inefficient as a form of government
  • Modern societies are too large to make direct democracy possible
  • Things will go wrong if we let the people exert great influence over their appointed expert administrators
34
Q

Mill and participation

A
  • public participation and education is important
35
Q

Mill vs. political corruption & voting corruption

A
  • Politicians should have a limit on how much they can spend on their campaign
  • Politicians should not be paid
  • Voters should vote in accordance with their ideas of the general interest, and candidates which they feel are most likely to improve the citizens and efficiently manage the affairs of the country in the interests of all
  • Open vote, rather than a secret ballot due to accountability
36
Q

Mill: Disenfranchisement

A
  • Illiterate people and people unable to do basic math shouldn’t be able to vote, as to exclude stupidity and ignorance
37
Q

Mill: Plural voting

A
  • Some people should get more than one vote, intellectuals etc.
    • Just because everyone should get the right to an opinion, doesn’t mean everyone has an equal opinion
38
Q

Mill: Representative government

A
  • Mill takes great pains to ensure the representation of minorities in parliament
  • Proportional representation
  • Government cannot interfere in certain areas of people’s lives and have certain rights and liberties, with which the government may not interfere

Political Science (6 decks)

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