The Philosophy of Democracy
Democracy is the system of government in which a society gives its citizens direct control over the laws and policies that govern it. It may also involve the people selecting representatives to make those decisions. In either case, the members of a democracy must participate regularly in making decisions about how to organize their society. The idea behind democracy is that a society organized this way will be the most just, fair and free possible.
The word democracy is derived from the Greek words demos, meaning people or the people’s power, and kratos, meaning rule or power. Some people argue that democratic power is inherently better than other forms of power, such as aristocracy or monarchy, because it is more likely to promote the common good than are other forms of government. Others believe that democracy is not always the best form of government because it can lead to corruption and special interests.
One common justification for democracy is that it allows citizens to secure more rights than other forms of government because it allows them to vote on their own behalf. This is called the instrumental justification of democracy. Other justifications for democracy appeal to a sense of public legitimacy, or the notion that laws and policies are more legitimate when they have been publicly justified by a process that involves debate among equals.
Many philosophers endorse democracy because it is believed to promote the development of virtuous citizens. They believe that allowing citizens to vote on their own behalf encourages people to stand up for themselves in ways that other types of government do not because they realize that their decisions will affect them more directly.
Others, such as John Dewey, argue that democracy enables citizens to discover the social needs and troubles they face because it involves consultation and discussion among equals. They contend that other forms of government are unable to do this as effectively because they do not allow their constituents to provide feedback about social problems and the causal mechanisms necessary to advance them.
Other philosophers have developed the concept of democratic duty, or the moral duties that democratic citizens must abide by when participating in a democracy. They assert that there are three important democratic duties: the duty to vote, the duty to promote justice through principled disobedience and the duty to accommodate disagreement through compromise and consensus. They believe that if these obligations are violated, a democracy is no longer just or fair and should be abandoned. They also believe that some forms of democracy are not suitable for all nations or for all circumstances and therefore should be replaced with a different type of political institution.
Democracy is the system of government in which a society gives its citizens direct control over the laws and policies that govern it. It may also involve the people selecting representatives to make those decisions. In either case, the members of a democracy must participate regularly in making decisions about how to organize their society. The idea behind democracy is that a society organized this way will be the most just, fair and free possible. The word democracy is derived from the Greek words demos, meaning people or the people’s power, and kratos, meaning rule or power. Some people argue that democratic power is inherently better than other forms of power, such as aristocracy or monarchy, because it is more likely to promote the common good than are other forms of government. Others believe that democracy is not always the best form of government because it can lead to corruption and special interests. One common justification for democracy is that it allows citizens to secure more rights than other forms of government because it allows them to vote on their own behalf. This is called the instrumental justification of democracy. Other justifications for democracy appeal to a sense of public legitimacy, or the notion that laws and policies are more legitimate when they have been publicly justified by a process that involves debate among equals. Many philosophers endorse democracy because it is believed to promote the development of virtuous citizens. They believe that allowing citizens to vote on their own behalf encourages people to stand up for themselves in ways that other types of government do not because they realize that their decisions will affect them more directly. Others, such as John Dewey, argue that democracy enables citizens to discover the social needs and troubles they face because it involves consultation and discussion among equals. They contend that other forms of government are unable to do this as effectively because they do not allow their constituents to provide feedback about social problems and the causal mechanisms necessary to advance them. Other philosophers have developed the concept of democratic duty, or the moral duties that democratic citizens must abide by when participating in a democracy. They assert that there are three important democratic duties: the duty to vote, the duty to promote justice through principled disobedience and the duty to accommodate disagreement through compromise and consensus. They believe that if these obligations are violated, a democracy is no longer just or fair and should be abandoned. They also believe that some forms of democracy are not suitable for all nations or for all circumstances and therefore should be replaced with a different type of political institution.