The Philosophy of Democracy
Democracy is the political system in which citizens elect officials to make decisions about the common good, formulate laws and administer public programs. It is the form of government most widely practiced in today’s world, whether for towns of 50,000 or nations of 50 million people. Democracy’s etymology hints at its importance: the word comes from the Greek demos (“people”) and kratos (“rule”). Democracies are governments of, by and for the people.
Most democratic systems are based on the idea that every person has equal rights and equal opportunities in a society that organizes itself around some kinds of shared concerns. In order for this organization to work, everyone must give up some of his or her autonomy in return for the benefit of having his or her concerns weighed and balanced by others. In addition, the members of a community must have the right to participate in this process of giving up some of their autonomy and being accountable for what is done with that autonomy. Democracy embodies this kind of peaceful and fair compromise between competing claims to rule.
Some philosophers have argued that democracy is morally desirable in part because of its capacity to maximize the rights and opportunities of its members. These rights and opportunities include the freedom of speech and association, which allow people to discuss ideas and form interest groups, and the ability to protest decisions that they find unsatisfactory or harmful.
Other philosophers have defended democracy in part on epistemic grounds, arguing that the aggregation of diverse sources of information and viewpoints in a democracy allows decision-makers to find more effective solutions to problems than would be possible in other political systems. This is sometimes referred to as the “wisdom of crowds” argument. Others, like John Stuart Mill, have argued that a more direct and representative link between the people and the government is more likely to result in decisions that advance their interests than would be true under an aristocracy or monarchy.
Yet other philosophers have argued that democratic systems are morally insecure and are likely to fail unless they have robust internal limits on their authority. These limits are necessary to ensure that the democratic principles of self-government can hold up in the face of adversity. Ronald Dworkin has defended one such account of the limits on democracy.
These debates continue to shape the democratic ideal in a variety of ways. Regardless of the debates, most observers agree that democracy is important for the health of nations and societies. In fact, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted at least one resolution each year dealing with democracy since 1988, and in 2015 world leaders committed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to “recognize that democracy, good governance and respect for human rights are fundamental for sustainable development”. Nevertheless, many questions remain about what exactly is democracy and how it should be defined. These questions are not resolved by any standard definition of democracy, although there are some conventions that have been developed to help clarify the meaning of the term.
Democracy is the political system in which citizens elect officials to make decisions about the common good, formulate laws and administer public programs. It is the form of government most widely practiced in today’s world, whether for towns of 50,000 or nations of 50 million people. Democracy’s etymology hints at its importance: the word comes from the Greek demos (“people”) and kratos (“rule”). Democracies are governments of, by and for the people. Most democratic systems are based on the idea that every person has equal rights and equal opportunities in a society that organizes itself around some kinds of shared concerns. In order for this organization to work, everyone must give up some of his or her autonomy in return for the benefit of having his or her concerns weighed and balanced by others. In addition, the members of a community must have the right to participate in this process of giving up some of their autonomy and being accountable for what is done with that autonomy. Democracy embodies this kind of peaceful and fair compromise between competing claims to rule. Some philosophers have argued that democracy is morally desirable in part because of its capacity to maximize the rights and opportunities of its members. These rights and opportunities include the freedom of speech and association, which allow people to discuss ideas and form interest groups, and the ability to protest decisions that they find unsatisfactory or harmful. Other philosophers have defended democracy in part on epistemic grounds, arguing that the aggregation of diverse sources of information and viewpoints in a democracy allows decision-makers to find more effective solutions to problems than would be possible in other political systems. This is sometimes referred to as the “wisdom of crowds” argument. Others, like John Stuart Mill, have argued that a more direct and representative link between the people and the government is more likely to result in decisions that advance their interests than would be true under an aristocracy or monarchy. Yet other philosophers have argued that democratic systems are morally insecure and are likely to fail unless they have robust internal limits on their authority. These limits are necessary to ensure that the democratic principles of self-government can hold up in the face of adversity. Ronald Dworkin has defended one such account of the limits on democracy. These debates continue to shape the democratic ideal in a variety of ways. Regardless of the debates, most observers agree that democracy is important for the health of nations and societies. In fact, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted at least one resolution each year dealing with democracy since 1988, and in 2015 world leaders committed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to “recognize that democracy, good governance and respect for human rights are fundamental for sustainable development”. Nevertheless, many questions remain about what exactly is democracy and how it should be defined. These questions are not resolved by any standard definition of democracy, although there are some conventions that have been developed to help clarify the meaning of the term.