- 1. Democratic Theory Michael P. Fix
2. What is Democracy? Photo from freerepublic.com 3. What is
Democracy? 4. What is Democracy? Photo from whitehouse.gov 5. What
is Democracy? All pictures from www.nytimes.com 6. What is
Democracy? Picture from www.freefoto.com 7. What is Democracy?
Photo from supremecourtus.gov 8. What is Democracy?
- Certain basic principles are necessary in any definition of
democracy.
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- Freedom of assembly and the right to protest
9. 3 Types of Democracy
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- Aka Participatory Democracy
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- Aka Revisionist Democracy
10. Direct Democracy
- Built on the Athenian model.
- Still present in US town hall meetings.
- Is this practical on a large scale?
11. Representative Democracy
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- Citizens elected political actors who will represent their
preferences.
12. Representative Democracy
13. Elitist Democracy The Masses are Asses 14. Elitist
Democracy
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- Voters should select those most able to run the government and
trust that they will make the best decisions.
- Only elites should have any real power over government
policy.
- Most individuals are too ignorant, unaware, or apathetic to
have an informed role.
15. Critics of Democracy
- Elite democracyserves those persons possessing a
disproportionate share of money or power.
- Marxistsperceive that government is dominated by
capitalists.
- Thepower eliteperspective holds that government is dominated by
a few top leaders, most of whom are outside of government.
- The bureaucratic view holds that the government is dominated by
appointed officials.
16. More optimistic theory
- Pluralist viewis the belief that competition among all affected
interests shapes public policy.
- No single group dominates the political process. Competing
interests often check each other.
17. Public Opinion
- Is the United States a representative or elitist
democracy?
Public opinion shows that a majority of Americans believe that
government serves the interests of a few elites. 18. The American
Creed
- In the abstract, nearly all Americans support certain
fundamental principles.
19. The American Creed
- When it comes to specific applications of the creed, support
tends to fall off.
20. Paradox of Democracy The paradox of democracy balances the
principle of majority rule against the principle of individual
liberty. Photo from www.time.com