This chapter of the book talks about democratic elitism, more specifically about two of its approaches. One represented by Etzony - Halévy and the other one by Highley and Moore. Both have a varying view of elites and their workings. Both of them are explained and examined critically.
The approach of Eva Etzony-Halévy looks more closely at elite conflict. For proper functioning of democracy, the most powerful elites must be balanced against each other to overcome the unequality already created by raising them above ordinary citizen. Elite pluralism and elite autonomy are key terms of the theory. Elite pluralism describes the number of elites, elite autonomy (which is always relative) looks at the distribution of resources among them, so not one of the elites is profoundly more powerful than others. The theory is built on the comparison of Great Britain and the Weimar Republic, and of Russia and Poland at the end of the 1980's. The overlapping interests of elites and cooperation until the point of benefiting from it is sufficient for sustaining democracy, thus weakening the normative commitment of the elites. On the other hand, she highlights the institutionalization of this autonomy, which is
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Issue consensus is very often difficult to attain. According to Highley and Burton (2006) value consensus and structural integration characterize elite consensus. The first term combines both kinds of consensus - democratic and issue one. The second term implies overlapping networks and communication which connects the elites. But the conflicts among the elite exist and probably always will. However, only very little attention is paid to them, and this should change. In order for elites to integrate (horizontaly), their interests have to overlap, and they have to be willing to overcome their differences based on the democratic
A majority, held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it, does, of necessity, fly to anarchy or to despotism” (Basler,
This view is consistent with the theories of David Mayhew (The Electoral Connection, 1974) who asserts that the desire for
At first, Reich evokes a feeling of hopelessness and disappointment in the reader by explaining how there is no longer democracy in the US. This can be seen when Reich states that, "political parties stopped representing the views of most constituents," (Reich, 2) and that, "we entered a vicious cycle in which political power became more concentrated in monied interests that used the power to their advantage," (Reich, 2). By including this, Reich is showing the reader the true severity of the situation in which the people no longer have a say in public policy because money and power has become the main focus. However, as the blog continues, Reich begins to generate a more positive emotion in the reader. Reich states that "the only way back towards democracy...for the majority is for us to get politically active once again...," (Reich, 3) and that "the rest of us need to do what we can do best -- use out voices, our vigor, and our votes."
On the local level, people are very free to express themselves. Mr. Williams’ current firm does not handle the corrupted system in DeKalb country, but they are aware of the corruption. Mr. Williams feels like the mentality and civil culture that sustains a democracy has dissipated. He believes that we no longer have the same mindset as the founding fathers had, so he does not think that we are capable of sustaining a democracy. He is deeply suspicious of people who want to run for public office.
Madison rhapsodizes at length about the dangers of factionalism under majority rule; he claims that “popular government [...] enables [the majority] to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest, both the public good and the rights of other citizens”, thus insinuating that popular rule in a system where “the causes of factionalism cannot be prevented” will ultimately devastate both the working class’s public good and the elite class’s private right (10). This fear mongering over majority rule acts as a ringing endorsement of the alternative: minority, or elite, political dominance. To ease the minds of his readers, Madison then declares that the working class of the new republic will be too spread out and otherwise divided to oppose the just government established by the upper class–or, in his words, lower classes will be “rendered, by their number and local situation, unable to concert and carry into effect schemes of oppression” against the elite (10). In this way, Madison promotes upper class rule as a means to protect American liberty, believing that the people at large were unfit to establish this protection themselves–and that they had neither the intelligence nor the unity to carry out their corrupt schemes under properly conducted elite
The effect of government delegation in a republic is that the views of the public are “refined and enlarged” to a certain extent by being passed through the citizens whom they elected to govern them. This causes the voice of the public to become more concerned with the public good rather than if the people were ruling themselves as is done in a democracy. However, this action can also backfire if people are elected who do not have the best interest of the people as their first priority and corrupt the system by “betraying the interests of the people” they are representing.
Consensus may work in some predicaments but insisting it works in all is preposterous. When all is said and done, consensus is not the most effective strategy for decision making, it suppresses creativity, is rarely suitable, and compromises morals and values. In order to be successful, coming up with a resolution should be focused on the whites and blacks rather than the greys. Some things are better kept on paper like consensus
Christopher Hayes investigates the influence of the elite that hindered the rising of the middle class and prevented the overturning of capitalistic regime. Hayes explores the concept of meritocracy revealing the issues that prevent equal opportunity for all citizens. Thus, Hayes theorizes that the uprising of the rising middle class may have been unachievable based on the unequal distribution of power and resources that promote the endurance of the elite. Hayes suggests that elite is both a social status that pertains to specific ideological assumptions of this class, alongside with the economic associations of the elite as a social construct embedded in society. Hayes reflects on major historical times that promoted the supremacy of the elite.
Treading Water In a democratic government, corrupt workers are constantly looking for ways to take advantage of the system. Even representatives that the people trust greatly trust sometimes uncovered as thieves and scandals. In Mississippi, corruption has made itself a very prevalent problem. Research shows that “corruption is costing Mississippi taxpayers an average $1,308 per person per year” (Mitchell).
It is not just a story of our leaders behaving badly and this leads the public to lose confidence in them. Polarization is largely driven by growing economic inequality–and the conflicts between the parties reflect the divisions between those at the top and bottom of the economic ladder. As inequality has increased and as inequality has become an area of contention between the parties, it has become increasingly difficult to restore the political trust that may be necessary to enact policies that might lead to ab restoration of
The political elites change government and social interactions as well as influence a “long-term realignment” (Hopkins and Sides 2015, 70). Republican and Democratic opinions are split in regards to how much government interaction should be present in welfare, Obamacare, and tax cuts. More competition also leads to greater stakes in times of political controversy because a small advantage could lead to a majority in the Senate or the House. Contemporary politics utilize competition to gain more political power. A graph illustrates how competition affects the Democratic and Republican parties.
Each expansion of the suffrage in the United States has met some extent of resistance from those who have a hold on power. The reason as to why they resist the expansion of suffrage is because their scope of power would be reduced with this expansion. The traditional elites who are in power avoid the scrutiny of their actions by the public, treating the other elite members preferentially for instance, by ensuring them immunity from the law or awarding them lucrative contracts, and using those who are not entitled to
The fundamental roles of the individual citizen were to exercise these rights such as expressing their opinion in both speaking in public (freedom of speech, 11) and in deciding on things such as taxes (speaking to a representative,14). 3. How does the document define political sovereignty, and how is this definition related to the deputies’ collective sense of identity and
There will always be different views and opinions when it comes to government politics. One interesting view is whether or not our nation is led by an Elite or Popular Democracy. A democracy is a form of government that is run by elected officials that are voted into public office by the people for representation. There are different perspectives on how a democratic system should work.
Throughout time, the concept of “democracy” has been misunderstood and misused by the majority of governments around the world. In the Ecuadorian case, despite suffering innumerable dictatorships in command of several presidents such as José Maria Velasco Ibarra or Guillermo Rodríguez Lara, democratic ideas have prevailed and continue to evolve through the history and through the time. In fact, nowadays democracy is the principal political system in this country, in which the notion of popular sovereignty can be recognized. However, it is not clear what kind of democracy the Republic of Ecuador has. So, in order to clarify what was said before, it will be taken into consideration: (1) the definition of democracy according to three important authors, (2) the principal characteristics of a democracy and the two main types of democracy: (3) direct and (4) representative.