The Democratic Ideal of Self-Government | Democracy without Shortcuts: A Participatory Conception of Deliberative Democracy (2024)

Democracy without Shortcuts: A Participatory Conception of Deliberative Democracy

Cristina Lafont

Published:

2019

Online ISBN:

9780191882746

Print ISBN:

9780198848189

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Democracy without Shortcuts: A Participatory Conception of Deliberative Democracy

Cristina Lafont

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Cristina Lafont

Cristina Lafont

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Pages

17–33

  • Published:

    December 2019

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Lafont, Cristina, 'The Democratic Ideal of Self-Government', Democracy without Shortcuts: A Participatory Conception of Deliberative Democracy (Oxford, 2019; online edn, Oxford Academic, 19 Dec. 2019), https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198848189.003.0002, accessed 1 Aug. 2024.

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Abstract

This chapter considers the relationship between two elements of the democratic ideal of self-government: political equality and citizens’ democratic control. With respect to democratic control, the author argues that we can evaluate the democratic promise of different conceptions of democracy and their proposals for institutional reform by assessing the extent to which they require or expect citizens to blindly defer to the decisions of others. Conceptions of democracy that include such expectation tacitly accept the possibility of a permanent misalignment between the beliefs and attitudes of the citizenry and the laws and policies to which they are subject. Thus, they cannot explain how citizens can identify with the policies that govern them and endorse them as their own. Since an expectation of blind deference is quintessentially incompatible with the democratic ideal of self-government, it offers a helpful criterion for identifying democratic shortcomings among conceptions of democracy that propose various “shortcuts” that would bypass political deliberation by the citizenry. It is also helpful for articulating and defending a conception of democracy “without shortcuts.”

Keywords: self-government, political equality, democratic control, blind deference, political alienation, sense of justice

Subject

Political Theory

Collection: Oxford Scholarship Online

Democracy without Shortcuts: A Participatory Conception of Deliberative Democracy. Cristina Lafont, Oxford University Press (2020). © Cristina Lafont.DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198848189.001.0001

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The Democratic Ideal of Self-Government | Democracy without Shortcuts: A Participatory Conception of Deliberative Democracy (2024)

FAQs

What is the concept of deliberative democracy? ›

Deliberative democracy seeks quality over quantity by limiting decision-makers to a smaller but more representative sample of the population that is given the time and resources to focus on one issue. It often adopts elements of both consensus decision-making and majority rule.

What is the main idea of participatory democracy? ›

Participatory democracy is primarily concerned with ensuring that citizens have the opportunity to be involved in decision-making on matters that affect their lives.

What is a democratic self-government? ›

It is the ability of an individual, a state, or a country to govern itself. Self-governing states are free from oversight by higher governments, including external influences. In other words, the political authority of a state comes from its citizens. These states are democratic and republican.

What is the democratic principle of self rule? ›

Self-determination refers to the idea that individuals and groups have the right to govern themselves, to make decisions about their own lives and to determine their own future and political status without outside interference.

How is democracy based on the idea of deliberation? ›

It is through discussions only that the problems are discussed and various solutions are brought up. Negotiation help in deciding as to which option is best suited to a particular problem. Thus, democracy is based on the idea of deliberation and negotiation.

What are 2 concepts of democracy? ›

In a direct democracy, the people have the direct authority to deliberate and decide legislation. In a representative democracy, the people choose governing officials through elections to do so.

What are the core principles of participatory democracy? ›

The key principles of participatory democracy in relation to government decision-making start with the notion of popular sovereignty, in which the people are said to hold the power, with elected officials merely serving as their bureaucrats.

What is democratic participatory style? ›

Democratic leadership, which is also commonly known as participative leadership, is about letting multiple people participate in the decision-making process. This type of leadership can be seen in a wide range of contexts, from businesses to schools to governments.

What are the three main points of democracy? ›

The values of freedom, respect for human rights and the principle of holding periodic and genuine elections by universal suffrage are essential elements of democracy.

What is the main idea of self-government? ›

Emptied of any moral content, of any deluded notion about moral self-mastery, self-government is now to be understood only in the most superficial political sense, as the power of the majority to do what it wills, indifferent to notions of right and wrong.

What does it mean to be self democratic? ›

control of the government of a state, community, or other body by its own members; democratic government.

What are the two types of democratic government? ›

A liberal democracy is a representative democracy with rule of law, protection for individual liberties and rights, and limitations on the power of the elected representatives. An illiberal democracy is a representative democracy with weak or no limits on the power of the elected representatives to rule as they please.

Is America a self-government? ›

The Constitution establishes a federal democratic republic form of government. That is, we have an indivisible union of 50 sovereign States. It is a democracy because people govern themselves. It is representative because people choose elected officials by free and secret ballot.

What are the five principles of a democratic government? ›

The Democratic Charter defines the essential elements of representative democracy in very specific terms, including: respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; holding free and fair elections; a pluralistic system of political parties and organizations; separation of powers; independence of the branches of ...

What is the meaning of self rule in a democracy? ›

/ˌselfˈruːl/ Add to word list Add to word list. the act of a country, a part of a country, or a nation choosing its own government and controlling its own activities. Synonym. self-government.

What is the deliberative democracy theory of Habermas? ›

Jürgen Habermas refers to his democratic theory as a “discourse theory of democracy”. He starts from the idea that politics allows people to organize their lives together and decide what common rules they will live by. To do this, it must accord a prominent place to political argumentation and justification.

What is the concept of democracy? ›

The word democracy comes from the Greek words "demos", meaning people, and "kratos" meaning power; so democracy can be thought of as "power of the people": a way of governing which depends on the will of the people.

What is the deliberative approach? ›

'Deliberation is an approach to decision-making in which citizens consider relevant facts from multiple points of view, converse with one another to think critically about options before them and enlarge their perspectives, opinions, and understandings [12].

What are of the 5 key concepts of democracy? ›

The American concept of democracy rests on these basic notions: (1) A recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person; (2) A respect for the equality of all persons; (3) A faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights; (4) An acceptance of the necessity of compromise; and (5) An ...

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