Democracy? You think you know?

Introduction

Participating in the democratic processes is seen as being a fundamental aspect of citizenship. All pupils need a broad knowledge and understanding of the rights, responsibilities and duties of citizens, as well as an understanding of forms of government. Notions of citizenship have been forged alongside the expansion of the right to vote and the development of our ideas about democracy. In this unit we explore different interpretations of democracy and strategies for involving pupils in consideration of these issues within the citizenship curriculum.

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Learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• consider the value of democracy, through examples

• challenge perceived wisdom about our political systems.

1 Is democracy really such a good thing?

Politics is vital to all of our lives. The way our schools and businesses are run, how we travel and make a living, even how we see ourselves – it all depends on political decisions. And we are all democrats today. We have elections, parties compete, we vote, and the winners govern us. But how often do we ask: is democracy really a good thing? Is there another way?

We take it for granted that democracy is a good thing and the best political system. But many people complain that democracy is messy because there is too much talk and argument; that it is inefficient because it takes too much time; and that it does not get decisions right because people have to bargain and compromise too much.

Shortly after World War II, Winston Churchill famously said: ‘Democracy is the worst form of government. Except for all the others that have been tried from time to time.’ This implies that democracy is deeply imperfect but that there is no better alternative.

2 What are some possible alternatives?

Dictatorship – one person decides for all. If one person is superior to all others, what is wrong with this? But what would we mean by superior, and is that what should really count anyway?

Religious leaders – if there is a moral code, such as a religious one, which sets out right and wrong, why should we vote and why should everyone have a voice? Surely, we just need religious leaders to tell us what, for example, the Bible or the Koran requires of us?

Expertise – modern life is complex. Should not experts, who understand complexity, make decisions for us, rather than all of us voting in ignorance?

Anarchy – why have organised politics at all? Why not let everyone be free to do as they wish? Surely people can work out their own rules as they go along, and find ways to live together without governments telling them what to do?

Now start thinking more about what democracy is in Activity 1.

3 Doing it directly

3.1 The Athenians, the Swiss, and Arnold Schwarzenegger

Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as rule of, by and for the people.

If democracy is such a good thing, why don't voters get to decide on policies as well as just vote for candidates? Some countries practise ‘direct democracy’, where people can vote on policy, alongside ‘representative democracy’, where we choose others to decide for us. When democracy was invented, in ancient Athens, it was direct democracy – citizens met face-to-face to make decisions for the city-state (though women, slaves and foreigners could not be citizens).

Switzerland is the most famous example of direct democracy today, though the recall vote which led to Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming Governor of California is probably the biggest recent direct democracy event.

Can the people be wrong? Should they be trusted? Many argue that, for example, capital punishment would be favoured by a majority if there was a vote in the UK, but that it would still be the wrong thing to do. Crime detection and conviction are not perfect – what if innocent people were executed?

So, what sorts of issues should we have a say, a vote, on?

• Who is taxed, and how much?

• How much money should be spent on health care, education, and defence?

• Whether we should generate electricity using nuclear power, solar power, or gas?

Are there some issues that especially lend themselves to being dealt with by direct democracy?

Try some experiments to see how far democracy should go using Activity 2.

4 Democracy and deliberation

4.1 Can talking do more than voting?

We normally think of democracy as being about voting. But what if people don't know about the candidates or issues they vote on? Shouldn't talk, aimed at informing us about the issues, be more important in a democracy?

Many commentators on democracy today think we need to create a more deliberative democracy. Voting is fine, but what is critical in our complex world is understanding issues and willingness to give adequate reasons for one's opinions and votes. Without understanding and knowledge, what value does a vote have?

Deliberation – open and reasoned debate and discussion of an issue or issues – is seen as the ideal source of understanding.

Various visions of a deliberative democracy have been offered. Normally, these suggest that open debate, which offers equal access and opportunities to participants, is vital for democratic deliberation. Attempts to put the vision into practice include citizens' juries and deliberative polls.

Citizens' juries have been used in the NHS, for example, while deliberative polls (invented in the USA) have been conducted in various countries, including the UK. Both are forums in which a random selection of citizens meet for a few days, have access to experts and information, and form views on an issue. Their advocates claim that the resulting views represent something elusive and special: the view of the people, which is informed on the issue at hand.

Activity 3 will help you to see the effect of deliberation on democracy.

5 Who are the real democrats?

5.1 A story of fox hunting

Democracy is a thing, a practice. It is also a word – a powerful one, politically, because we all think it is a good thing. When people take part in politics, they try to claim that ‘democracy’ is on their side, and not on that of their opponents.

In November 2004, pro-hunting protesters breached House of Commons security and broke into the chamber to disrupt the debate on banning fox hunting. As a significant minority group, passionately committed to the cause of continuing hunting, the Countryside Alliance and others feel that democracy is on their side – minority rights and freedoms are vital to democracy, they say, and street demonstrations and even civil disobedience against undemocratic laws are a democratic mechanism.

Who is right? The answer is a shade of grey rather than black and white. Democracy is generally accepted to be about both majority rule and minority rights, and sometimes striking a balance is difficult.

5.2 Further reading

For further reading on the topic of citizenship and democracy, please click on the following ‘view document’ links.

Click on 'view document' below to read New Answers to Old (and New) Criticisms

Click on 'view document' below to read Is This Democracy?

Click on 'view document' below to read Reinventing Democracy

Conclusion

This free course provided an introduction to studying Social Sciences. It took you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance, and helped to improve your confidence as an independent learner.

Acknowledgements

Michael Saward is professor in politics at the Open University.

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit:

© Birmingham Post and Mail

Saward, M., ‘Is This Democracy?’ 2003, Polity Press, http://www.polity.co.uk. Used with permission;

Saward, M. ‘Reinventing Democracy’, 2003, Polity Press, http://www.polity.co.uk. Used with permission;

Budge, I. ‘New Answers to Old (and New) Criticisms’, in “The New Challenge of Direct Democracy”, 1996, Polity Press, http://www.polity.co.uk. Used with permission;

All other materials included in this unit are derived from content originated at the Open University.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

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