Definitions of Democracy

1.      “A definition of the ideal: ‘Government by the people, where liberty, equality, and fraternity are secured to the greatest possible degree and in which human capacities are developed to the utmost, by means including free and full discussion of common problems and interests.’ ” (Pennock, 1979, 7)

2.       “ ‘Democracy provides opportunities for 1) effective participation, 2) equality in voting, 3) gaining enlightened understanding, 4) exercising final control [by the people—WR] over the agenda, and 5) inclusion of adults.’ The political institutions that are necessary to pursue these goals are ‘1) elected officials, 2) free, fair and frequent elections, 3) freedom of expression, 4) alternative sources of information, 5) associational autonomy, and 6) inclusive citizenship.’ ” (Dahl 1998, 38 & 85).

3.      “ ‘Democrats are committed to rule by the people. They insist that no aristocrat, monarch, philosopher, bureaucrat, expert, or religious leader has the right, in virtue of such status, to force people to accept a particular conception of their proper common life. People should decide for themselves, via appropriate procedures of collective decision, what their collective business should be.’ ‘Communitarian democrats make wrongheaded assumptions both about the nature of democracy and about its appropriate place in everyday life…. [P]articipation plays a necessary but circumscribed role in ordering social relations justly. Valuable as democratic participation is in managing the power dimensions of collective activities, it is not the point of the exercise.’ ” (Shapiro 1999, 29-30 &32)

In my opinion, Democracy is the governance of the people by the people; it should start with the citizenry, in the dialogue of issues, and end with them, in the decision-making process. As such, I feel that the first listed definition above best describes the true nature of Democracy. There are two key aspects to this definition; first, a government ruled solely by the people, and second, a people that have the most developed human capacities through “free and full discussion.” The reason this definition is better than the other two, is because it defines a form of rule in which the focus is on the people; it does not state that the people, in order to get what they want, are to elect informed representatives. Although this is one possible route of action for the people, it is not necessary for the advancement of Democracy as stated in the second definition above. The point of Democracy is to maintain the level of agency created, because from this setup anything can emerge, even the institutions we have today. By maintaining flexibility in this sense, the people can choose to make decisions and act in accordance with the social and economic conditions around them.  

The reason the second definition is not the best one here is because, although it may address all the benefits of Pennock’s ideal definition, it is built on the opportunity for effective participation, gaining enlightened understanding, and exercising final control. It is this definition of Democracy that most closely resembles the current form we have in the United States. It contains the potential for people to exercise power, but necessarily the guarantee. This, in my opinion is the result of the political institutions our founding fathers established, as well as the representatives we elect. Although this system ensures for notions such as separation of powers, checks and balances, and equal representation, it has also created the apathy of politics we see today; because many believe we have a system in which we elect people to think for us, where our concern ends at the voting booth. This is ultimately the result of our lack of political cognizance, which leads to our lack of participation, and thus our removal from power.

      This is where the third definition comes into play. It calls for a Democracy in which the people decide for themselves, but that they however are limited in their say. Participation, in my opinion, is the key to developing human capacities to the greatest degree; the desire to express one’s agency serves as the driving force for developing an informed citizenry, and thus enables the people with power. Even in our current system of Democracy, with the institutions we have in place, participation is still the foundation of action and requires reciprocity of ideas between the elected and the voters, to create this informed citizenry.