The Meaning of Democracy

Ideally, democracy means individual participation in the decisions that affect one's life. John Dewey wrote, "The keynote of democracy as a way of life may be expressed as the necessity for the participation of every mature human being in formation of the values that regulate the living of men together." In other words, democracy means popular participation in the allocation of values in a society.

In traditional democratic theory, popular participation has been valued as an opportunity for individual self-development: Responsibility for the governing of one's own conduct develops one's character, self-reliance, intelligence, and moral judgment – in short, one's dignity. Even if a benevolent despot could govern in the public interest, he would be rejected by the classic democrat. The English political philosopher J. S. Mill asks, "What sort of human beings can be formed under such a regime? What development can either their thinking or active faculties attain under it?" The argument for citizen participation in public affairs is based not upon the policy outcomes it would produce but on the belief that such involvement is essential to the full development of human capacities. Mill argues that man can know truth only by discovering it for himself.

Procedurally, popular participation was to be achieved through majority rule and respect for the rights of minorities. Self-development means self-government, and self-government can be accomplished only by encouraging each individual to contribute to the development of public policy and by resolving conflicts over public policy through majority rule. Minorities who have had the opportunity to influence policy but whose views have not succeeded in winning majority support would accept the decisions of majorities. In return, majorities would permit minorities to openly attempt to win majority support for their views. Freedom of speech and press, freedom to dissent, and freedom to form opposition parties and organizations are essential to insure meaningful individual participation. This freedom of expression is also necessary for ascertaining what the majority views really are.

The procedural requirements and the underlying ethics of democracy are linked. Carl Becker writes about democracy:

Its fundamental assumption is the worth and dignity and creative capacity of the individual, so that the chief aim of government is the maximum or individual self-direction, the chief means to that end, the minimum of compulsion by the state.... Means and ends are conjoined in the concept of freedom: freedom of thought so that the truth may prevail; freedom of occupation, so that careers may be open to talent, freedom of self-government, so that none may be compelled against his will.

 

The underlying value of democracy is, as we have noted, individual dignity. Man, by virtue of his existence, is entitled to life, liberty, and property. A "natural law," or moral tenet, guarantees both liberty and the right to property to every man; and this natural law is morally superior to man-made law. John Locke, the English political philosopher whose writings most influenced America's founding elites, argues that even in a "state of nature" that is, a world in which therewere no governments – an individual possesses inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property. Locke meant that these rights were antecedent to government, that these rights are not given to the individual by governments and that no governments may legitimately take them away.

Locke believed that the very purpose of government was to protect individual liberty. Men form a "social contract" with each other in establishing a government to help protect their rights; they tacitly agree to accept governmental activity in order to better protect life, liberty, and property. Implicit in the social contract and the democratic notion of freedom is the belief that governmental activity and social control over the individual be kept to a minimum. This involves the removal of as many external restrictions, controls, and regulations on the individual as is consistent with the freedom of his fellow citizens.

Moreover, since government is formed by the consent of the governed to protect individual liberty, it logically follows that government cannot violate the rights it was established to protect. Its authority is limited. Locke's ultimate weapon to protect individual dignity against abuse by government was the right of revolution. According to Locke, whenever governments violate the natural rights of the governed, they forfeit the authority placed in them under the social contract.

Another vital aspect of classic democracy is a belief in the equality
of all men. The Declaration of Independence expresses the conviction that "all men are created equal." Even the Founding Fathers believed in equality for all men before the law, notwithstanding the circumstances of the accused. A man was not to be judged by social position, economic class, creed, or race. Many early democrats also believed in political equality – equal access of individuals to political influence, that is, equal opportunity to influence public policy. Political equality is expressed in the concept of "one man, one vote.”

Over time, the notion of equality has also come to include equality of opportunity in all aspects of American life - social, educational, and economic, as well as political. Roland Pennock writes:

The objective of equality is notmerely the recognition of a certaindignity of the human being as such, but it is also toprovide him withthe opportunity – equal to that guaranteed to others – for protecting and advancing his interestsand developing his powers and personality.

 

Thus, the notion of equality of opportunity has been extended beyond political life to encompass equality of opportunity in education, employment, housing, recreation, and public accommodations. Each man has an equal opportunity to develop his individual capacities to their natural limits.

It is important to remember, however, that the traditional democratic creed has always stressed equality of opportunity to education, wealth, and status and not absolute equality. Thomas Jefferson recognized a "natural aristocracy" of talent, ambition, and industry, and liberal democrats since Jefferson have always accepted inequalities that are a product of individual merit and hard work. Absolute equality, or "leveling," is not a part of liberal democratic theory.

In summary, democratic thinking involves the following ideas:

1. popular participation in the decisions that shape the lives of individuals in a society;

2. government by majority rule, with recognition of the rights of minorities
to try to become majorities. These rights include the freedoms of speech,
press, assembly, and petition and the freedom to dissent, to form opposition parties, and to run for public office;

3. a commitment to individual dignity and the preservation of the liberal values of life, liberty, and property;

4. a commitment to equal opportunity for all men to develop their individual capacities.