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Chapter 7 — Liberal Democracy Study Chapter Summary One of the ways to understand politics is
to look at different political ideologies. Political ideologies are the beliefs and practices that guide political
actors in real political communities. These ideologies reflect the underlying
vision of political actors, and studying the ideals that inspire political
leaders often illuminates operational practices. One of the most important political
ideologies of the modern era is liberal democracy. Chapter 7 examines the definition of liberal democracy, its history, and
its strengths and weaknesses. At its most basic level, liberal
democracy includes, as its name suggests, two great ideals. First, is the
belief in democracy--the idea that the people should rule. However, what this
means is open to interpretation. Should people rule directly on matters of
public policy, or should they simply select representatives to decide what is
to be done? Second, are the important liberal components to some democracies. These include constitutionalism,
protection of basic rights--including the right of private property--political
and economic competition, and free choice both at the ballot box and in the
marketplace. We must note that there is no one single vision of what liberal
democracy must mean; rather, it is a pluralistic vision providing for justice
as well as order and for the general welfare as well as liberty. This ideology derives from a number of
sources. These include the ancient Greek discussion of politics by such
thinkers as Aristotle, who first explored what democracy means. Later Christian
thinkers added to our understanding of democracy by demanding that all people
must be free to worship God and that all men and women are equal under God. The
Romans contributed to this ideology with their discussion of republicanism and popular sovereignty and by their insistence that citizenship could be extended to all who
came within the jurisdiction of their empire. The ideals of liberal democracy were
further enhanced by two modern experiments in democracy. First, the American
Revolution ushered in the world’s first large modern republic. Despite slavery,
the exclusion of women from the public sphere, and modest property
qualifications for voting, Americans affirmed their belief in popular rule and
the protection of basic rights. And second, in 1789, the French Revolution
brought a new concept of democracy to the European continent. The modern era’s conception of liberal
democracy has been significantly influenced by two other important forces.
First, nationalism became joined with liberalism to overthrow
absolutist governments, and this led to the independence of many subjugated
peoples. Second, liberal democracies in Europe and America first developed at
the same time that capitalism was forming. There is much debate about the exact
relationship between capitalism, liberalism, and democracy. Does capitalism,
with its insistence on the free market and private property, further the goals
of liberal democracy? Or does it weaken liberal democracy by creating
inequalities in wealth? One thing we do know about liberal
democracy is that its character is constantly changing. This is seen most
clearly in the United States. In the nineteenth century, liberals were
originally committed to a very limited government; however, by the twentieth
century many people called “liberals” had shifted to a belief that government
intervention in the economy was necessary to protect farmers, workers, and
small businesspeople. The changing nature of liberal democracy has led to the
development, in the United States, of different groups of political actors. One
way of looking at American politics is to divide its participants into liberals, conservatives, populists, and libertarians. Each of these groups share a fundamental belief in
the older ideal of liberal democracy--the ideal of people ruling, the belief in
human freedom, and the ideal of equality. However, in the face of a complex
world they have different priorities and emphasize different aspects of the
liberal democratic tradition. Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be
able to...
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