Dahl "On Democracy"
Robert Dahl’s “On Democracy”
Early in Dahl’s book he answers the question “what is democracy?” by enumerating a list of five criteria that must be met in order for a government to be recognized as fully democratic. These criteria involve all citizens having equal and satisfactory opportunities to participate in the steering of policy. To realize all of these criteria would mean that it has achieved ‘ideal’ democracy, but Dahl concedes that it is not practical to expect a perfect democracy given the realities of the world we live in. The criteria are: 1) Equal and effective participation in stating one’s views and preferences in regard to policy 2) Equal and effective opportunity to vote on policy-making where all votes are counted as equal 3) Equal and effective opportunity for citizens to learn about alternate policies and their potential consequences (‘enlightened understanding’) 4) Equal and effective opportunity for each citizen to determine how, and which, policy matters are to be place on the policy agenda 5) Equal opportunity for all adult permanent residents of a polity to have full rights in regard to the first four criterion listed above.
Dahl distinguishes between ancient republics and democracies by pointing out that that are both essentially the same in that they are merely forms of popular government. The Romans chose the word ‘republic’ and the Greeks chose the word ‘Democracy’, although they both had very similar governments. Both lacked elected representatives, both lacked popular locally elected governments that answered to a national government, and both were presided over by a minority of participants. Indeed, most were usually men of some means. Commoners, women and ethnic minorities were not part of the equation. Thus, though the word ‘republic’ loosely translates to “affairs of the people”, it might better have been called ‘resdivitum’ which loosely translates to “affairs of the rich”.
Dahl coined the term
Early in Dahl’s book he answers the question “what is democracy?” by enumerating a list of five criteria that must be met in order for a government to be recognized as fully democratic. These criteria involve all citizens having equal and satisfactory opportunities to participate in the steering of policy. To realize all of these criteria would mean that it has achieved ‘ideal’ democracy, but Dahl concedes that it is not practical to expect a perfect democracy given the realities of the world we live in. The criteria are: 1) Equal and effective participation in stating one’s views and preferences in regard to policy 2) Equal and effective opportunity to vote on policy-making where all votes are counted as equal 3) Equal and effective opportunity for citizens to learn about alternate policies and their potential consequences (‘enlightened understanding’) 4) Equal and effective opportunity for each citizen to determine how, and which, policy matters are to be place on the policy agenda 5) Equal opportunity for all adult permanent residents of a polity to have full rights in regard to the first four criterion listed above.
Dahl distinguishes between ancient republics and democracies by pointing out that that are both essentially the same in that they are merely forms of popular government. The Romans chose the word ‘republic’ and the Greeks chose the word ‘Democracy’, although they both had very similar governments. Both lacked elected representatives, both lacked popular locally elected governments that answered to a national government, and both were presided over by a minority of participants. Indeed, most were usually men of some means. Commoners, women and ethnic minorities were not part of the equation. Thus, though the word ‘republic’ loosely translates to “affairs of the people”, it might better have been called ‘resdivitum’ which loosely translates to “affairs of the rich”.
Dahl coined the term