on democracy notes
On Democracy by Dahl – Notes (J301F)
Chapter 1
Last half of 20th century: main alternatives to democracy disappeared
Democracy did NOT win support of all people throughout world
Democratic governments existed in less than ½ the countries of the world
Challenges of different groups:
Nondemocratic countries: TRANSITION to democracy
New democracies: CONSOLIDATE (strengthen) democratic practices so they’ll withstand tests of time
Old democracies: DEEPEN democracy & perfect it
Despite 2,500 years of discussion, still disagreement over fundamental questions about democracy
Chapter 2
Democracy did NOT advance continuously from its invention in ancient Greece & did NOT just gradually spread outward
After its early centuries in Greece & Rome, the rise of popular government turned into its decline & disappearance
Democracy’s rise & decline CANNOT be portrayed as a “steady upward climb” with “brief descents here and there”
The course of democratic history would look like path of traveler crossing flat, endless desert broken by only a few hills, until path finally begins long climb to present heights
It would be a mistake to assume that democracy was just invented once and for all, like the steam engine
Expansion of democracy can be accounted for mainly by the diffusion of democratic ideas, but diffusion CANNOT provide whole explanation
Like fire or writing, democracy has been invented more than once and in more than one place
A push toward democratic participation develops out of what we might call the logic of equality
Group identity, little outside interference, & assumption of equality were natural during hunter-gatherer times (such as in tribal communities)
After humans began to settle down, forms of hierarchy and domination came to be more “natural”
As a result, popular governments vanished among settled people for thousands of years
Instead, replaced by monarchies, aristocracies, oligarchies, etc. – all based on some form of ranking or
Chapter 1
Last half of 20th century: main alternatives to democracy disappeared
Democracy did NOT win support of all people throughout world
Democratic governments existed in less than ½ the countries of the world
Challenges of different groups:
Nondemocratic countries: TRANSITION to democracy
New democracies: CONSOLIDATE (strengthen) democratic practices so they’ll withstand tests of time
Old democracies: DEEPEN democracy & perfect it
Despite 2,500 years of discussion, still disagreement over fundamental questions about democracy
Chapter 2
Democracy did NOT advance continuously from its invention in ancient Greece & did NOT just gradually spread outward
After its early centuries in Greece & Rome, the rise of popular government turned into its decline & disappearance
Democracy’s rise & decline CANNOT be portrayed as a “steady upward climb” with “brief descents here and there”
The course of democratic history would look like path of traveler crossing flat, endless desert broken by only a few hills, until path finally begins long climb to present heights
It would be a mistake to assume that democracy was just invented once and for all, like the steam engine
Expansion of democracy can be accounted for mainly by the diffusion of democratic ideas, but diffusion CANNOT provide whole explanation
Like fire or writing, democracy has been invented more than once and in more than one place
A push toward democratic participation develops out of what we might call the logic of equality
Group identity, little outside interference, & assumption of equality were natural during hunter-gatherer times (such as in tribal communities)
After humans began to settle down, forms of hierarchy and domination came to be more “natural”
As a result, popular governments vanished among settled people for thousands of years
Instead, replaced by monarchies, aristocracies, oligarchies, etc. – all based on some form of ranking or