Pros And Cons Of Consensus Democracy

Can a “kinder, gentler” democracy truly be a consensus democracy? Chapter 16, aims to ground the belief that consensus democracies are better because of their approach to care and progressive principles that include environmental rights. This claim is a flawed observation. Can consensus models of government still be “kinder” when they have fundamental rights not protected? How can surveys quantify citizens approval of government when basic human rights are being violated systematically and institutionally, an example being the death penalty? Although consensus democracies do prove to be better forms of government in certain areas such as being welfare states when compared to majoritarian governments, this observation should not be definitive and all inclusive. When examining immigration, consensus democracies are less welcoming and accepting. This groups is heavily discriminated against in countries such as Germany,Austria and Switzerland. Another area where the model is not as progressive as reality points out to be is in terms of criminal justice in regards to human rights. Eight out of the thirty-six democracies retained and used the death penalty (Pg 292). These countries include the Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, India, Jamaica, Japan, Trinidad, and surprisingly the United States. These countries are developed and have respectable form of government but capital punishment in
One specific example of this is demonstrated with the World Values Survey that included nineteen of the thirty-two democracies. The phrasing of questions, and amount of time elapsed between the 1995-96 and 2005-7 and the fact that some countries were included in both surveys while others were left out are not useful. It is also apparent the level of satisfaction or approval has declined over those years (Pg