Chapter 2 Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy?

A system of government in which the power to govern is concentrated in the hands of one individual.

A system of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few people

A system of government in which, in theory , the people rule, either directly or indirectly

A view of democracy as being embodied in a decision-making process that involves universal participation, political equality,majority rule, and responsiveness.

The concept that everyone in a democracy should participate in governmental decision making.

Equality in political decision making: one vote per person, with all votes counted equally

A system of government where rank-file citizens rule themselves rather than electing representatives to rule on their behalf

A system of government where citizens elect public officials to govern on their behalf

implies that elected representatives should do what majority of people wants.

the view that democracy is embodied in the substance of government policies rather than in the policymaking procedure

The benefits of government that cannot be denied to any citizen by majority decisions.

An organized group of individuals that seek to influence public policy; also called a lobby

Government by the people is interpreted as government by the majority of people

Government by the people operating through competing interest groups

The view that a small group of people actually makes most of the important government decisions

A process of transitions as a country attemps to move from an authoritarian form of government to a democratic one

• Universal Participation- all adults may take part in the system's politics
• Political Equality- each participant's vote counts the same as any other's
• Majority Rule- select the alternative policy favored by 50% plus one person, or more
• and responsiveness of representatives to the electorate

• Ruled by one (Autocracy)
• Ruled by few (Oligarchy)
• By many (Democracy)

A person who believes that a system or society should be ruled by an elite

A politician who appeals to and deceives the masses by manipulating their emotions

All members of society personally take part in making policy decision