Essay (Democracy) - Politics (Higher) Flashcards | Quizlet
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Essay (Democracy) - Politics (Higher)

Terms in this set (14)

Introduction
A representative democracy is a type of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy.
Choose Representatives on Behalf (1/3) - KU (1)
One key feature of a representative democracy is that voters can choose representatives to make decisions on their behalf. Every person who is eligible to vote in the United Kingdom are given a ballot to cast and they are given the choice to pick one (or a few) who they believe will represent their view best in parliament. The politicians who are then elected will then carry out the plans in the manifesto they were elected upon. For example, general elections are held at least every five years in the UK to elect members of the House of Commons (MPs) from constituencies around the country, and citizens can pick whoever they feel will represent their ideas and put them forward most effectively on their behalf.
Choose Representatives on Behalf (2/3) - KU (2)
However, direct democracy believes that people should make the decisions themselves and participate fully in the political process, unlike a representative democracy. A direct democracy allows the electorate to be more politically involved in decision making because there are many different things to vote on, in contrast to having to wait every 4-5 years to have their say. For example, it gives citizens a direct say on issues they feel strongly about as opposed to a representative doing this on their behalf, which may not represent the wants of their party.
Choose Representatives on Behalf (3/3) - A (3)
Plato attacked direct democracy on the grounds that the mass of people don't have the wisdom nor experience to rule wisely on their own behalf. He also stated that the 'masses' did not know what was best for them. Ordinary citizens do not have the correct knowledge for this responsibility, unlike a politician does therefore representative democracy works better in the citizens favour as decisions will be made in their best interest.
Not Directly Involved (1/3) - KU (2)
Anothey key feature of a representative democracy is that citizens don't need to be direct involved because politicians are elected by the public to do this for them. The people cannot be expected to have the time or interest to make political decisions when they have other important roles to be contributing to. Every person has their own life where they have families to be looking after and job sectors to be working in. For example, many families work 9-5 jobs on top of looking after small children, whilst running a household making it impossible for adults to take time out of their day to directly sit in parliament and debate amongst themselves. It is therefore unfair to expect somebody who has little time already to take on such a tough and time consuming role of being a politician.
Not Directly Involved (2/3) - KU (2)
On the other hand, direct democracy disagrees with this as one of it's key features is that it heightens the control of citizens, therefore being the best as decisions are made on behalf of the people. Allowing the citizens to have control over the decision-making process will encourage participation as they know that they can have a key-input on decisions which matter to them. For example, a general election is only meant to be held every 4-5 years yet this was brought in sooner due to citizens feeling unhappy with the way it was handled by the current prime minster. The issue of having a new prime minister to deliver Brexit/ abolish it was put into the hands of the people once more, instead of continuing to go ahead with it like they intended from the beginning.
Not Directly Involved (3/3) - A (2)
The key features of direct-democracy was disproven by Schumpter's work because he demonstrated that people's ignorance meant that they could be easily manipulated by the agenda of politicians. When direct democracy is given to the people, it technially isn't direct as they are unable to think their own thoughts due to being fed all the thoughts other politicians have (and want them to believe).
Expertise Knowledge (1/3) - KU (3)
Another key feature of a representative democracy is that it allows the government to be in the hands of those with expertise knowledge. Representatives will listen to their constituents about any concerns they have and things they believe should be changed or introduced into legislation, in which the representative will deliver this feedback to parliament in an efficient but effective way. For example, 24% of MPs had received Oxbridge edication in 2014 which is known to produce high levels of attainment. Even further, 85% of MP's had obtained a Law degree whilst 75% had a political degree in 2018 showing that they have a better understanding about political issues than a regular individual.
Expertise Knowledge (2/3) - KU (3)
On the other hand, it could be argued that a direct democracy would allow citizens to become better informed and more politically knowledgeable. This is because they would be participating directly and taking matters into their own hands, learning how their decisions can lead to different outcomes which would encourage participation as they would understand what they were doing. For example, in the 2019 General Election a third of eligble voters in the UK did not cast their ballot, in which one of the main reasons is because they did not understand politics due to how complex it is, showing that people need to be educated on these. Missing a third of voters is not a democracy because we don't know how these potential voters would have casted their ballot if they were better informed.
Expertise Knowledge (3/3) - A (3)
Schumpeters work goes against direct democracy and supports representative democracy by arguing that citizens don't have the knowledge that is relevant to design or change government policy. Therefore, it is impossible for direct democracy to run smoothly in society because decisions made by the public who have little clue about the topics being discussed with cause long-term issues such as more debt and potentially war if too many people don't agree with issues being presented by others. Without having politicians to represent their views, there would be no order in politics.
Implement Necessary/Unpopular (1/3) - KU
Finally, another key feature of a representative democracy is that it allows parliament to implement policies that are unnecessary but unpopular. These are the types of issues which would not not secure support from citizens if it were put to a public ballot because nobody will vote for things that will impact them and society negatively. For example, an increase to the tax or a reduction of benefits would be unpopular therefore people would vote against it happening. However, this may may be necessary during times of hardship therefore MPs will need to do this on their behalf. For instance, the Conservative party reformed the welfare system by replacing weekly benefits with a monthly Universal Credit payment in 2013. This was unpopular amongst many groups across the UK, however the Conservative party argued that this was a necessity due to the debt levels in the UK.
Implement Necessary/Unpopular (2/3) - KU
However, another key feature of a direct democracy that opposes representative democracy is that it resolves difficult and moral questions which are too diverse for politicians to discuss themselves. This is because it is dangerous for politicians to discuss the will of the people on complex issues regarding human rights and eqaulity. For example, in 2018 Northern Ireland held a referendum on whether or not to legalise abortion due to the majority of the population there being catholic (where abortion is forbid). The government could not decide this themselves
Implement Necessary/Unpopular (3/3) - A
A representative democracy is superior in this sense over a direct democracy because it is more practical and realistic in the sense that not everyone can always get what they want. There has to be changes to the welfare/tax system regularly as time moves forward and we need strong minded people to do this, who have been educated and know the outcome this may have first and how to fix them. If we let the people take this into their hands directly, the country could fall further into debt, and then it would be the politicians they would rely on to get us out of the mess which was created on their behalf. Therefore, there must always be a leader representing the people, which is exactly what representative democracy does.
Conclusion
In conclusion, representative democracy is superior to direct democracy. Direct democracy may let people participate directly in decision-making, however representative democracy allows for professional politicians to be elected instead, which is much more practical as they can make the best decisions. Schumpeter argued that most people did not have the time nor proficiency to engage in such activity. In addition, this allows those with superior knowledge, experience and education to take-up important roles of political power. Allowing all citizens the right to participate directly in the political decision-making process was not something that all theorists were happy to condone. Such as Plato, who disapproved of the 'masses' being considered capable of making such important decisions. Such people were, according to him, likely to be too easily influenced by the those in power. For example, the Conservative party spent more than £100k on Facebook adds to promote her Brexit deal, which subliminaly encourages people to vote for her government. Also, a direct democracy would be impractical in modern society as society is too large to live under such system. This was possible back in Ancient Athien where only males slaves over the aged of 20 could vote in elections, yet modern society is now too big with millions of people living in cities alone. Overall, representative democracy is the most superior as it can speak on behalf of a majority whereas in a direct democracy, people on speak on behalf of themselves.
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