models of democracy

Since a big number of us already know the meaning of democracy, we now look at contrasting democracy with different forms of totalitarianism.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this topic, you are expected to

• Understand the meaning of democracy
• Understand different models of democracy
• Understand the different features of the different models of democracy

Democracy refers to the rule of the people by the people for the people. The work of Benjamin Barber gives us the map to understanding the differences between the different models of democracy.

NEO-LIBERAL DEMOCRACY

This is said to be the normative model of democracy, it has been the basic principle of operation of political leaders and it is the model that we are most accustomed to hearing about. This model will have most of the political leaders and media referring to it as “democracy”, this is what Barber referred to as radical liberal democracy currently known as neo-liberalism.

Market liberals, neo-conservatives or libertarians is the name given to advocates of neo-liberal democracy. They emphasize on;

• Radical individualism as well as individual freedom largely defined in terms of property rights.
• The deep separation of civic life from private life.
• Minimizing general hostility and the role of government to all forms of collective action.
• Encouraging the replacement of other standards of distributing rights and resources with the free market.
• Giving the first priority to the letter of the law over democratic process.
• General truth and political truth is based on facts.
• Democracy and capitalism are inseparable.

THE COMMUNITARIAN MODEL

According to Barber, this model is concerned with the breakdown of community values and social solidarity. However, communitarians have the believe that these problems are as a result of excessive individualism central to neo-liberal democracy. According to Barber, communitarianism stresses;

• A deep separation of civic and private life.
• Our sense of self is influenced by our communities.
• Values of a community must take center role before the values of democracy.
• Community values arise in private life.
• There must be control of free-market values so that they do not undermine the values of communities.

PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY MODEL

Barber refers to this model as “strong democracy”. This attempts to re-conceptualize civil society as a place that is not just founded on community or private values, but as a truly public space between the market and the government. Participatory democracy:

• Shares with the communitarians the view that we are social beings before anything else.
• Civil society must be strong in order to mediate between the tribalizing tendencies of radical communitarianism and the privatizing and morally corrosive force of markets.
• Civic life is an end in itself rather than just a means to an end.
• The truth of politics cannot be simply found in decontextualized facts.

According to Barber, civil society is a critical space in a truly democratic society.