1.2 Types of Democracy

The framers of the constitution preferred democracy over absolute democracy because they feared the power of the monarchy of Great Britain. Democracy can take many forms such as participatory democracy, pluralist democracy, and elite democracy.

Participatory democracy puts importance on broad participation in politics and society no matter socioeconomic status. 👨‍👨‍👧‍👧

Similarly, pluralist democracy is organized groups of citizens that advocate for common interests. The whole group in a pluralist democracy is striving for the same political goal. 

Elite democracy is when activism and participation of “the common man” are discouraged. 🤑 Instead, the wealthy and educated elite are entrusted with decision-making for the population.

These forms of democracy are debated as shown through the US Constitution, Brutus No. 1, and Federalist No. 10. 

Brutus No. 1 was the first publication that became the series of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers. In the publication, the anonymous author posed questions and criticism for the Constitution. They believed that the national government had too much power. This was a big fear because the colonists wanted to be free of the tyrannical power like the British Monarchy. Also, the author suggested that the elected representatives would not truly represent the people which could lead to an elitist society. 

Federalist No. 10 was written by James Madison in order to bring to light the danger of factions. He argued that a large republic would lead to a multitude of factions (pluralist) which could lead to minority opinion being overlooked. However, he did highlight that the benefit of a large republic is that no one faction will be able to take complete control.