Robert Dahl on Mandatory Voting Essay

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Democracy and its Critics, Dahl outlines the modern incarnation of democracy. Democracy, he notes, requires the people participating in it to "possess all the capacities, resources and institutions they need in order to govern themselves" (p.1). The complexity of democracy grew with the expansion of the idea from city-state to nation-state. He then outlines the three types of critics of democracy, and their arguments.

One of the most fundamental concepts in democracy is the definition of the "people," that is, the ones who are participating in the democratic system. This definition was originally very narrow, but has grown to encompass most adults, in most modern democracies. They are supported by a wealth of institutions that facilitate the ability to vote, political parties that express particular ideologies, and means of acquiring information that allow the people to make informed choices. A democracy without informed choice is inherently weak, as some critics have pointed out. As Dahl notes, the proponents of democracy tend to overlook some of its weaknesses, creating an opportunity for critics. The critics are correct in this instance -- democracy treats all voters as equal participants, with equal means by which to govern themselves. The idea was never really intended to extend to the nation-state, and this has complicated matters.

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The world today is much more complex than the one in which the idea of democracy arose. A voter today is unlikely to be knowledgeable about the requirements of running a nation -- few are experts on economics, national security, law and other domestic policy, simultaneously. Thus, few are in a reasonable position to adjudge whether a candidate for office is suited to the task. In essence, voters are generally voting blind, or near blind. As one of the key ideas of democracy is that those who participate in ruling are competent at the task, it is important that voters are knowledgeable for the system to work effectively. As Dahl notes, however, even if the assumption of all voters being of equal intrinsic worth in a democracy is faulty, it is a fundamental premise of democracy, because the system was specifically designed to eliminate the idea of guardianship. Everybody participates, and this serves as a check against rule by a small minority of self-appointed guardians. Indeed, Greek democracy was fatally flawed because of its guardianship -- women, slaves and others were excluded from participation.

Dahl does not favor guardianship,….....

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