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CHAPTER 10 Political Challenges to Liberalism To what extent should governments reflect the ‘will of the people’? DOES GOVERNMENT SERVE THE PEOPLE OR LEAD THE PEOPLE? Authoritarian Political Systems... Authoritarian political systems, that is those that are not based on democratic principles, take many forms including: oligarchies (Putin’s Russian Federation), military dictatorships (Myanmar, formerly-known as Burma), ideological one-party states (Cuba) and monarchies (Saudi Arabia) PRINCIPLES OF LIBERALISM IN DIRECT DEMOCRACIES A direct democracy operates on the belief that all citizens have a voice that is important and necessary for the orderly and efficient operation of society Three important instruments used in direct democracies are initiatives, referendums or plebiscites, and recalls. In a direct democracy, citizens can use initiatives to create and pass legislation. In referendums or plebiscites, all citizens vote on whether to accept or reject a proposed piece of legislation In a direct democracy, every citizen is an autonomous entity who freely pursues their own governing interests to maximize personal benefit. This in turn leads to indirect benefit for all. Critics of direct democracy argue that it does not account for those people who are not interested in governing or who fail to fulfill their duty to be an informed governing element. Switzerland is an example of a country that uses techniques of direct democracy Investigation Mandatory Voting (Page 348) LIBERALISM THROUGH REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY In this system, citizens select governing officials to make decisions on their behalf. In this situation, citizens make this choice for several key reasons as they pertain to liberalism Firstly, the electorate may not be interested in engaging in democratic activity on a daily basis. Instead, they defer this power to elected representatives who act on their behalf. In this manner, a small group is able to become highly specialized, while pursuing an area of obvious interest and aptitude, which frees the majority of citizens to focus their energies on other aspects of society. Representative democracies ensure that those elected maintain liberal ideals through periodic elections, the presence of multiple parties, the separation of powers between different branches of government, an independent media, and other traditions such as rule of law. There are many variations of representative democracies. Canada, for example, has a constitutional monarchy. The United States follows a republican system of government. In Sweden, the government uses a different form of representation—proportional representation. Proportional representation works by having citizens vote directly for a party, and then representatives are assigned based upon the amount of popular support obtained. The system encourages participation by minorities or other fringe groups who would not obtain representation as easily in the first two systems. It also frequently results in minority and/or coalition governments that must work to achieve consensus for fear of being overturned. CONSENSUS DECISION-MAKING In consensus decision-making a group of individuals share ideas, solutions, and concerns in order to find a resolution to a problem that all members of the group can accept. They have very similar ways of handling situations... 1. the question for consideration is presented to the group 2. all members of the group contribute their opinion on the question 3. a response to the question is proposed, and the members of the group come to some agreement on the response; 4. if all of the members do not agree to the response, those who disagree present their concerns to the group 5. the proposed response to the question is modified to address the concerns of those who disagree 6. another round of discussion is held on the newly modified response; the process repeats until a resolution is reached that all members can accept Proponents of consensus decision-making argue that it is egalitarian and inclusive, allowing everyone to participate in a decision The Government of Nunavut calls itself a consensus government. The absence of a party structure allows each MLA to vote as he or she wishes. Approval of any matter before the House requires agreement by the majority, thus it is called a consensus government. The Netherlands’ political system is based on consensus decision-making POPULISM Other thinkers believe that the solution to perceived problems in representative democracies is to incorporate some of the populist instruments of direct democracies, such as referendums, initiatives, and recalls. Populism is a political appeal to the interests of ordinary citizens LETTING THE PUBLIC DECIDE: How much faith can a government place in ordinary citizens to make decisions that best represent their own interests, or at least the interests of the majority of citizens? Some thinkers, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Stuart Mill, have argued that democratic participation is beneficial both to citizens and the state Rousseau and Mill both felt that many people participating in the decision-making process would inevitably improve the character of individual citizens CASE STUDY: THE CHARLOTTETOWN ACCORD... AUGUST 28, 1992 The Accord proposed changes to the Canadian constitution that various interest groups in Canada had sought for many years, and previous attempts at reform had failed to accomplish: it recognized Québec as a ‘distinct society’, it recognized Aboriginals’ right to self-government, and it would reform the Senate so that it was “elected, equal and effective”. However, in a national referendum on October 26, 1992, voters in only four provinces approved the accord, and the deal was abandoned A thought: “Maybe politicians should have gone ahead and voted regardless of the will of the people. Maybe this is where the government should have led. When it’s a case of minority rights, you don’t leave it up to a vote of the majority.” CASE STUDY: THE GST AND THE ‘WILL OF THE PEOPLE’ In 1990, under Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, a 7% Goods and Services Tax (GST) was imposed on Canadian consumers Following protests of this proposed tax and opposition by the Liberal majority Senate, Prime Minister Mulroney invoked Section 26 of the 1867 Constitution Act, requesting special permission from the Queen in order to appoint 8 new Conservative senators raising the number of Conservative senators from 46 to 54 thus creating a Conservative majority in the Senate (there were 52 Liberal senators at the time) and allowing Prime Minister Mulroney to introduce the GST Should the government have listened to the ‘will of the people’ on this contentious issue that affected every Canadian? After 160 years, the province of Alberta has passed a law permitting children as young as 12 to work. Governments change laws sometimes to be beneficial to “business interests”, in this case the lack of workers in Alberta’s food and service industry. Do you think that the government is following the ‘will of the people’ in this example? Are you looking forward to being able to vote? Or perhaps you are voting already... Do you believe that every vote counts…including your own? Anthony Downs, an economic theorist, has argued that, because a single vote has little weight in a very large group of decision-makers, individuals have little or no sense of responsibility for their decision, and are thus less likely to make a rational and well-informed decision HOW SHOULD GOVERNMENT FORM POLICY? Some factors governments may consider are: • Do most people fully understand the issue and the implications of the various policy choices? Is a lack of understanding causing them to favour the “opposite” course of action? • What is the most feasible choice of policy? Is the people’s will an unrealistic course of action? • Is the will of the majority an unethical position? Does it violate the rights of a minority? Can the government, in good conscience, carry out the population’s wishes? Ethics and Protecting Minorities from the Tyranny of the Majority... Does the ‘will of the people’ necessarily indicate the right course of action? Is public opinion always consistent with the values and principles of a liberal democracy? One potential problem that arises in democracy is ‘Tyranny of the Majority’ In 2005, when the government of Canada introduced legislation into the House of Parliament to recognize same-sex marriages, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler announced that there would not be a national referendum on the issue. Cotler stated that if a referendum had been held to decide whether women were entitled to vote in the early 20th century in Canada, women would likely never have been enfranchised ASSIGNMENT... DUE MONDAY.... Read pages 357-365 briefly outline characteristics and then decided on advantages and disadvantages with the type of system. a) direct democracy b) representative democracy c) oligarchy d) military dictatorship e) ideological one-party state Be prepared to discuss.