Jonathan Wolff Term 1 2008-9

University College London j.wolff@ucl.ac.uk

Democracy: Reading List

The people of England regards itself as free; but it is grossly mistaken; it is free only during the election of members of parliament. As soon as they are elected, slavery overtakes it, and it is nothing. The use it makes of the short moments of liberty it enjoys shows indeed that it deserves to lose them. (Rousseau, The Social Contract, Bk 3, Ch 15)

The course is designed to address some fundamental issues and problems in democratic theory: what is a democracy?; why is democracy valued?; can the critics of democracy be answered? We will begin by looking at some of the apparent tensions within democratic theory, and briefly at Plato's criticisms of democracy. In the process of attempting to answer Plato we will look at various intrinsic and instrumental defences of democracy.

Lecture 1: a) Defining Democracy

b) Plato’s Argument Against Democracy

c) Rousseau and the Condorcet Jury Theorem

Lecture 2: a) The Assumptions Behind Condorcet’s Theorem

b) The ‘Mixed Motivation’ Problem

Lecture 3: a) Deliberative Democracy

b) Participatory Democracy

Lecture 4: The Constitution and Democracy

Lecture 5: The Values of Democracy

Readings

Many of the topics covered here are briefly discussed in:

Jonathan Wolff: An Introduction to Political Philosophy, Ch 3

Specific Readings

Lecture 1:

Ross Harrison, Democracy Ch 1

Amy Gutman, ‘Democracy’ in A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy ed. R.E. Goodin and P. Pettit.

David Held, Models of Democracy

Plato, Republic Book 6 (brief extract in M.Rosen and J. Wolff Political Thought)

Ross Harrison, Democracy Ch 2

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract

David Estlund, ‘Making Truth Safe for Democracy’(esp pp. 92-4) in D.Copp, J. Hampton and J. Roemer The Idea of Democracy

Brian Barry, ‘The Public Interest’, in A. Quinton (ed) Political Philosophy

Lecture 2

John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government Ch 10 (also Ch 3)

Jonathan Wolff ‘Democratic Voting and the Mixed Motivation Problem’ Analysis 1994

Ross Harrison Democracy Chs 4 and 6

John Rawls, A Theory of Justice Section 54

John Rawls, Political Liberalism219-20

Lecture 3

Carole Pateman, Participation and Democratic Theory (brief extract in M.Rosen and J. Wolff Political Thought)

Johsua Cohen, ‘Procedure and Substance in Deliberative Democracy’, in Philosophy and Democracy ed T. Christiano

Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin, ‘Deliberation Day’ in Journal of Political Philosophy June 2002(see also other essays in this volume, which are reprinted with extra essays in Debating Deliberative Democracy ed J. Fishkin and P. Laslett)

John Rawls, Political Liberalism pp 205-6

Lecture 4

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (First half of Introduction)

Brian Barry, ‘Does Democracy Cause Inflation?’ in his Democracy and Power: Collected Essays Vol 1

Jeremy Waldron, 'Rights and Majorities: Rousseau Revisited', NOMOS XXXII: Majorities and Minorities 1990, also in Waldron's Liberal Rights

Jon Elster, ‘The Market and the Forum’, in Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology ed. R.E. Goodin and P. Pettit, and in Philosophy and Democracy ed T. Christiano

Lecture 5

Michael Doyle, ‘Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs: Parts I and II’, in Philosophy and Public Affairs (1983).

Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace

Amartya Sen, Democracy as a Universal Value, Journal of Democracy 1999, available at http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/jod/10.3sen.html

Karl Popper, ‘Public Opinion and Liberal Principles’, in his Conjectures and Refutations.

Other Readings

Duncan Black, The Theory of Committees and Elections, appendix

Joshua Cohen, 'Reflections on Rousseau: Autonomy and Democracy', Philosophy and Public Affairs 15, 1986.

Joshua Cohen, ‘Moral Pluralism and Political Consensus’, in D. Copp, J Hampton and J. Roemer ed. The Idea of Democracy.

Thomas Christiano, The Rule of the Many.

Robert A. Dahl, A Preface to Democratic Theory

Robert A. Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics.

Keith Graham, The Battle of Democracy Part 1

Cass Sunstein, ‘Democracy and Shifting Preferences’, in D. Copp, J Hampton and J. Roemer ed. The Idea of Democracy.

Jonathan Wolff, ‘John Rawls: Liberal Democracy Restated’, in Liberal Democracy and Its Critics ed. A. Carter and G. Stokes.

Richard Wollheim, 'A Paradox in the Theory of Democracy', Politics, Philosophy and Society, second series, edited by P. Laslett and G. Runciman.