Chapter Summary

One of the ways to understand politics is to look at different political ideologies. Political ideologies are the beliefs and practices that guide political actors in real political communities. These ideologies reflect the underlying vision of political actors, and studying the ideals that inspire political leaders often illuminates operational practices.

One of the most important political ideologies of the modern era is liberal democracy. Chapter 6 examines the definition of liberal democracy, its history, and its strengths and weaknesses.

At its most basic level, liberal democracy includes, as its name suggests, two great ideals. First is the belief in democracy—the idea that the people should rule. However, what this means is open to interpretation. Should people rule directly on matters of public policy, or should they simply select representatives to decide what is to be done? Second, are the important liberal components of some democracies. These include constitutionalism; protection of basic rights, including the right of private property; political and economic competition; and free choice, both at the ballot box and in the marketplace. We must note that there is no single vision of what liberal democracy means. Rather, there are pluralistic visions providing for justice as well as order and for the general welfare as well as liberty.

This ideology derives from a number of sources. These include the ancient Greek discussion of politics by such thinkers as Aristotle, who first explored what democracy means. Later Christian thinkers added to our understanding of democracy by demanding that all people must be free to worship God and that all men and women are equal under God. The Romans contributed to this ideology with their discussion of republicanism and popular sovereignty and by their insistence that citizenship could be extended to all who came within the jurisdiction of their empire.

The ideals of liberal democracy were further enhanced by two modern experiments in democracy. First, the American Revolution ushered in the world’s first large modern republic. Despite slavery, the exclusion of women from the public sphere, and modest property qualifications for voting, Americans affirmed their belief in popular rule and the protection of basic rights. And second, in 1789, the French Revolution brought a new concept of democracy to the European continent.

The modern era’s conception of liberal democracy has been significantly influenced by two other important forces. First, nationalism became joined with liberalism to overthrow absolutist governments, and this led to the independence of many subjugated peoples. Second, liberal democracies in Europe and America first developed at the same time that capitalism was forming. There is much debate about the exact relationship between capitalism, liberalism, and democracy. Does capitalism, with its insistence on the free market and private property, further the goals of liberal democracy? Or does it weaken liberal democracy by creating inequalities in wealth?

One thing we do know about liberal democracy is that its character is constantly changing. This is seen most clearly in the United States. In the nineteenth century, liberals were originally committed to a very limited government. However, by the twentieth century, many people called liberals had shifted to a belief that government intervention in the economy was necessary to protect farmers, workers, and small businesspeople. The changing nature of liberal democracy has led to the development, in the United States, of different groups of political actors. One way of looking at American politics is to divide its participants into liberals, conservatives, populists, and libertarians. Each of these groups shares a fundamental belief in the older ideal of liberal democracy—the ideal of people ruling, the belief in human freedom, and the ideal of equality. However, in the face of a complex world, they have different priorities and emphasize different aspects of the liberal democratic tradition.