Populist Democracy

The classical or "populist" conception of democracy in terms of a rule in accordance with the will of the people has come under attack this century by thinkers such as Joseph Schumpeter and William Riker. This book contains a defence of the populist conception against their criticisms and a statement of an ideal of democracy, cast in the terms of populist democracy. A distinction is made between "narrow" and "wide" democratic theory. In narrow democratic theory a fruitful concept of democracy is sought. In wide democratic theory the objective is to put forward and defend a viable ideal of democracy. Problems of narrow democratic theory are addressed in the first part of the book and problems of wide democratic theory in the second. The concept of democracy is defined in "classical" terms - in terms of the majority principle of iunanimity. It is maintained that, in some circumstances, it is natural to identify the will of the people with either the will of the majority or the will of the all. Moreover it is argued that, in some circumstances, rule in accordance with the majoritarian principle and the principle of unanimity are desirable.
This book should be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and academics of philosophy and political theory.