1.2 - Types of Democracy

Defining Democracy

Types of citizen involvement

• Direct (Pure) Democracy: people vote directly on policies. This doesn't happen at the federal level, but it does happen in some state and local governments.
• Initiatives: citizens write a proposed bill or amendment and get it on the ballot.
• Referenda: a state government member writes a bill, then it goes to voters for approval.

• Representative Democracy: the U.S. system. Citizens vote for representatives who then make policy. This is basically the same concept as republicanism.

Models of Democracy in Practice

• Participatory Democracy
• Focus: broad citizen participation in politics and civil society.
• Goal: citizens actively involved and influencing policy, making sure their voices are heard.
• Examples: protests, demonstrations, marches, movements like Black Lives Matter, the Tea Party, or Occupy Wall Street.
• Associated document: Brutus No. 1.
• Case connections: Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) protected students who wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War, a clear case of individual participation. Baker v. Carr (1962) let federal courts hear challenges to unequal election districts, which led to the "one person, one vote" rule so each citizen's vote counts about equally.

• Pluralist Democracy
• Focus: group based policymaking.
• Mechanism: people form groups, like political parties and interest groups, that work together to push a shared agenda instead of acting alone.
• Associated document: Federalist No. 10.
• Quick way to tell the difference: if it emphasizes the group acting collectively, it's pluralist. If it's about individuals acting on their own (like marching), it's participatory.
• Examples today: interest groups like the AARP, the NRA, and labor unions lobby Congress and federal agencies to shape policy, and many groups also fund campaigns through PACs.
• Case connection: Citizens United v. FEC (2010) ruled that political spending by corporations, unions, and other associations is protected speech under the First Amendment, so groups can spend unlimited amounts on their own ads for or against candidates.

• Elite Democracy
• Focus: a limited, filtered role for ordinary people.
• Power distribution: a small group of elites holds a disproportionate share of political power.
• Basis: comes from distrust of the general public, so there's a filter between the people and the actual policymakers.
• Examples today: the Electoral College, Supreme Court justices who are appointed for life instead of elected, and the large influence of wealthy donors. Critics argue Citizens United added to this by opening the door to super PACs, where a small number of very rich donors can spend huge amounts on elections.

The Constitution and Democratic Models

• Elite democracy: the republican structure (people vote for representatives, not policy directly) and the Electoral College both act as filters on direct public power.
• The original Constitution also had state legislatures choose senators (voters didn't elect them directly until the 17th Amendment in 1913), and it gives federal judges lifetime appointments instead of elections.

• Participatory democracy: the First Amendment protects speech and press, and amendments like the 15th, 19th, and 26th expanded voting rights based on race, sex, and age.
• The House of Representatives was the only part of the original national government that voters elected directly, and its two-year terms keep it close to public opinion.

• Pluralist democracy: the First Amendment's freedom of assembly allows interest groups and political parties to form, which is central to the pluralist model.

Federalist No. 10 vs. Brutus No. 1

Big picture