POL101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Classical Liberalism, Collective Action, Representative Democracy
1 Feb 2016
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Document Summary
Liberalism and democracy are not the same thing. Democracy is about extending power to the people- a radical idea. Liberalism is about limiting the scope of democracy and people. Liberals believe democracy and democratic participation beyond male property owners is radical idea. Believe democracy will lead to redistribution (liberalism) Classical liberalism: idea of equality before the law. Democracy apposed by liberals as much as monarchy. Liberalism is about setting limits on that power- a conservative idea. Right and freedom, freedom of press, rule of law. Rational choice theory: people behave rationally; people would not participate politically because it is not rational. The individual will benefit from the provision of the good whether or not they participated in creating the good. Free riders: the people who benefit by not doing anything. Selective benefits: only get benefit if you participate. Expressive benefits: also benefits you get when you participate not materialistic (feeling)
