POL314H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Marginal Utility, Homo Economicus, Shared Belief
Document Summary
Tension between opinions (fiction of individuals) and facts (or hard knowledge: opinions are oriented with no basis. Democratisation of the liberal state: notion of public opinion becomes truly public as the franchise expands (i. e. as more people are allowed to vote) There are certain benchmarks for extension of franchise. 1832 property requirement dropped marginally in the uk; family of the legislators who are mostly property owners. 1884 property requirement further relaxed, still limited to males. 1920 women were allowed to vote: some argued that we still have not attained democracy. Representation emphasis on voice verba"s article there are still some section of the society which has no voice to speak out. How to best represent the interests of public: liberal school of thought. People are rational decision-makers people are reasoning individuals. Individualist sense of solidarity of the whole. Stress on rights of individuals because they are the best judge of their own interests: conservative school of thought.
