Political Science 1020E Lecture 27: Poli Sci Lecture – October 22 2015
10 Apr 2016
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Intrinsic reasons (reasons to justify democracy in and of itself, rather than based on its consequences) Instrumental reasons (what are the outcomes or consequences from democratic decision making) Auto = self, nomas = law or rule. Democracy embodies a commitment to freedom or self-rule. Doesn"t happen as a result, but rather it is a component of democracy. Freedom is not the capacity to do what we want. Instead, freedom is obedience to laws we give ourselves. Rousseau: the mere impulse of appetite is slavery, while obedience to a law which we prescribe to ourselves is liberty . Objection: democracy is not a form of freedom. Those on the losing side are subject to laws they di bit give themselves. Majority rule" means the minority are not self-ruling. Therefore, those in the minority are not free. Those on the majority side, or the winning side are considered free. Democracy provides more autonomy than any other decision procedure.
