POLS 207 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Federalist No. 10, Direct Democracy

• School: Texas A&M University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLS 207
• Professor: Megan Kathleen Dyer

Document Summary

At which levels of government (federal, state, local) can these be found in the united states: the framers of the u. s. constitution were quite critical of (direct) democracy. Today: democracy in the states: democracy as a political idea, direct v. representative democracy, democratic constitutionalism, assessing direct democracy. Democracy: many different ideas of what this idea entails, athenian origins, modern ideas of representation, commonly: some form of popular government, demos the people (sort of , kratos power/rule. How exactly do people rule: direct democracy, the people themselves make the laws, representative democracy, the people elect and/or appoint representatives to make laws for them. Representative democracy: elect various national & state (& local) officeholders as representatives, framers" argument for representatives, refine public opinion, less likely to be carried by sudden whims, practical, logistical concerns, too many lawmakers government gets unmanageable. The problem of pure democracies : tyranny of the majority.