Citizen Participation in American Politics.
Elections and Democracy Three Theories.
» Elections should present a "real choice": .
- Political parties should stand for different policies, .
- The voters should choose between them, and .
- The winning party should carry out its mandate .
l Electoral reward and punishment .
» Voters simply make backward-looking judgments about how well incumbent officials have done .
» , Rewarding success with reelection and punishing failure .
l Electoral competition .
» Parties compete for votes by taking the most popular positions .
» Both parties end up standing for the same policies.
Madison's Theory of the Republic.
l The problem: factional conflict .
l The problem extended: tyranny .
l Self-interest is the solution.
lThe Problem: factional conflict.
»if not controlled by government, they could rip society apart .
lThe Problem extended: Tyranny .
»Madison wants to control factions without imposing unacceptable tyranny .
lSelf-Interest is the Solution »Republican government employs self-interest to control self-interest.
Self-interest As the Solution.
l Voters would choose representatives that best fit their self-interest .
l Representatives refine and enlarge the public views .
l Factions check the interests of competing factions .
l In seeking their own interests the representatives will represent the interests of their constituencies .
l Conflict of interest would prevent government from pursuing particular interests.
lVoters would choose representatives that best fit their self-interest .
lRepresentatives refine and enlarge the public views .
lFactions check the interests of competing factions .
lIn seeking their own interests the Representatives will represent the interests of their constituencies .
»voters will elect someone that will represent their own interests .
»representatives will represent their constituencies interests because they want to get reelected.