Notes on Democracy
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| - | '''Democracy''' (''δημοκρατία'', ''dēmokratía'' literally "rule of the people"), in modern usage, is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a [[parliament]]. Democracy is sometimes referred to as "rule of the majority". Democracy is a system of processing conflicts in which outcomes depend on what participants do, but no single force controls what occurs and its outcomes. | ||
| - | The uncertainty of outcomes is inherent in democracy, which makes all forces struggle repeatedly for the realization of their interests, being the devolution of power from a group of people to a set of rules. Western democracy, as distinct from that which existed in pre-modern societies, is generally considered to have originated in city states such as [[Classical Athens]] and the [[Roman Republic]], where various schemes and degrees of enfranchisement of the free male population were observed before the form disappeared in the West at the beginning of [[late antiquity]]. The English word dates to the 16th century, from the older [[Middle French]] and [[Middle Latin]] equivalents. | + | '''''Notes on Democracy''''' is a 1926 book by American journalist, satirist, cultural critic [[H. L. Mencken]]. |
| - | According to political scientist [[Larry Diamond]], democracy consists of four key elements: (a) A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair [[election]]s; (b) The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life; (c) Protection of the [[human rights]] of all citizens, and (d) A [[rule of law]], in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens. | + | The initial print run was only 235 copies; another edition was printed later in 1926. A number of reprints of the book have continued to be issued, with editions released in 2008 and 2012. |
| - | In the 5th century BC, to denote the political systems then existing in [[Greek city-state]]s, notably [[Classical Athens|Athens]], the term is an antonym to [[aristocracy]] (''ἀριστοκρατία'', ''aristokratía''), meaning "rule of an elite". While theoretically these definitions are in opposition, in practice the distinction has been blurred historically. The political system of Classical Athens, for example, granted democratic citizenship to free men and excluded slaves and women from political participation. In 1906, Finland became the first government to herald a more inclusive democracy at the national level. In virtually all democratic governments throughout ancient and modern history, democratic citizenship consisted of an elite class until full enfranchisement was won for all adult citizens in most modern democracies through the [[suffrage]] movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. | + | ==Synopsis and impact== |
| + | ''Notes on Democracy'' is a critique of [[democracy]]. The book places political leaders into two categories: the [[demagogue]], whom "preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots" and the demaslave, "who listens to what these idiots have to say and then pretends that he believes it himself." Mencken depicts politicians as "men who have sold their honor for their jobs." | ||
| - | Democracy contrasts with forms of government where power is either held by an individual, as in an [[absolute monarchy]], or where power is held by a small number of individuals, as in an [[oligarchy]]. Nevertheless, these oppositions, inherited from Greek philosophy, are now ambiguous because contemporary governments have mixed democratic, oligarchic, and monarchic elements. [[Karl Popper]] defined democracy in contrast to [[dictatorship]] or [[Tyrant|tyranny]], thus focusing on opportunities for the people to control their leaders and to oust them without the need for a revolution. | + | The book contains the notable quotes from Mencken that "Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." and that "Democracy, too, is a religion. It is the worship of jackals by jackasses." |
| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | :''[[mass society]], [[tyranny of the majority]], [[history of democracy]]'' | + | ==Reception== |
| - | *[[Athenian democracy]] | + | Writing for ''[[The Saturday Review of Literature]]'' [[Walter Lippmann]] described the book as a "tremendous polemic" which "destroy[s] by rendering it ridiculous and unfashionable, the democratic tradition of the American pioneers" and likens ''Notes on Democracy'' to ''[[The Social Contract]]'' by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. |
| - | *[[Consensus democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Constitutional monarchy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Cosmopolitan democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Criticism of democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Direct democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Deliberative democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Democracy Index]] | + | |
| - | *[[Democratic peace theory]] | + | |
| - | *[[Democratic republic]] | + | |
| - | *[[Democratization]] | + | |
| - | *[[E-democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Empowered democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Foucault/Habermas debate]] | + | |
| - | *[[Liberal democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Majority rule]] | + | |
| - | *[[Outline of democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Participatory democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Participatory politics]] | + | |
| - | *[[Presidential system]] | + | |
| - | *[[Parliamentary system]] | + | |
| - | *[[Radical democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Representative democracy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Rule of law]] | + | |
| - | *[[Silver democracy]] (in Japan) | + | |
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Revision as of 17:49, 15 November 2017
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Notes on Democracy is a 1926 book by American journalist, satirist, cultural critic H. L. Mencken.
The initial print run was only 235 copies; another edition was printed later in 1926. A number of reprints of the book have continued to be issued, with editions released in 2008 and 2012.
Synopsis and impact
Notes on Democracy is a critique of democracy. The book places political leaders into two categories: the demagogue, whom "preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots" and the demaslave, "who listens to what these idiots have to say and then pretends that he believes it himself." Mencken depicts politicians as "men who have sold their honor for their jobs."
The book contains the notable quotes from Mencken that "Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." and that "Democracy, too, is a religion. It is the worship of jackals by jackasses."
Reception
Writing for The Saturday Review of Literature Walter Lippmann described the book as a "tremendous polemic" which "destroy[s] by rendering it ridiculous and unfashionable, the democratic tradition of the American pioneers" and likens Notes on Democracy to The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Notes on Democracy" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
