Are Liberalism and Democracy Compatible?

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ARE LIBERALISM AND DEMOCARCY COMPATIBLE?

“If you could represent me ideally, you would need so much understanding and knowledge of me

and my interests that you would virtually be identical with me, in which case I may as well represent

myself” (Goodwin, 1997:292)

        The above quote shows one of the incompatibilities between liberalism and democracy, despite

sounding almost comical and amusing to me, it is, in a sense, very true.

        These two ideologies are very different yet suprisingly share some basic principles.  In this essay I

hope to describe and explain the basic background and context to the two ideals.  Democracy’s ancient

Greek origins and founding principles and what it has come to mean today.  How liberalism was thought to

have been conceived in the ancient world yet wasn’t prominent until at least the seventeenth century.  I am

also going to examine the compatibility of liberalism and democracy.  Detailing their shared basic

principles and those that contradict one another, and how today we have arrived at a compromise of liberal

democracy.  I will also conclude by sharing my own views on the compatibility of the two ideals, which are

liberalism and democracy.

        “There are few people nowadays…who do not praise democracy and claim to be democrats” (Ball

and Dagger, 1995:23).  Democracy today is very popular, both on its own and linked with other ideologies.  

Its origins however are found in ancient Greece.  The central features of direct democracy in ancient Greece

included; An assembly which every citizen was entitled to attend; All offices of government were

appointed by election; Freedom of speech; Equality before the law; Active citizenship.

        Little about democracy has changed since then but one significant difference to today is that the

universal citizenship in ancient Greece was only for men.  Today there are many diverse theories of

democracy but the central ideas are as follows (taken from Using Political Ideas, Goodwin, 1997:272):

  1. Supremacy of the people
  2. Consent of the governed as the basis of legitimacy
  3. The rule of law: peaceful methods of conflict resolution
  4. The existence of the common good or public interest
  5. The value of the individual as a rational, moral active citizen
  6. Equal civil rights for all individuals
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Democracy is the belief that people should govern themselves and that the purpose of the government

is the good of the people.  It is based on a government that is chosen by the people through the voting

process, and is then obeyed by those same people.

        It is difficult to find a clear present day example of democracy, like that of ancient Greece, as so

many political ideologies have stemmed and developed from the original idea eg. social democracy.  

The other difficulty is that the word democracy is often used ...

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