Three Conceptions of Democratic Control

Abstract

The idea of control or power is central to the notion of democracy, since the ideal is one of giving kratos to the demos: giving maximal or at least significant control over government to the people.But it turns out that the notion of kratos or control is definable in various ways and that as the notion is differently understood, so the ideal of democracy is differently interpreted.In this little reflection, I distinguish between three different notions of popular control, arguing that only one is really suitable in democratic theory.Under the first conception of popular control, it means that the people have a causal influence on government; under the second, it implies that the people exercise intentional direction over government; and under the third, it requires that the people enjoy an intermediate degree of power: I describe this as institutional control over government.I argue that popular control as causal influence is not demanding enough for the ideal of democracy, that popular control as intentional direction is too demanding, and that the only plausible candidate for interpreting the ideal is that of institutional control.I discuss two ways in which this sort of popular control may be realized, arguing against what I call a 'market' model and presenting the rival, 'condominium' model in a rather more favorable light. Popular Causal Influence is not Demanding Enough as an Ideal of DemocracyCausal influence is the weakest possible notion of control.One event or factor will have a causal influence on a certain result or pattern of results just so far as it contributes causally in any degree to its appearance.It will have a high degree of causal influence to the extent that it is a condition sufficient to ensure that outcome; at the limit it will be a determining cause.But no matter how far it suffices for an outcome, the causally influential event or factor may not be necessary; there may be lots of other ways in which the outcome could materialize.What would be required for the people to have causal influence on how they are governed?The most obvious way in which such influence might appear is via an electoral process.Let the people elect government periodically in a competitive context and they will certainly have a causal influence on how they are governed.Let those in government be concerned about their re-election, as they plausibly will be concerned, and that influence will be boosted further.Politicians will take account of opinion polls, focus groups, media responses and popular protests in fashioning their policies.And so the people may have an enormous causal impact on what is done in their name.

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