The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy by C. B. MaCPHERSON
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The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy by C. B. Macpherson is a brief but thorough discussion of the theoretical constructs associated with four models of liberal democracy. Macpherson used three successive models to explain his theories. The use of models as the framework within which he described and discussed liberal democracy is an effective methodology for this type of analysis. Using this method, the text can be organized chronologically as well as contextually. Theoretical models allow the use of a broader range of variables, such as historical events, societal developments, and human actions. Models also can explain the underlying reality of prevailing or past correlations between events and how history is influenced by people and events. Models allow theorists to project the probability of future changes. Models describing different types of democracy have been concerned with the changing and unchanging characteristics of people and society in the present and with the forces and variables which may be expected to operate in the future. Laws of change were originally formulated in the 18th century. The law of change established four stages of society: hunting, pastoral, agricultural and commercial. The law of change assumed that commercial was the final stage. However, in the 19th century, other theorists such as Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, and John Stuart Mill subscribed to a mainline theory which made future projections based on a societyÆs past dev
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ot to just the ruling class, leaders, or elites. Macpherson examined liberal democracy in terms of the people who wanted liberal democracy: Did they want more of it? Did people in the society want some variant of the present form of liberal democracy? What did people believe liberal democracy was, might be, or should be?
Macpherson examined three successive models of liberal democracy and then projected a fourth model, which he called participatory democracy. This approach enabled Macpherson to provide a logical progression for the conception of his fourth model. In the first chapter, Macpherson explained the methodology and identified the theoretical basis for the work. In chapters two through four, he described the protective, developmental, and equilibrium democratic models.
The fist model, described in chapter two, is protective democracy. Protective democracy makes a case for the democratic system of government. This model (model 1) is a divergence from what Macpherson described as the pre-liberal democracy (23). Pre-liberal models of democracy were based on the assumption of the existence of a classless society. In comparison, liberal democratic models are based on the concept of class as an integral part
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1497
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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