Considerations on Representative Government
Considerations on Representative Government (dt .: Reflections on the representative government ) is a 1861 by the British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill published democratic theory work.
Summary
John Stuart Mill was strongly influenced in his political thinking by Alexis de Tocqueville's work "On Democracy in America". Like de Tocqueville, he saw “ tyranny of the majority ” as the main threat to the democratic order, which is why he went from an advocate of pure democracy to a supporter of a moderate form of democracy.
Mill also believed that a democracy relies on educated citizens and the assured influence of the wisest of a nation - a minority. For Mill, the representative government is the most suitable form of government to guarantee these two most important aspects - the promotion of general spiritual progress and state rule of the wisest. In order for a representative democracy to actually achieve these two goals, Mill proposes various safeguarding measures.
Of all his proposals, the most controversial is his idea of plural suffrage . This means that the citizens of a state who are superior in education and morality should receive a higher weight of votes. Mill feared that once universal suffrage was in place, the working class would abuse its majority for class rule . The plural voting rights should on the one hand enable the participation of all citizens in political events - not least for educational reasons - but on the other hand secure the influence of superior education. Compared to most of his contemporaries (and the then prevailing suffrage in England ) this was a big step towards universal and equal suffrage. For most contemporaries, the demand for women's suffrage that was subject to exactly the same conditions as that of men had a revolutionary effect .
His distrust of the working class, while advocating for the suffrage to be extended to this class, makes him consider various restrictions on the right to vote. For example, only those who can read, write and do arithmetic should be given the right to vote, who pays taxes and who is not dependent on financial support from the community.
Furthermore, in the “Considerations”, Mill advocates the public election so that the voter does not abuse his “office” d. H. for its special purpose and benefit, but rather safeguards the public interest. Mill is of the conviction that a central government can only perform a small part of the public tasks satisfactorily. Mill therefore demands that there should be representatives for municipalities and provinces in addition to a national assembly. In general, Mill considers that popular rule to be the best in which the public functions are most widely spread, because this is the best way to achieve a political education of the masses.
Mills thinking about the organization of a representative democracy is guided by two main principles: participation ( participation ) and competence ( competence ).