Pluralism in Comparative Perspective

Kirjoittajat

• Luigi Graziano

Abstrakti

Pluralism is a polymorphous concept still in need of conceptual clarification. Two traditions of pluralism can be discerned: European and American pluralism. In Europe, historically pluralism is associated with the rise of the modern nation-state. Liberals criticized the totalitarian potential of a majoritarian democracy, Catholics and Conservatives reacted against the individualistic liberal state and progressive socialists saw in pluralism a possibility to organize society without private property or the bourgeois state. The American tradition sees pluralism as a mode of group representation. Pluralism takes the form of large-scale pressure-group politics, lobbying and sectional representation in Washington D.C. European and American pluralism are different in their view of the state. European pluralism aims at preserving a degree of autonomy from the state, while American pluralism works in cooperation with it. The success of American pluralism presents a challenge to democratic theory. Pressure-group politics is a success, but it does not guarantee equal representation. This fact should be dealt with in democratic theory, because if normative the ory does not recognize the growth of sectional representation in decision-making, it may act as a delegitimizing force on democracy.