PHILOSOPHY
Deliberative and Minimalist Conceptions of Democracy.
Democracy is an essential factor for a nation to have a successful democratic government in which, democratic values are magnified. To have this value governments usually apply two types of democracy which are deliberate and minimalist conceptions of democracy. Deliberative democracy refers to the form of democracy in which decisions are deliberated, the form of democracy applies elements of majority rule and consensus decision creation components.1[1] The deliberation used by this type of democracy is authentic and not voting, where the deliberation is the chief source of legitimacy. The democracy in this form is usually open to dispute, where the representatives of decision making practically and authentically deliberate laws without distributing power equally.
The deliberative democracy holds that for a decision to be considered legitimate, the decision must be preceded through authentic deliberation, and not by aggregation of preferences through voting. The authentic deliberation should occur between decision-makers and is supposed to be free from distortions such as the unequal distribution of powers through the support of particular interest and economic wealth of individuals. The decision-makers can however be forced to vote if they deliberately cannot reach consensus after they have authentically had deliberated on a factor of concern.
Deliberate democracy can be practiced by decision-makers in both through direct and representative democracies. However, deliberative principles apply to lay citizens who have been given the power to make verdicts. Deliberation among the lay citizens is usually conducted and a more authentic opinion constructed from them, for instance, an opinion can be the issues arising in communities.
On the other hand, minimalist democracy is a type of democracy that covers and emphasizes the minimal standards in a given society. The type of democracy assumes that voting is the key to power and therefore places authority in elected individuals and the process ensures all election protocols are followed.2[2] Minimalist democracy can be referred to as a republic because basic institutions and structures are put in place to assure democracy. However, in this type of democracy, the elected leaders tend to use elective protocols to ensure they continue staying in power against the wish of the citizens and voters, thus thwarting democracy in a given country.
I find the deliberative democracy promising to a country that practices democracy. The deliberative democracy allows citizens to understand the legislations and democracy incorporates scientific opinions in making decisions. Moreover, this democracy generates ideal conditions of knowledge, impartiality, and rationality among the citizens by providing relevant facts of the opinions from the societal issues. Therefore, deliberative democracy allows citizens to deduce what is right and morally wrong by fulfilling the conditions of popular opinion that ensure decisions are morally right.
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The tension between constitutionalism and democracy
I agree that there is tension between constitutionalism and democracy. The tension between constitutionalism and democracy occurs because constitutionalism proclaims the attractiveness of the rule of law as opposed to decisions that are made by mere fiat community officials and arbitrary judgment. The constitution separates the powers of a government by liberal balancing ad checking of the powers of the various branches of the government through its independent body the judiciary.3[3]
The constitution prescribes and describes the sources of power for the governments which are derived from the fundamental law of a country. In dealing with modern laws and regulations constitutionalism is not only about the structure of power in the societies, but it protects the rights and interests of citizens, civil liberties ad civil rights groups especially for the socially discriminated minority groups.
Moreover, constitutionalism does not limit or restrain power, instead, it empowers the objectives of the government and its aspirations to the citizens. The constitution empowers the ordinary citizens in a democracy, allowing them to understand and control the laws of their country by harnessing their interests to the government. Constitutionalism shows the guides and grants what the government authority is expected to do legitimately to its citizens.
However, this is a democratic representation of the constitution that shows how constitutionalism is alternatively taking care of the interests of citizens by ensuring government officials do not freely make decisions on the manner they like, but constitutionalism ensures they observe the protocols and limitations of law which are the supreme set of the constitutional law of the society. Therefore, constitutionalism creates tension in democracy because it is the concept by which a nation’s government is limited to a higher law stipulated in a constitution.
Constitutionalism has two features the prescriptive and descriptive connotations.4[4] Descriptive connotation infers to the historical struggle for the recognition of the rights, freedoms, and privileges of individuals, while prescriptive refers to the incorporation of important government actions that are essential in decision making. It explains what the constitution should look like, by stipulating the rules in which the government is legally limited to, and the authority of the government depends on how it observes the regulations.
Bibliography
Blokker, Paul. “Populist constitutionalism.” Routledge handbook of global populism (2018): 113-127.
Colomer, Josep M. “Democracy in Latin America: “Minimalist” in Concept and Achievement.” Latin American Research Review 52, no. 3 (2017).
Post, Robert, and Reva Siegel. “Democratic constitutionalism.” The Constitution in 25 (2020).
Valadez, Jorge. Deliberative democracy, political legitimacy, and self-determination in multicultural societies. Routledge, 2018.
[1] Valadez, Jorge. Deliberative democracy, political legitimacy, and self-determination in multicultural societies. Routledge, 2018.
[2] Colomer, Josep M. “Democracy in Latin America: “Minimalist” in Concept and Achievement.” Latin American Research Review 52, no. 3 (2017).
[3] Post, Robert, and Reva Siegel. “Democratic constitutionalism.” The Constitution in 25 (2020).
[4] Blokker, Paul. “Populist constitutionalism.” Routledge handbook of global populism (2018): 113-127.