Single Idea 20561

[catalogued under 24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / a. Nature of democracy]

Full Idea

If there were moral knowledge about political matters, democracy would be a very strange way of reaching it. Democratic law-making means treating each person's view as equally good, which only makes sense if there is nothing to be right or wrong about.

Gist of Idea

Since all opinions are treated as equal in democracy, it implies there are no right answers

Source

Adam Swift (Political Philosophy (3rd ed) [2014], 5 'Subjectivism')

Book Reference

Swift,Adam: 'Political Philosophy (3rd edn)' [Polity 2014], p.209


A Reaction

Ah, I suddenly grasp that the modern fad for a rather gormless blanket relativism is rooted in the modern desire to take democracy really seriously. Important to remember Condorcet's point here.

Related Idea

Idea 20499 Condorcet proved that sensible voting leads to an emphatically right answer [Wolff,J]