A Paradox of Democracy.md

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---
bibtex: @article{lee2001paradox,
  title={A Paradox of Democracy},
  author={Lee, Steven},
  journal={Public Affairs Quarterly},
  pages={261--269},
  year={2001},
  publisher={JSTOR}
}
---

A Paradox of Democracy

Steven Lee 2001

"A Paradox is a state of affairs in which two claims contradictory are both true." p261

Democracy embodies "the principle of moral equality because they allow everyone to participate in the decision-making process and insure that each person's participation is of equal weight with that of others" p262

Lee's argument:

1. Assuming the moral equivalence of citizens, the interests of each citizen require equal consideration.
2. Democratic majority voting embodies the equal regard of all participants.
3. Therefore the moral equivalance of citizens demands democracy.
4. But persistent minorities represent a failure of equal consideration.
5. Persistent minorities are common in democracies
6. Therefore the moral equivalence of citizens requires democracy when democracy cannot provide equal concern.

The conception of democracy under attack here is majoritarian democracy. p264

One possible solution to this paradox is some kind of liberal inspired turn taking to ensure persistent minorities are fairly included.

A consequence of this is that a purely aggregative conception of democracy is not compatible with the moral equivalence of citizens.