I'm Jeff Berry, introducing Chapter 2, "Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy." In The Challenge of Democracy there are two primary themes--themes that are used throughout the book and offer you a framework for understanding American government. In Chapter 1 you learn about one of them, the clash of three core values: freedom, order, and equality.

In Chapter 2, the second major theme is introduced. Majoritarianism and pluralism are two different visions of democracy. Democracy comes in different forms. Different democracies rely on different models to try reach the goal of letting the people rule. But just how will the people rule? And which people rule? Are those in power always going to be a majority? That sounds logical and fair, but on the vast majority of issues before government there is, well, no obvious majority. Most issues are complex and not terribly visible to the public. Moreover, the public has limited interest in politics and policymaking.

Still, some believe that to the maximum extent possible, government should try to fashion majoritarian institutions and practices so that the majority can exert its will. Such advocates, for example, believe that states should allow the use of referenda, where a policy question is put before voters directly. More broadly, in elections, candidates from each party should commit themselves to carrying out a range of policies supported by their party, and then act on them once elected to the state legislature or Congress.

Others recognize that elections are intermittent events and offer only broad direction to those in government. Those we label as pluralists believe that groups of people with common interests need effective mechanisms to make their voices heard on the issues they care most about. In contemporary American politics, we call such organizations interest groups.

Chapter 2 ends with a discussion of democracy and globalization. If you lived in a newly developing democracy, would you want your country to lean toward a majoritarian form of government, or one that facilitated pluralism?