Heywood Democracy Has Been Long

Heywood

Democracy has been long considered to represent the most suited form of government, as opposed to other forms of state ruling, from the early ages of Ancient Greece up to present. However, there have been discussions on the ways in which the demos, the people, can interact with the different levels of government and what is the most appropriate relation between the subject of law and the ones who ensure its application. According to Almond and Verba, there are various types of political cultures applicable to the democratic system today. However, they argue that the participant culture is the most stable, combined though with elements from the parochial culture, subject culture, and the civic culture. In order to have a sense of the practical application of this theoretical perspective, the U.S. can be seen as a relevant example.

Almond considers that, in the light of the events that followed the Second World War including the large number of popular revolutions, the new world political culture would be one in which the citizen, "the ordinary man is politically relevant- he ought to be an involved participant in the political system." (1989, 2) However, it is argued that new countries are rather vulnerable to either adopting a democratic or totalitarian political system, both of which involve a participant individual. In this sense, the civic culture is defined by the authors as an "answer to this ambivalence (...) a culture that combines modernity with tradition...a series of encounters sharp enough to effect significant change but not so sharp or as concentrated in time as to create disintegration or polarization." (1989, 5) the development of this civic culture meant diversity and consensus, a culture that "permitted change but moderated it." (Almond and Verba, 1989, 6)

This general classification however leaves room for a more in depth consideration of the "distribution of patterns of orientation toward political objects among the members of the nation." (Almond and Verba, 1989, 13) From this perspective, there are various political cultures.

The parochial political culture is representative for the African societies in which there are no distinctive roles for the members of the society. In this sense, there is no clear separation between the religious and the social levels. (Almond and Verba, 1989, 17) the apparent leaders of such societies, although are aware of a sort of political hierarchy, do not expect any change and usually do not challenge this authority.

The subject culture implies the relationship of the individual with the political authorities he is aware of. However, despite their existence, the subject may or may not agree to their legitimacy.

The participant political culture is the "one in which the members of the society tend to be explicitly oriented to the system as a whole and to both the political and administrative structures and processes." (Almond and Verba,1989, 18)

Overall, the classification proposed by the authors does not necessarily exclude one another, but rather complement each other. In this sense, although participant politics is advisable for current democracies, elements from a parochial and a subject political culture are also present and influence the polity.

The U.S. is a symbol of the democratic system. The political culture may be seen as participant because the citizen is, despite a serious fall in the voting turnout percentages, involved in their relation with the authorities. He states his opinion and tries to influence the outcome of decisions taken at the political level. Thus, he may agree or disagree with the direction of the political system, yet he manifests his opinion in an active role, trying to challenge the decisions unfavorable to his interests. In this sense, the lobby tradition or even the activist movements can be considered as being part of a participant attitude.

At the same time, however, there are individuals in the society which manifest a passive attitude towards politics, an element which is specific to a subject political culture. The citizens that choose not to exercise their right to vote, despite the fact that they have opinions related to the ongoing political process, are part of a subject political culture.