ABSTRACT
As we emphasised in the previous chapter, the majority of authors primarily associate the TMIPP developments they describe with our demo-elitist model. However, strong elements of the consumer model of democracy also feature and appear to be intertwined with those of the demo-elitist model. The reasons for this ‘duality’ lie in the common features of both models which Bellamy discusses in Chapter 2. That is, the notion of a ‘managed democracy’ is common to both. Of course, in the case of consumer democracy democratic expression is assumed to be channelled through, and contained within, the consumption nexus, whereas top-down control of democratic expression is a clear feature of the demo-elitist model.
