ABSTRACT
As established in the previous chapter, it is by no means inevitable that the government of a state should be ‘democratic’. The existence of authoritarian, fascist, military, theocratic or traditionalist regimes cannot be dismissed as impossible anachronisms even in the twenty-first century. However, for the purposes of this discussion, it is convenient to assume the desirability of popular government – what President Lincoln described in the Gettysburg address as ‘Government of the People, by the People, and for the People’. We ask what values such governments may be thought to serve and the extent to which existing democratic institutions realise them
Lincoln’s memorable definition may suggest three key elements of democracy. First, that it is ‘of’ the people not only in the sense of being ‘over’ all the people but that it derives its legitimacy from their commitment to it (government by consent). Second, that it is ‘by’ the people in the sense that they participate extensively in governmental processes. Third, that it is ‘for’ the people in that it seeks to realise the common welfare and safeguard the rights of individuals.
