ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses four views expressed with respect to liberal democracy. The functionalist paradigm views the relationship between liberalism and democracy in liberal democracy as one of necessity. The interpretive paradigm views the specific form that the relationship between liberalism and democracy takes in a nation to depend on the country's socioeconomic conditions, state structures, and policy practices. The radical humanist paradigm views the relationship between liberalism and democracy to form a double system of power. The radical structuralist paradigm views the relationship between liberalism and democracy to form class instruments used to coordinate the divided class society based on the interests of the ruling class. Liberal democracy serves the needs of the competitive market society. Liberal democracy is the product of the liberal market society. In order to understand liberal democracy, it is necessary to understand the nature of capitalism, the role of property, and the place of the individual in society.
