ABSTRACT
In his Gettysburg Address of 1863, Lincoln characterized democracy as “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”1 The old adage reveals a great deal. Democracy certainly has something to do with the people ruling in some form or another. People favor democracy, but after a general and vague form of agreement comes a perplexing series of questions that generate little consensus in their answers. What constitutes government? Who is to rule whom and for what purpose? Who are the people? What is the relationship between rule of, rule by, and rule for the people? Of the three components in Lincoln’s formulation, “government by”
(Rule By) has received the most attention. Democratic theorists focus primarily on procedures. Further, the theorists offer little in the way of prescription or even indictment of the economic or social and political disparity among groups. The following serve as typical examples of the proceduralist position:2
I follow...those who insist that “democracy” is to be understood in procedural terms. That is to say, I reject the notion that one should build into “democracy” any constraints on the content of the outcomes produced, such as substantive equality, respect for human rights, concern for the general welfare, personal liberty or the rule of law.3
