Democracy as a Society of Equals

Abstract

Democracy is many things: a system of government, a procedure for making decisions, a set of institutions, and so on. But democracy is also a moral idea. It is the idea that a relatively just, decent, and stable society is possible in the absence of kings and nobility. It is the idea of a society of self-governing equals. That democratic citizens are political equals means that they must regard one another in certain ways. This chapter spells out a conception of the ethos of democratic citizenship, a collection of duties and virtues that apply to citizens. Ultimately, it defends the idea of democracy as a practical ideal, the aspiration for a society that is governed by its citizens.