Topic 1.2 Types of Democracy AP Government OLD

Summary

This video explores three types of democracy: participatory, pluralist, and elite. Participatory democracy encourages direct citizen involvement in government, as seen in social movements and initiatives. Pluralist democracy highlights the role of groups like political parties and interest groups in policy-making, exemplified by the Democratic and Republican parties. Elite democracy, in contrast, limits citizen involvement, favoring a representative government as seen in the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral College. The video also notes the Constitution's role in supporting all three types of democracy through amendments and freedoms that expand suffrage and allow for political participation.

Takeaways

• 🗳️ Participatory Democracy: Emphasizes direct citizen involvement in government and policy-making, such as through protests, demonstrations, and initiatives/referendums.
• 📢 Examples of Participatory Democracy: Social movements like Black Lives Matter, March for Our Lives, the Tea Party, and Occupy Wall Street that engage large numbers of citizens in politics.
• 📚 Document Reference: Brutus No. 1 argues in defense of participatory democracy, advocating for the people's voice to be heard directly in governance.
• 🤝 Pluralist Democracy: Focuses on the role of groups, particularly political parties and interest groups, in shaping policy through negotiation, compromise, and influence.
• 🏛️ Federalist No. 10: Argues in favor of pluralist democracy, highlighting the importance of groups in the policy-making process.
• 🔍 Blurry Lines: The distinction between participatory and pluralist democracy can sometimes be unclear, as movements like March for Our Lives demonstrate elements of both.
• 👥 Elite Democracy: Advocates for a limited role for the people in government, with a distrust of the masses and a filter between the people and policy-making.
• 📜 U.S. Constitution: Reflects elements of elite democracy by establishing a representative government and institutions like the Electoral College, but also includes participatory elements through amendments that expand suffrage.
• 📊 Amendments for Inclusion: Amendments 15th, 19th, and 26th expanded voting rights to African Americans, women, and all citizens 18 years or older, respectively, promoting participatory democracy.
• 🌐 Constitution's Influence: The U.S. Constitution sets the foundation for all three types of democracy by providing a framework that allows for citizen involvement, group influence, and elite representation.
• 👋 Conclusion: The video concludes by summarizing the three types of democracy discussed—participatory, pluralist, and elite—and encourages viewers to subscribe for more content on AP Gov.

Q & A

What are the three types of democracy discussed in the video?

The three types of democracy discussed are participatory democracy, pluralist democracy, and elite democracy.

How does participatory democracy differ from the other two types?

Participatory democracy emphasizes broad participation by citizens, encouraging direct involvement in government and policy-making, such as through protests, demonstrations, and local voting on policies.

What are some examples of social movements that embody participatory democracy?

Examples include the Black Lives Matter movement, March for Our Lives, the Tea Party, and Occupy Wall Street, all of which involved large numbers of citizens in political participation.

What is the main focus of pluralist democracy?

Pluralist democracy emphasizes the role of groups in making policy, with political parties and interest groups being key players in the policy-making process.

How does pluralist democracy manifest in the U.S. political system?

In the U.S., pluralist democracy is evident through the competition and negotiation between the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as the influence of interest groups on policy.

What is the core idea behind elite democracy?

Elite democracy emphasizes a limited role for the people in government, with a distrust of the masses and a belief that a filter is needed between the people and the policies being made.

How does the U.S. Constitution reflect elite democracy?

The U.S. Constitution embodies elite democracy through its establishment of a representative government and the Electoral College, where people vote for representatives or electors rather than directly on policies or the president.

What amendments to the U.S. Constitution support participatory democracy?

Amendments like the 15th, 19th, and 26th expanded the right to vote to African Americans, women, and all people 18 years or older, respectively, thus promoting participatory democracy.

How does the Constitution potentially promote pluralist democracy?

The Constitution promotes pluralist democracy by ensuring freedom of speech and assembly, which allows for the formation of political parties and interest groups to influence policy-making.

What is the distinction between participatory and pluralist democracy in the context of a movement like March for Our Lives?

While March for Our Lives involves broad citizen participation, characteristic of participatory democracy, it also represents a group with a unified purpose influencing policy, which aligns with pluralist democracy.

How does the video suggest the U.S. Constitution sets the groundwork for all three types of democracy?

The video suggests that the Constitution, through its various provisions and amendments, provides a framework that can accommodate elements of participatory, pluralist, and elite democracy.

Outlines

00:00

🗳️ Introduction to Democracy Types

The video script introduces the topic of three types of democracy: participatory, pluralist, and elite democracy. It emphasizes the importance of understanding these concepts for students of AP government. The script sets the stage for a detailed discussion on each type, starting with participatory democracy, which encourages broad citizen involvement in government and policy-making, including direct voting on policies through initiatives or referendums. Examples of social movements are given to illustrate this concept.

👥 Pluralist Democracy and Group Influence

This paragraph delves into pluralist democracy, focusing on the role of groups in the policy-making process. It mentions political parties and interest groups as key players in this democratic form. The script references the Federalist No. 10, which argues in favor of pluralist democracy, and notes the significance of understanding these groups for the functioning of the U.S. government. It also touches on the blurry line between participatory and pluralist democracy, using the 'March for Our Lives' movement as an example that embodies elements of both.

🏛️ Elite Democracy and Representative Governance

The final paragraph discusses elite democracy, which contrasts with participatory democracy by advocating for a limited role for the general public in government and policy-making. It suggests a distrust of the masses and the need for a filter between the people and the policies. The U.S. Constitution and the electoral college are cited as examples of elite democracy in practice. However, the script also points out elements within the Constitution that promote participatory and pluralist democracy, such as amendments that expanded suffrage and freedoms that allow for the formation of political parties and interest groups.

Keywords

💡Participatory Democracy

Participatory Democracy is a concept where citizens are directly involved in the decision-making process of their government. It emphasizes active citizenship and the idea that the voice of the people should be heard directly in policy-making. In the video, examples such as protests, demonstrations, and initiatives or referendums are given to illustrate this concept. Social movements like Black Lives Matter and the Tea Party are mentioned as instances where citizens participate directly in politics, embodying the spirit of participatory democracy.

💡Pluralist Democracy

Pluralist Democracy focuses on the role of various groups in the policy-making process. It suggests that different interest groups and political parties compete and negotiate to influence policies. The video mentions political parties and interest groups as key players in this form of democracy. An example from the script is the competition and negotiation between the Democratic and Republican parties, which is a reflection of pluralist democracy in action within the U.S. government.

💡Elite Democracy

Elite Democracy is a system where a select few, often considered the most qualified or experienced, make decisions on behalf of the larger population. This concept is contrasted with participatory democracy, which seeks broad citizen involvement. The video points out that the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral College are examples of elite democracy, as they involve representatives making decisions rather than direct public voting on policies.

💡Direct Involvement

Direct involvement refers to the active participation of citizens in governmental affairs, such as voting on policies or engaging in protests and demonstrations. The video uses this term.

Highlights

Introduction to three types of democracy discussed in the video: participatory, pluralist, and elite democracy.

Participatory democracy emphasizes broad citizen participation and direct involvement in government and policy-making.

Examples of participatory democracy include protests, demonstrations, marches, initiatives, and referendums.

Social movements like Black Lives Matter and March for Our Lives are cited as examples of participatory democracy in action.

Pluralist democracy focuses on the role of groups, particularly political parties and interest groups, in policy-making.

The Democratic and Republican Parties are highlighted as key examples of groups in pluralist democracy.

Federalist No. 10 is mentioned as an argument in favor of pluralist democracy.

The blurry line between participatory and pluralist democracy is discussed, using the March for Our Lives as an example.

Elite democracy is presented as emphasizing a limited role for the people and a distrust of the masses in policy-making.

The U.S. Constitution and the Electoral College are mentioned as examples of elite democracy.

Amendments to the Constitution that increased suffrage are noted as promoting participatory democracy.

The Constitution's role in setting the groundwork for all three types of democracy is highlighted.

The video concludes with a summary of the three types of democracy and a teaser for the next video.

A call to action for viewers to like, subscribe, and spread the video to other AP Gov students is included.

The video is produced by Ben Alum, providing a personal touch and connection to the audience.

The importance of understanding the different types of democracy in the context of AP Gov is emphasized throughout the video.

Document Brutus No. 1 is mentioned as providing a defense of participatory democracy.

The video aims to educate and clarify the concepts of democracy for AP Gov students, making complex ideas more accessible.

Transcripts

all right welcome back to another

episode AP gov with the money this video

is about three types of democracy let's

do it

[Applause]

alright so there are three types of

democracy that we are gonna discuss in

this video participatory democracy

pluralist democracy and elite democracy

participatory democracy emphasizes a

broad participation by citizens so this

is the idea that people should be

directly involved in their government in

making policies that their voice should

be heard so we think about things like

protests and demonstrations and marches

we think about at the state and local

level when people have the chance to

actually vote on policies called

initiatives or referendums and have

their voice directly heard some good

examples to think of could be social

movements like black lives matter or

March for our lives or the Tea Party or

Occupy Wall Street these are all

examples that got a large number of

citizens involved and participating in

politics one of your required documents

brutus number one gives a good argument

in defense of participatory democracy

but more on that later the second type

of democracy that we're going to discuss

is pluralist democracy and this

emphasizes the role of groups in making

policy the two best examples of groups

and policymaking and US government are

political parties and interest groups we

have a whole unit on them later on so

don't worry to learn everything you need

to know about parties and and interest

groups then but for right now if we

think about it it makes a lot of sense

we have the Democratic and the

Republican Party and they battle each

other out

sometimes they negotiate sometimes they

compromise and in the end policies get

made most people into voting for one of

those two parties so we see pluralist

democracy in action Federalist number 10

argues in favor of pluralist democracy

so we'll talk about that more in the

next video but for right now just keep

that in mind it's important to note that

sometimes the line between participatory

democracy and pluralist democracy on the

other hand it's sometimes a very blurry

line for example think of March for our

lives does that better embody

to Tory or pluralist democracy well it

has elements of both you think about

people being actively involved in

demonstrating and marches and having

their voice heard

that's definitely participatory when you

think about the tens of thousands of

people who sprang up and join that

movement but on the other hand is a

group of people with a united purpose

trying to influence policy in this

particular instance in favor of stricter

gun control so it does have elements of

pluralism in there as well so just be

aware that sometimes there is a little

blurring of the line now our third type

of democracy is elite democracy and this

emphasizes a limited role for the people

this is very different than

participatory which wants as many people

as possible to get involved in

government and policymaking with elite

democracy there is a distrust of the

people there's this idea that there

needs to be a filter between the people

and policies being made now the US

Constitution in many ways embodies this

idea of elite democracy it sets up a

representative form of government where

people don't load directly on policies

but rather vote for people to represent

them again the u.s. is a republic like

the last video talked about another form

of elite democracy in the Constitution

is the electoral college the electoral

college chooses the president people do

not directly vote for the president but

the Constitution does include some

elements that could definitely be

considered participatory especially when

we consider amendments that increase

suffrage so amendments like the 15th the

19th the 26th amendment these expanded

the right to vote first to African

Americans then to women and then to all

people 18 years of age or older so this

allows more people to be involved so in

that way it does promote participatory

democracy you could also make the

argument that the Constitution promotes

pluralist democracy through freedom of

speech and freedom of assembly people

are able to form political parties

interest groups and things like this to

influence policy making so again the

Constitution it kind of sets the

groundwork for all

three of these so those are our three

types of democracy participatory

pluralist and elite democracy until next

time this is Ben alum money production

hey everybody thanks for watching I hope

this video helped if it did help me out

hit that like button so I can spread

these videos to other AP gov students

subscribe if you haven't already I'll

see you guys next time