Features of liberal democracy. Liberal democratic political system

It is believed that democracy and liberalism are extremely close, almost identical concepts. But it is not always the case. What are their most popular interpretations?

What is democracy?

Democracy- is a political regime in which decisions on governing the country are made by the people - directly or through elected representative bodies. Moreover, in democratic regimes, power is usually divided into 3 branches - legislative, executive and judicial. This scheme excludes the concentration of the predominant volume of powers in someone else's hands - as is the case with authoritarianism and totalitarianism, which are traditionally opposed to democracy.

What is liberalism?

Liberalism- is an ideology at the center of which is the proclamation of the supremacy of human rights and freedoms, assigning them the main role in the socio-economic and political development of society. The state, in accordance with liberal concepts, must help in various ways to ensure that its citizens have every opportunity to realize their rights and freedoms. According to some ideologists, this should be expressed, first of all, in the non-interference of the country's authorities in social processes. However, if necessary, the authorities must provide legal protection for the interests of their citizens and ensure equality of all residents of the country before the law.

The main freedoms that traditional liberalism proclaims are:

freedom of speech;
freedom to choose religion;
freedom of political views, cultural values;
freedom to choose a representative similar in ideology to government bodies;
freedom to choose a profession and do business.

Thus, liberalism is an ideology that affects 3 main social institutions - politics, society and economics.

Comparison

The main difference between democracy and liberalism is the defined social phenomenon. The first term denotes the political regime, the second - ideology. However, the concepts of democracy and liberalism, as we noted above, are very similar in many aspects. What is the reason for this?

The fact is that the practical implementation of the ideas of liberalism can be fully realized only under a democratic political regime. Only those people who have political freedoms - that is, the freedom to choose views, values, and representatives to government bodies - are able to count on the adoption of laws that guarantee other liberal preferences.

In turn, not every democracy can involve the introduction of liberal concepts into the life of society. It is quite possible that the people of the country will decide that they do not really need excessive freedom of speech or choice of political views, and will elect into power those people who will pass laws restricting such freedoms (or will themselves pass the corresponding laws in a referendum).

Thus, liberalism is possible only in democracy, but democracy is quite capable of existing without liberalism.

Having determined what the difference is between democracy and liberalism, let us record its key criteria in the table.

Literally, “democracy” is translated as “power of the people.” However, even in Ancient Greece, only free and wealthy citizens - men - were called the people, or “demos”. There were about 90 thousand of these people in Athens, and at the same time, approximately 45 thousand people with no rights (women and the poor), as well as more than 350 (!) thousand slaves, lived in the same city. Initially, liberal democracy carries a sufficient number of contradictions.

Background

In prehistoric times, our ancestors resolved all important issues together. However, this situation persisted for a relatively short time. Over time, some families were able to accumulate material wealth, others were not. Wealth inequality has been known since the beginning of time.

Liberal democracy in a close to the modern sense first arose in Athens, the capital of Ancient Greece. This event dates back to the 4th century BC.

Athens, like many settlements of that time, was a city-state. Only a man who owned a certain amount of property could be a free citizen. The community of these men decided all important issues for the city at the people's assembly, which was the highest authority. All other citizens were obliged to implement these decisions; their opinion was not taken into account in any way.

Nowadays, democracy is well developed in Canada and the Scandinavian countries. Thus, in Scandinavia, education and healthcare are free for the people, and the standard of living is approximately the same for everyone. These countries have a system of counterbalances to avoid fundamental differences.

Parliament is elected on the principle of equality: the larger the population in a given area, the more representatives it has.

Definition of the concept

Liberal democracy today is a form that theoretically limits the power of the majority in the interests of individual citizens or minorities. Those people who belong to the majority should be elected by the people, but this is not available to them. Citizens of the country have the opportunity to create various associations expressing their demands. A representative of the association may be elected to the government.

Democracy implies the agreement of the majority of the people with what their elected representatives propose to them. People's representatives periodically go through the election procedure. They bear personal responsibility for their activities. Freedom of assembly and speech must be respected.

This is the theory, but practice is very different from it.

Mandatory conditions for the existence of democracy

Liberal democracy presupposes the fulfillment of the following requirements:

Power is divided into equal branches - legislative, judicial and executive, each of which performs its functions independently.
The government's power is limited; all pressing issues of the country are resolved with the participation of the people. The form of interaction may be a referendum or other events.
Power allows disagreements to be voiced and discussed, and if necessary, a compromise decision is made.
Information about the management of the company is available to all citizens.
Society in the country is monolithic, there are no signs of split.
The society is economically successful, the amount of social product is increasing.

The essence of liberal democracy

Liberal democracy is a balance between the elite of society and its other citizens. Ideally, a democratic society protects and supports each of its members. Democracy is the opposite of authoritarianism, when every person can count on freedom, justice and equality.

For democracy to be real, the following principles must be observed:

Popular sovereignty. This means that the people can change the form of government or the constitution at any time if they disagree with the government.
Suffrage can only be equal and secret. Each person has one vote, and that vote is equal to the rest.
Every person is free in his beliefs, protected from tyranny, hunger and poverty.
A citizen has the right not only to his chosen work and its payment, but also to a fair distribution of the social product.

Disadvantages of Liberal Democracy

They are obvious: the power of the majority is concentrated in the hands of a few people. It is difficult - almost impossible - to exercise control over them, and they make decisions independently. Therefore, in practice, the gap between the expectations of the people and the actions of the government turns out to be huge.

The antagonist of the liberal one is in which each person can influence the general decision without an intermediate link.

The characteristic of liberal democracy is such that elected representatives gradually distance themselves from the people, and over time completely come under the influence of groups that control financial flows in society.

Tools of Democracy

Other names for liberal democracy are constitutional or bourgeois. Such names are associated with the historical processes through which liberal democracy developed. This definition implies that the main normative document of society is the constitution, or fundamental law.

The main instrument of democracy is elections, in which (ideally) every adult who has no problems with the law can take part.

Citizens can take part in a referendum, rally or contact independent media to express their opinions.

In practice, access to the media can only be obtained by those citizens who are able to pay for their services. Therefore, only financial groups or individual very wealthy citizens have a real chance to make themselves known. However, along with the party in power, there is always an opposition that can win elections if the government fails.

The theoretical essence of liberal democracy is great, but its practical use is limited by financial or political capabilities. Also, ostentatious democracy is often encountered, when behind the right words and bright appeals there are very specific interests that do not take into account the needs of the population.

Democratic and liberal (liberal-democratic) regimes are two varieties of the general democratic way of implementing state power, the antipode of which is the non-democratic or anti-democratic way in its two main varieties - authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. In most textbooks on constitutional law, only three types of state or political regimes are usually distinguished - democratic, authoritarian and totalitarian. In others, the liberal regime is specifically highlighted, which seems more correct and consistent. If we limit ourselves to only the most general division of these regimes, then, as already mentioned, they can be divided simply into democratic and non-democratic. But since the latter are differentiated into authoritarian and totalitarian, expressing varying degrees of their undemocratic nature, then, while remaining consistent, it is necessary to subdivide the democratic type of state power according to the degree of democracy into actually democratic and liberal, or liberal-democratic.

It is quite natural that, in fact, consistently democratic and liberal-democratic, liberal state-political regimes have a lot in common in the main and fundamental things, which allows them to belong to the same democratic type of state power. At the same time, there are significant species differences between them that require their scientific differentiation. Since the liberal regime in this regard acts as a kind of democratic type of state-political rule, it can be called liberal-democratic.

A democratic state-political regime is characterized by a commitment not only to truly democratic goals and values, but also to a fairly complete and consistent use of appropriate methods and methods for achieving them in the process of exercising state power. As historical and modern experience shows, the most adequate basis for the establishment of such regimes is a socially oriented economy, the achievement of a relatively high general standard of living of the population, civil society, the implementation of the principles of social justice and social harmony, etc. It is no coincidence that such regimes are firmly established and successful function today in industrialized countries, while even in those developing countries that have chosen a generally democratic path of development, the application of the principles, forms and methods of democracy turns out to be objectively limited by the low level of economic development, poverty of the bulk of the population, acute social conflicts, extremely low general and especially political and legal culture of citizens. This, of course, does not mean that among developing countries there are not and cannot be countries with democratic regimes. But even when this occurs, we can actually talk most often about a liberal, liberal-democratic variety of such a regime and only in some cases about the formation of a democratic regime proper. And in most post-socialist countries what is happening today is precisely the process of establishing truly and consistently democratic state-political regimes.

Generally speaking, a democratic state-political regime is characterized by a number of common essential features despite the variety of specific forms of its manifestation. The most important of them are as follows.

1. Recognition and guaranteed implementation of democracy, the sovereignty of the people as the fundamental basis of the entire state and political system of the country.
2. Legislative consolidation and guaranteed implementation of the basic generally recognized rights and freedoms of man and citizen, ensuring genuine and high freedom, autonomy and active initiative of citizens.
3. The connection of state power with law and law, the subordination of its bodies to them, i.e. the legal nature of this power.
4. Separation and equality of branches of government - legislative, executive and judicial, the use of a system of various checks and balances in the process of their interaction. These branches of government are both independent of each other and interconnected.
5. Political pluralism, ensuring, in particular, a multi-party system.
6. Political pluralism and multi-party system, presupposing freedom of organization and activity of the opposition, periodic legal and legitimate change at the helm of state power of representatives of various parties and movements, unhindered expression of the opinion of opposition forces on issues of government policy and public administration, respect for it and taking it into account when adoption of political and managerial decisions by government authorities, etc.
7. Political pluralism and multi-party system, organically connected with the need to ensure ideological freedom and ideological diversity, including freedom of agitation and propaganda, openness, independence of the media, etc.
8. Wide real participation of citizens in the exercise of government power, i.e. application of the principle of participation as a way to implement feedback from the state to the population.
9. Decentralization of state power and the development of local self-government, allowing for vertical division of power and preventing the monopolization of this power at the top to the detriment of the middle and lower echelons of the state system.
10. Extremely narrow, strictly limited by law, use of violent methods and means of exercising state power.

A liberal, or liberal-democratic regime is a type of democratic type of state rule, in which democratic methods, forms and methods of exercising state power receive relatively incomplete, limited and inconsistent application. On the one hand, such a regime is associated with a fairly high level of political freedom of the individual; and on the other hand, the real objective and subjective conditions of the respective countries significantly limit the possibilities of using democratic means and methods of state-political government. This stipulates that the liberal state-political regime should be classified as a democratic type of government and at the same time identified within its framework as a special type of democratic regime, different from actually democratic or developed democratic regimes.

The liberal state-political regime is the embodiment of the socio-political principles and ideals of liberalism (from the Latin liberalis - free) - one of the most important and widespread ideological and socio-political trends, which finally developed into a special, independent direction in the 30-40s. XIX century, although the ideological origins of liberalism go back to the 17th-18th centuries. (J. Locke, C. Montesquieu, J.J. Rousseau, T. Jefferson, B. Franklin, I. Bentham, etc.). Historically, classical liberalism developed in the struggle against feudal enslavement of the individual, against class privileges, hereditary state power, etc., for freedom and equality of citizens, equal opportunities for everyone, democratic forms of socio-political life.

For liberalism the characters are: recognition of the self-worth of the individual and the original equality of all people; individualism, humanism and cosmopolitanism; defending the inalienable rights, freedoms and responsibilities of citizens, primarily the rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness; support for the principles of democracy, constitutionalism, separation of powers, parliamentarism, law and order; understanding of the state as a body based on agreement and consensus with members of society, limited to the goals of protecting the original rights of man, not interfering in his private life, supporting the principles of a market economy, freedom of enterprise and competition with minimal government intervention in the economy. Classical liberalism, which became widespread and seriously influential in the second half of the 19th - first half of the 20th centuries, especially in connection with the creation and activities of liberal parties and the rise of many of them to power, has today undergone significant evolution and renewal. In particular, modern liberalism or neoliberalism is distinguished by a greater acceptance of the ideas of pluralistic democracy and diversity of forms of ownership, expanding and strengthening the role of the state in public life, the welfare state, social justice, etc.

If in the past, especially in the 19th century, the liberal regime was characteristic of industrially developed countries, which were then experiencing the process of becoming a true democracy, then in the modern world such regimes are especially characteristic of post-colonial and post-socialist countries, moving from anti-democratic colonial or totalitarian regimes to developed democratic ones. rule (India, Egypt, Turkey, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, etc.), which have seriously advanced along the path of democratization of political life, but are still far from reaching the level of developed democracies, as well as in some post-socialist countries of Europe.

Liberal democracy (polyarchy) is a form of socio-political structure - a legal state based on representative democracy, in which the will of the majority and the ability of elected representatives to exercise power are limited in the name of protecting the rights of the minority and the freedoms of individual citizens. Liberal democracy aims to provide every citizen with equal rights to due process, private property, privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion. These liberal rights are enshrined in higher laws (such as a constitution or statute, or in precedent decisions made by the highest courts), which, in turn, empower various government and public bodies to ensure these rights.

The peculiarity of liberal democracy is that it is characterized by the development of private entrepreneurship, restrictions on state intervention in a person’s private life, and the formation of civil society.

Some authors understand a liberal regime (they also call it liberal-democratic) to mean methods and means of exercising state power that are based on a system of the most democratic and humanistic principles. That is, the liberal regime in this case is thought of as a regime of a higher order than the democratic one, as a regime that grows out of the democratic regime itself.

A semi-democratic regime arises as a result of the elimination of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, administrative-command and bureaucratic methods of managing society. Currently, liberal, semi-democratic regimes have developed in the post-socialist countries of Eastern Europe, in a number of CIS countries (including Russia), in Egypt, Sri Lanka, Nicaragua and many other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America after the collapse of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. modes.

A characteristic element of liberal democracy is an “open society”, characterized by tolerance, pluralism, coexistence and competition of the widest range of socio-political views. Through periodic elections, each of the groups holding different views has a chance to gain power. In practice, viewpoints rarely play a significant role in the democratic process. However, the open society model makes it difficult for the ruling elite to circulate power, guarantees the possibility of a bloodless change of power, and creates incentives for the government to continuously respond to public demands.

In a liberal democracy, the political group in power does not have to subscribe to all aspects of the ideology of liberalism (for example, it may advocate democratic socialism). However, it is obliged to obey the above-mentioned principle of the rule of law. The term liberal in this case is understood in the same way as in the era of bourgeois revolutions of the late 18th century: providing every person with protection from arbitrariness on the part of the authorities and law enforcement agencies.

A liberal state-legal regime is the form, method and procedure for the exercise of state power in the conditions of a modern rule of law state and civil society. Such a regime presupposes the official recognition and practical implementation of basic innate and inalienable human rights and freedoms, and a wide range of civil rights, the rule of law, and the separation of powers (legislative, executive and judicial). The establishment of constitutionalism, parliamentarism, ideological and political diversity, multi-party system, the exercise of the sovereign power of the people in the legal forms of referendum and free elections, the independent and effective functioning of civil society institutions, forms and mechanisms of public control over the activities of state power.

A liberal state-legal regime includes all aspects of democracy that are valuable, from the point of view of civil society and the rule of law, and, above all, the idea of people's sovereignty in its legal (and state-legal) understanding and application. Therefore, bearing in mind specifically legal democracy (democracy in legal form), the liberal regime can be characterized as a liberal-democratic regime.

Liberal democracy is a model of socio-political organization of a rule of law state, the basis of which is a power that expresses the will of the majority, but at the same time protects the freedom and rights of a separate minority of citizens.

This type of government has the goal of ensuring that every individual citizen of his country has the rights to private property, freedom of speech, compliance with legal processes, protection of personal space, life, and freedom of religion. All these rights are spelled out in a legislative document such as the Constitution, or other form of legal formation adopted by a decision of the Supreme Court, endowed with such powers as can ensure the implementation of the rights of citizens.

Democracy concept

The modern name of this political movement comes from the Greek words demos- "society" and kratos- “rule”, “power”, which formed the word democracy, meaning "power of the people."

Principles of a democratic system

Principles of liberal democracy:

The main principle is to ensure the rights and freedoms of citizens.
Government is ensured by accepting the will of the people as determined by voting. The side with the most votes wins.
All rights expressed by the minority are respected and guaranteed.
Organizing the competitiveness of various areas of management, because democracy is not a means of power, but a means of limiting the ruling parties with other power organizations.
Participation in voting is mandatory, but you can abstain.
Civil society restrains the activities of state power through the self-organization of citizens.

Signs of a democratic state structure

The following are the signs of democracy in the state:

Fair and free elections are an important political tool for electing new government representatives or maintaining the current one.
Citizens take an active part in both the political life of the state and public life.
Providing legal protection to every citizen.
The supreme power extends to all in equal parts.

All this is at the same time the principles of liberal democracy.

Formation of liberal democracy

When did such a trend begin to form? The history of liberal democracy dates back many years of formation and a long history. This type of government is the fundamental principle of the development of the Western civilized world, especially the Roman and Greek heritage on the one hand, and also the Judeo-Christian heritage on the other.

In Europe, the development of this type of power began in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Previously, most of the already formed states adhered to the monarchy, because it was believed that humanity is prone to evil, violence, destruction, and therefore it needs a strong leader who can keep the people under control. People were assured that the government was chosen by God, and those who were against the head were equated with blasphemers.

Thus, a new branch of thought began to emerge, which assumed that human relationships are built on faith, truth, freedom, equality, the basis of which is liberalization. The new direction was built on the principles of equality, and the election of the highest authority by God or belonging to noble blood had no privilege. The ruling power is obliged to be in the service of the people, but not vice versa, and the law is absolutely equal for everyone. The liberalist trend has entered the masses in Europe, but the formation of liberal democracy has not yet been completed.

Liberal democracy theory

The division of democracy into types depends on how the population takes part in the organization of the state, as well as who governs the country and how. The theory of democracy divides it into types:

Direct democracy. It implies the direct participation of citizens in the social structure of the state: raising an issue, discussing, making decisions. This ancient species was key in ancient times. Direct democracy is inherent in small communities, towns, and settlements. But only when these same issues do not require the participation of specialists in a particular field. Today, this type can be observed against the background of the structure of local government. Its prevalence is directly dependent on the decentralization of issues raised, decisions made, and the transfer of the right to make them to small teams.
Plebiscitary democracy. It, like the direct one, implies the right to express the will of people, but is different from the first. The people have the right only to accept or reject any decision, which, as a rule, is put forward by the head of government. That is, the power of people is limited, the population cannot pass relevant laws.
Representative democracy. Such democracy is carried out through the acceptance by the people of the head of the government body and its representatives, who undertake to consider and accept the interests of citizens. But the people have nothing to do with solving more important problems that require the participation of a qualified specialist, especially when the participation of the population in the life of the country is difficult due to the large territory inhabited.
Liberal democracy. Power is the people who express their needs through a qualified representative of the ruling power, who is elected to exercise his powers for a certain period of time. He enjoys the support of the majority of the people, and the people trust him, taking advantage of the constitutional provisions.

These are the main types of democracy.

Countries with liberal democracies

The countries of the European Union, USA, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand are countries with a liberal democratic system. This opinion is shared by most experts. At the same time, some countries in Africa and the former Soviet Union consider themselves democracies, although facts have long been revealed that ruling structures have a direct influence on the outcome of elections.

Resolving disagreements between the government and the people

The authorities are not able to support every citizen, so it is quite expected that disagreements arise between them. To resolve such disputes, such a concept as the judiciary arose. In fact, it is authorized to resolve any conflicts that may arise both between citizens and the authorities, and within the population as a whole.

The main difference between liberal democracy and classical

Classical liberal democracy is based on Anglo-Saxon practices. However, they were not the founders. Other European countries made a great contribution to the development of this model of government.

Principles of classical liberal democracy:

Independence of the people. All power in the state belongs to the people: constituent and constitutional. People choose a performer and remove him.
The majority resolves issues. To implement this provision, a special process is required, which is regulated by electoral law.
All citizens definitely have equal voting rights.
The election of the supreme chairman is the responsibility of the population, as well as his overthrow, control and supervision of public activities.
Power sharing.

Principles of modern liberal democracy:

The main value is the freedoms and rights of the population.
Democracy is rule by the head of society from the people and for the people. Representative democracy is a modern type of liberal democracy, the essence of which is built on the competitiveness of political forces and the strength of voters.
Problems and wishes are carried out by the vote of the majority, while the rights of the minority are not violated and supported.
Democracy is a way of limiting government and other power structures. Creating a concept of power sharing through organizing the work of competitive parties.
Reaching agreements through decision making. Citizens cannot vote against - they can vote for or abstain.
The development of self-government contributes to the development of democratic liberal principles.

The virtues of liberal democracy

The advantages of liberal democracy are:

Liberal democracy is built on the Constitution and universal equality before the law. Therefore, the highest level of law and order in society is achieved through democratic views.
The accountability of government bodies to the people is fully ensured. If the population is not satisfied with the political governance, then in the subsequent elections the opposing party has a great chance of winning them. Avoiding past mistakes of the new government is a great way to stay on top. This ensures a low level of corruption.
Important political issues are resolved by a qualified specialist, which saves the people from unnecessary problems.
The absence of dictatorship is also an advantage.
People are provided with protection of private property, racial and religious affiliation, and protection of the poor. At the same time, the level of terrorism is quite low in countries with such a political system.

Non-interference of the government in the activities of entrepreneurs, low inflation, a stable political and economic situation are a consequence of the democratic liberal system.

Flaws

Representatives of direct democracy are confident that in a representative democracy the power of the majority of the population is exercised very rarely - exclusively through elections and referendums. The actual power is in the hands of a separate group of board representatives. This may mean that liberal democracy refers to an oligarchy, while the development of technological processes, the growth of education of citizens and their involvement in the public life of the state provide the conditions for the transfer of ruling powers directly into the hands of the people.

Marxists and anarchists believe that real power lies in the hands of those who have control over financial processes. Only those who have the majority of finances are able to be at the top of the socio-political system, introducing their importance and qualifications to the masses through the media. They believe that money decides everything, and therefore it becomes easier to manipulate the population, the level of corruption increases, and inequality becomes institutionalized.

The realization of long-term perspectives in society is very difficult, and therefore short-term perspectives are both an advantage and a more effective means.

To maintain the weight of their vote, some voters support certain social groups engaged in advocacy. They receive government benefits and win decisions that are in their best interests, but not in the best interests of the citizenry as a whole.

Critics say elected officials often change laws unnecessarily. This makes it difficult for citizens to comply with laws and creates conditions for abuse of power by law enforcement agencies and bodies serving the people. Problems in legislation also entail slowdown and massiveness of the bureaucratic system.

Liberal democracy in Russia

The establishment of this form of government took place with particular difficulties. Then, when liberal democracy already dominated in Europe and America, at the beginning of the twentieth century in Russia the remnants of the feudal system remained in the form of an absolute monarchy. This contributed to the start of the revolutionary movement that seized power in the 1917 Revolution. For the next 70 years, a communist system was established in the country. Civil society was inhibited, despite the development of economic activity, the independence of powers, because of this, the freedoms that had been in force in the territories of other countries for a long time were not introduced.

Liberal-democratic changes in Russia occurred only in the 90s, when a political regime was established that brought about global changes: it was allowed to privatize housing that previously belonged to the state, a multi-party system was established in the government, etc. At the same time, the creation of numerous cells of owners, which could have become the basis of liberal democracy in Russia, was not organized, but on the contrary, contributed to the creation of a narrow circle of rich people who were able to establish control over the main wealth of the state.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the country's leadership reduced the role of oligarchs in the country's economy and politics by returning part of their property to the state, especially in the industrial area. Thus, the further path of development of society remains open today.