Competitive Elitism – Joseph Schumpeter

I.                   A ‘realistic’ image of politics in the 20^th century.

a.     Conventional notions of democracy misleading.

II.                Three problems with contemporary understanding of democracy

a.     Idea of the ‘common good’

                                                             i.      Society is divided

b.    Efficiency of democratic decision making

                                                             i.      Non-democratic organizations may act more effectively

c.     Idea of a ‘popular will’

                                                             i.      Popular opinion is the result of influence.

                                                          ii.      Pessimistic image of general populations

III.             Political Parties reflect Schumpeter’s image of the general population

a.     A ‘technocratic’ view of politics

IV.           Criticism:

a.     Human agency?