Editing Democracy (section)

====Polyarchy====
[[Robert A. Dahl]] argues that the fundamental democratic principle is that, when it comes to binding collective decisions, each person in a political community is entitled to have his/her interests be given equal consideration (not necessarily that all people are equally satisfied by the collective decision). He uses the term [[polyarchy]] to refer to societies in which there exists a certain set of institutions and procedures which are perceived as leading to such democracy. First and foremost among these institutions is the regular occurrence of free and open [[elections]] which are used to select representatives who then manage all or most of the public policy of the society. However, these polyarchic procedures may not create a full democracy if, for example, poverty prevents political participation.<ref>[[Robert A. Dahl|Dahl, Robert]], (1989). ''Democracy and its Critics''. New Haven: Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-04938-1}}</ref> Similarly, [[Ronald Dworkin]] argues that "democracy is a substantive, not a merely procedural, ideal."<ref>Dworkin, Ronald (2006). ''Is Democracy Possible Here?'' Princeton: Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-691-13872-5}}, p. 134.</ref>