Editing Polyarchy (section)

=== ''A Preface to Democratic Theory'' ===
In the book, Dahl gives eight conditions that measure the extent to which majority rule is in effect in an organization. These are (p.&nbsp;84):

*Every member of the organization performs the acts we assume to constitute an expression of preference among the scheduled alternatives, e.g., voting.
*In tabulating these expressions (votes), the weight assigned to each individual is identical.
*The alternative with the greatest number of votes is declared the winning choice.
*Any member who perceives a set of alternatives, at least one of which he regards as preferable to any of the alternatives presently scheduled, can insert his preferred alternative(s) among those scheduled for voting.
*All individuals possess identical information about the alternatives.
*Alternatives (leaders or policies) with the greatest number of votes displace any alternatives (leaders or policies) with fewer votes.
*The orders of elected officials are executed.
*Either all interelection decisions are subordinate or executory to those arrived at during the election stage, i.e., elections are in a sense controlling; or new decisions during the interelection period are governed by the preceding seven conditions, operating, however, under rather different institutional circumstances; or both.

Dahl hypothesized that each of these conditions can be quantified, and suggested the term "polyarchy" to describe an organization that scores high on the scales for all the eight conditions.

Dahl viewed polyarchy as a system that manages to supply a high level of inclusiveness and a high level of liberalization to its citizens.