1: Influence of Classical Democratic Theorists

Since ancient times, the idea of how people should govern has been a mainstay of philosophers and political theorists. One of the most enduring notions to emerge from early theorists is the basic belief that people are capable of governing themselves. The concept of democratic governance developed out of those early intellectual discussions. Democratic governance enjoys widespread acceptance in many parts of the world today. Yet, the exact meaning of democratic governance and how it should be implemented still remains a topic of debate. Democratic theory has evolved because of contributions from classical democratic theorists such as Aristotle, Plato, Rousseau, Locke, and Jefferson. It is important to consider of the ideas of these classical theorists when thinking about modern democratic theory.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the Course Introduction. Keep this overview in mind as you work through each week of the course.
• Review the article “American Nightmare: Neoliberalism, Neoconservatism, and De-Democratization” in this week’s Learning Resources. Think about the effects of political democratic theories on contemporary democracy.
• Review the article “Rhetoric and the Public Sphere: Has Deliberative Democracy Abandoned Mass Democracy?” in this week’s Learning Resources. Consider how Plato’s theory of deliberative democracy influenced contemporary theories of democracy.
• Review the articles “John Locke” and “Jean Jacques Rousseau” in this week’s Learning Resources. Think about how social contract theory is related to contemporary democratic theory.
• Select at least one classical democratic theorist and consider his influence on contemporary democratic theory.

Post an analysis of the influence of at least one classical democratic theorist on modern democratic theory. Be specific and provide e

2: Democratic Theory and Contemporary Governance

In the first Discussion of this week, you considered how the philosophies of early theorists influenced modern democratic theory. Now you will explain the concept of democratic theory and weigh its impact on modern democratic governance. It is interesting to note that contemporary debates about governance are largely modern manifestations of ancient controversies. For instance, many current land-use controversies involve a conflict between an individual’s right to private property versus the state’s right to protect the public welfare. The details of the conflict may change over time from something as fundamental as the keeping of pigs in early times to more technical issues such as the placement of cellular transmission towers in modern times, but the underlying principles remain the same. Within the realm of governance and public policy, this example illustrates the point made in the proverbial saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the article “American Nightmare: Neoliberalism, Neoconservatism, and De-Democratization” in this week’s Learning Resources. Reflect on the various meanings of democracy and how they might apply to contemporary governance.
• Review the article “Rhetoric and the Public Sphere: Has Deliberative Democracy Abandoned Mass Democracy?” in this week’s Learning Resources. Pay particular attention to how the concept of deliberative democracy applies to contemporary governance.
• Think about the impact of democratic theory on contemporary governance. and examples

Post your thoughts on how democratic theory has impacted contemporary governance. Be sure to include in your post an analysis of democratic theory. Also, provide specific examples to illustrate your point of view

Read very well these Two questions and answer separately

these are sources to use

Brown, W. (2006). American nightmare: Neoliberalism, neoconservatism, and de-democratization. Political Theory, 34(6), 690–714.
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Chambers, S. (2009). Rhetoric and the public sphere: Has deliberative democracy abandoned mass democracy? Political Theory, 37(3), 323–350.
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Bertram, C. (2010). Jean Jacques Rousseau. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries…

Uzgalis, W. (2012). John Locke. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy(Spring 2014 ed.). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/

REQUIRED MEDIA

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014f). Genome project [Audio file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
In this media piece, a subject-matter expert provides additional information on the Genome Project.

Document: “Genome Project” Transcript (PDF)

OPTIONAL RESOURCES

Plato. (n.d.). The Republic. In B. Jowett (Trans.), The Republic by Plato. New York, NY: P. F. Collier & Son. Retrieved from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/plato-repub…(Original work published 1901).