Search

My paper deals with the shortcomings of democratic political theory in Latin America. I criticize the minimialist conception of democracy defined along procedural lines i.e. elections. I contend that this conception of democracy is far too narrow and formalistic, and abstracts too much from the substantive essence of democracy which I define as liberty, equality, and happiness. My paper then is divided into two parts. In the first part, I explore liberal theory to see the concept of liberal-democracy developed from Hobbes to Mill; from there I try to demonstrate how inherent contradictions within liberal theory led to a regression in liberal-democracy, from a regime designed to secure human rights and provide happiness to the populace, to what we have today which does not provide for that. To demonstrate this empirically leads to the second part. I look to Argentina and Brazil, ostensibly democratic and wealthy yet besieged by violence and inequality. Violence is the key variable I explore, I believe it to be a manifestation of inequality, but more importantly I think it constitutes the grossest violation of the promises of liberal-democracy. Ultimately I conclude that a true democratic order must look both to its subjective essence and its objective form, I propose a dialetical relationship as the means to establish that, to raise subjectivist concerns to a matter of necessity in constituting a regime as democratic. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]