{"id":1011,"date":"2026-08-09T18:45:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/pyq\/representative-democracymeans-the-people-as-body-must-be-able-to-upsc-psir-2020-0605\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:23:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:53:24","slug":"representative-democracymeans-the-people-as-body-must-be-able-to-upsc-psir-2020-0605","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/representative-democracymeans-the-people-as-body-must-be-able-to-upsc-psir-2020-0605\/","title":{"rendered":"Representative democracy&#8230;.means the people as body must be able to control the general direction of government policy (J.S.MILL) Comment"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pq-flow\">\n<div class=\"pq-flow-h\">Flow snapshot <em>\u2014 how the answer moves<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p1\"><span>Intro routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Mill<\/b> separates controlling the direction from running the government <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> representative democracy as the device for popular control of direction<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> a whole people cannot govern directly <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> so they must command the direction <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> representation secures that command<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p><b class=\"pq-sc\">Mill<\/b> \/ <i>Considerations<\/i> <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> ideal form for a modern state <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> large society cannot decide directly <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> suffrage + elected representatives set broad direction, skilled hands execute <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> two tests of good government (virtue + intelligence; using people\u2019s capacities) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> control cannot stop at the ballot <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> local participation as \u201cschools of political capacity\u201d <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> expertise still needed <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> popular control of direction + expert conduct of detail <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> elections + accountability keep that control real<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p><b class=\"pq-sc\">Schumpeter<\/b>: only a contest for votes, no real control of policy <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Rousseau<\/b>: sovereignty cannot be represented, surrender forfeits command <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Pateman<\/b> &amp; <b class=\"pq-sc\">Barber<\/b>: representation thins involvement, accountability fades between elections<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Mill<\/b>\u2019s line is a test, not just a description <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> representation is democratic only while the people steer the direction<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> control captured by a powerful few <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> representation survives in form, lost in substance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[41],"pyq_marks":[35],"pyq_topic":[51],"pyq_paper":[33],"class_list":["post-1011","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-41","pyq_marks-15-marks","pyq_topic-democracy","pyq_paper-paper-1"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_pyq"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4605,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1011\/revisions\/4605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1011"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1011"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1011"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}