{"id":1013,"date":"2026-08-09T18:45:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/pyq\/elitist-theory-of-democracy-denies-the-possibility-of-democracy-upsc-psir-2022-0607\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T21:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T16:26:14","slug":"elitist-theory-of-democracy-denies-the-possibility-of-democracy-upsc-psir-2022-0607","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/elitist-theory-of-democracy-denies-the-possibility-of-democracy-upsc-psir-2022-0607\/","title":{"rendered":"Elitist theory of democracy denies the possibility of democracy as rule of the people. Elucidate"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pq-flow\">\n<div class=\"pq-flow-h\">Flow snapshot <em>&mdash; 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\">classical democracy promises government of\/by the people \u2192 elitist theory denies it is possible \u2192 power always rests with a small organised minority people may vote but do not rule \u2192 democracy reduced to competition among elites, not self-government<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">classical denial: Mosca (society split into rulers and ruled) \u2014 Pareto (power always with a few; elites and counter-elites only replace one another; democracy unrealistic) \u2192 Michels (Iron Law of Oligarchy; even democratic parties turn bureaucratic and leader-dominated) \u2192 democratic elitism: Schumpeter (democracy as a method; competitive struggle for the people&#039;s vote; people only choose rulers) \u2192 Sartori (self-governing people a delusion; leadership the core) + Mills (power elite of corporate, military and presidential insiders decides national events)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">Mannheim and Aron (governed can still remove leaders; competing elites allow circulation and compromise) \u2192 pluralist and deliberative critics (civil society, media, public reasoning restrain elites)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">even softened, people choose rulers rather than govern \u2192 denial holds in the full sense of self-rule democracy survives only as a method of selecting and removing elites, not as rule of the people<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[47],"pyq_marks":[35],"pyq_topic":[51],"pyq_paper":[33],"class_list":["post-1013","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-47","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\/1013","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":2,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2435,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1013\/revisions\/2435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1013"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1013"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1013"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}