What is a "weak" democracy and what is a "strong" democracy? A Look at Richard Swift's 2002 text Essay by Top Papers

In his well-received but controversial book, The No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy, Richard Swift asserts that politics in today's age suffers from something he calls "weak democracy". Specifically, Mr. Swift (2002) maintains throughout his text that self-serving political classes and powerful economic power-brokers have monopolized the decision-making process for themselves. The following paper will look at such concepts as "strong democracy," "democratizing the economy," and "democratizing democracy" with an eye towards exploring the strength of Swift's definition of what constitutes a "weak democracy" and a "strong democracy". With that in mind, the ensuing paper will outline the problems Swift sees in contemporary democracies; the paper will also highlight where Mr. Swift's arguments appear to lack some merit in this regard (using the United States as the obvious example). In addition, the paper will look at the deficiencies of a more interventionist model of government favoured by Mr. Swift because of his belief that it will facilitate greater economic equality (and thus democracy) and there will be a brief discussion of what this writer, as opposed to Mr. Swift, would do if he was in a position to secure change. In the end, a more involved electorate and a stronger tradition of local governance might be just the answer.