Abstract
Rawlsian framework is based on a cooperation model, which takes a democratic society as a cooperation system. Such a conception of democracy not only obscures the distinction between democracy and despotism, but also makes it hard to argue for the superiority of democracy over despotism. This article develops a different model, the competition model, to explain the historical development towards democracy and to justify democracy as a social order superior to despotism. The article argues that once we adopt the competition model to understand democracy, its distinctive characters as well as its merits will fully bear out.
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References
Przeworski, A. (1999). “Minimalist Conception of Democracy: A Defense.” In: Ian Shapiro and Casiano Hacker-Cordon (eds.), Democracy’s Value. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Rawls, J. (1993). Political Liberalism. Columbia: Columbia University Press
Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice (second edition). Boston: Harvard University Press
Rawls, J. (2001). Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Boston: Harvard University Press
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Li, S. Cooperation, competition, and democracy. Front. Philos. China 6, 273–283 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11466-011-0138-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11466-011-0138-2