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The Criterion of Legitimacy in a Government: Analysing Ian Shapiro’s Concept of Representative Democracy

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Abstract

Ian Shapiro proposes a representative government that bases its understanding of truth on mature enlightenment philosophy. He examines various enlightenment and anti-enlightenment theories to substantiate his arguments in favour of verifiability as the criterion for defining truth. Contending such a concept of truth he specifies that it is possible only within a representative democracy as it can systematically undermine socially built readymade systems. To examine Shapiro’s fallibilist approach to truth, this paper critically analyses his concept of truth-telling for legitimizing a government and contrasts it with Plato’s explanation of truth-telling. It argues that Shapiro’s procedural mechanisms that override social background presuppose uniform rationality backed by power systems.

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Notes

  1. Ian Shapiro, (2003).

  2. Ibid., p. 201.

  3. Ibid., p.3&17.

  4. Ibid., p.149.

  5. Ibid., p.5.

  6. Ibid., p. 225.

  7. Ibid., p. 201.

  8. Ibid., p. 203.

  9. Ibid., p. 202; Schumpeter assumes that voters are seen as consumers, parties as firms and policies as political goods or services; See Schumpeter, (1942, pp. 41–57).

  10. Schumpeter, (1942, p. 269).

  11. Samuel Huntington, (1991, p. 267.

  12. Shapiro, (2003)

  13. Plato, (2009, p. 10.

  14. Shapiro, (2003, p. 198.

  15. Ibid., p. 203.

  16. Peter Berkowitz, (2003).

  17. Plato, (1974, pp. 359–64).

  18. Gandhi, (2014, p.27).

  19. Ibid.

  20. Ibid.

  21. Ibid; While criticizing English Parliament, where parties consists of members who are hypocritical and selfish, Gandhi says, “If the money and the time wasted by Parliament were entrusted to a few good men, English nation would be occupying today a much higher platform”. Ibid.

  22. Plato, (2000, p. 243).

  23. Benjamin Jowett, (2013, p. 338).

  24. Benjamin Jowett, trans.,The Republic, p. 173; See “Philosophers' Corner: Plato: A Heart Fixed on Reality”, accessed April 04, 2015, justgreatthought.blogspot.com/2015/04/plato-heart-fixed-on-reality.html.

  25. Shapiro, (2003, p. 204).

  26. Chetana, 2014), pp. 2–3.

  27. Cornford, trans.,The Republic of Plato, p. 183 (1941).

  28. W. H. D. Rouse, trans., Great dialogues of Plato: Complete texts of The Republic. Apology. Crito. Phaedo. Ion. Meno. Symposium, (New York: Signet Classic, 1956, p. 306).

  29. Dr.J.N.V. Bhandari, “Plato's Concept Of Justice: An Analysis”, accessed July 05, 2015, https://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Anci/AnciBhan.htm.

  30. Ibid.

  31. Plato, The Republic, trans. Benjamin Jowett, (2009 pp. 249–51).

  32. Ibid.,p. 257.

  33. Ibid., p. 251.

  34. Shapiro, (2003, p. 206).

  35. See Hempel (1965, pp. 298–303), for discussion of Hempel’s Deductive-nomological model, and See Popper (1963, pp. 228–238) for discussion of Popper’s falsificationism.

  36. Shapiro, (2003, p. 206).

  37. Ibid, p. 205.

  38. Charles Taylor, “The Politics of Recognition”, in Multiculturalism, ed. Amy Gutmann, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994), p. 25.

  39. Michel Foucault, (1972–1977).

  40. Ibid.

  41. Shapiro, (2003, p. 203).

  42. Ibid.

  43. Ibid.

  44. Ibid.

  45. Rourke, “The Moral Foundations of Democracy by Ian Shapiro”, review of The Moral Foundations of Politics, by Ian Shapiro,The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 58, No. 2 (2004), pp. 466, Published by: Philosophy Education Society Inc., Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20130479

  46. “Problems with GDP as a measurement of well-being and alternatives to GDP, part 2”, accessed Jan. 23, 2015, www.freeeconhelp.com/.../problems-with-gdp-as-measurement-of.html.

  47. David Hume (2001 p. 49).

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Dr Anuradha Veeravalli for her comments on an earlier draft of this article which helped in formulating its structure.

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  1. Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Neetika Singh

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Singh, N. The Criterion of Legitimacy in a Government: Analysing Ian Shapiro’s Concept of Representative Democracy. J. Indian Counc. Philos. Res. 41, 103–116 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-023-00322-z

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