Democracy and Inclusion

Abstract

The success of the struggle for inclusive suffrage depends not only on the ability to mobilise support but also on the cogency of the theory underlying the claim that exclusions from suffrage are either unjust, undemocratic, or both. In one important respect the notion that democracy requires inclusion has achieved almost universal acceptance, most visibly in the notion that distinctions based on ethnicity, class, sex or race are illegitimate. In contrast, it appears less clear that democracy is compromised by suffrage restrictions based on age, criminal record, mental sanity and citizenship status. Do exclusions of that kind make the political community less democratic?