Jeremy Bentham's Theory of Representative Democracy

There is a renewed interest in the concept of representation and its relationship to democracy, both in political theory and the history of political thought. Yet, despite the fact that he is one of the few thinkers to theorise representative democracy as his preferred form of government explicitly, Jeremy Bentham is conspicuously absent from current scholarly work in these fields. This thesis contends that Bentham put forward an original, realist theory of representative democracy that ought to be taken seriously. Chapter I sets out the primary historiographical frames through which Bentham has been viewed, and why these have led to a negative appraisal of his political thought. Chapter II suggests why this negative assessment is unjustified and argues that the key to understanding the sophistication of his theory of representative democracy is to grasp his notion of the people as a “useful fictitious entity” – a theoretical perspective that set out in his mind both the limits of popular politics and the primary challenges to be addressed in political theory. Chapter III considers Bentham’s understanding of representative government as a positive good and a consequence of the nature of the people, but as pathologically liable to tend towards tyranny in and of itself. Chapter IV sets out why Bentham believed popular self-rule was an unrealistic, defective, and anarchical solution to the pathological tendencies of representation. Chapter V outlines Bentham’s theory of realist democracy, based on a dualistic relationship between the people and their rulers, popular sovereignty and the continuous influence of public opinion, and designed to mitigate the twin evils of anarchy and tyranny. Chapter VI considers the contemporary relevance of Bentham’s theory of representative democracy, particularly to the school of political realism. A concluding Chapter places Bentham in several scholarly debates taking place today around the history of political thought, the nature of political realism, and the concept of representation.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Vitali, James

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Kenny, Michael

• Bentham
• Democracy
• Realism
• Representation

Licence

• https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.91021

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/343595