POL100: Introduction to Politics

Questions on Schumpeter

What does Schumpeter mean when he claims that there is no "common good," and that "ultimate values -- our conceptions of what life and what society should be -- are beyond the range of mere logic" (144)? Do you find this claim persuasive?

Schumpeter argues that citizens in modern democratic countries are rationally ignorant, or that they "expend[] less disciplined effort on mastering a political problem than . . . on a game of bridge" (147). Why does Schumpeter make this claim? Do you agree? Why or why not?

What is Schumpeter referring to when he claims that in political matters, citizens will "relax [their] usual moral standards . . . and occasionally give in to dark urges which the conditions of private life help [them] to repress" (147)?

Schumpeter notes that "the ways in which issues and the popular will on any issue are being manufactured is exactly analogous to the ways of commercial advertising" (148). Do you agree with this claim? Why does Schumpeter make this argument? And what conditions allow "popular will" to be "manufactured" in this way?

What is Schumpeter's definition of democracy? (See page 149)

Schumpeter argues that "the department store cannot be defined in terms of its brands and a party cannot be defined in terms of its principles" (152). What does he mean here?

What are two "conditions for the success of democracy" according to Schumpeter? (See 153-4)