Abstract

The main aim of this work is to articulate and develop a conception of political equality in a democracy. The first part is devoted to the explication and criticism of certain conceptions of political equality as they appear, and as they are justified by several main democratic theories. The principle of political equality defended in this work is procedural. It holds that in a democracy each member should have a fair equality of opportunity to participate effectively in determining the laws and rules, or in the selection of representatives who will make them. ;Certain conditions must be satisfied and members of a democratic society must have certain means in order to enjoy a fair equality of opportunity in the political sphere. Members should have certain political rights, and they should also enjoy social rights; a right to a democratic education, a right to an employment, and to a certain minimum income. ;Emphasizing the close and reciprocal relationship between the social and economic spheres and the political sphere, some reasons are offered for reducing social and economic inequalities. For the same reasons and others capitalism is rejected as an economic order that is incompatible with political equality in a democracy. Instead a democratic economic order based on self-governed enterprises is suggested. ;In the last chapter I discuss the political institutional arrangements most compatible with the principle of political equality. Direct democracy on the local level, public financing of the political competition for public office based on a voucher system, a mixed voting system which combines elements of a district-based system, and a proportional representation system, referendum, and an accountable bureaucracy subject to democratic controls, are some of the arrangements offered in this work. The work ends with a discussion concerning the applicability and the limitations of this conception of political equality