David T. Risser

The meaning and moral implications of voting and nonvoting in a representative democracy are outlined and discussed. A conception of voting as a forward-looking, conditional shared responsibility is developed and defended. This conception reflects an understanding of democratic politics in which the supreme strategic advantage is power to affect "the conflict of conflicts", that is, the ability to influence the shape and content of the dominant political agenda. This conception is also shown to support a consequentialist approach to distributive justice and specifically, to require greater economic equality.

Pluralism is an essential feature of liberal democratic theory and practice and rests upon the fundamental value of tolerance. Today, commitment to various forms of constitutional representative democracy appears to be widespread, and globilization has diminished the political, economic, and cultural significance of borders to some degree. But concurrently, in a trend which seems to have accelerated since the end of the Cold War, there has been a marked increase in many areas around the world of conflict, tormoil, and violence rooted in ethnic, religious, and regional identities. This trend, a sort of 21st century balkanization, is a serious threat to pluralism. This chapter defines pluralism and argues for its advantages. It also presents an argument against one influential approach to handling identity-based activities and claims, which advocates recognition of special group rights and privileges. The chapter concludes with the proposal of conditions conducive to the well-being and expansion of pluralism, and with suggestions for the kinds of public policies likely to foster such conditions.

The participation of its citizens in the making of public policy is the defining feature of a democratic regime and represents popular sovereignity in action. There are a number of serious problems which threaten the quality or even the legitimacy of the democratic process. The focus of this entry is on four of the most important problems or flaws in democratic politics, particularly democratic politics in the U.S. These four are (1) political agenda formation, (2) the scope and bias of the interest group system, (3) the power of elites, and (4) the disporportionate power of for-profit corporations.

The article begins with a view of recent developments in the discipline of business law. A model useful in the study of business ethics is presented. Business ethics is the philosophical examination of the body of values and conceptions that influence business decision making as well as being pervasive components of the social environment in which businesses operate. Our model is a four-part framework for approaching business ethics which is sensitive to its implications for business law. The model's four parts are: (1) ethical theory, (2) institutional frameworks, (3) organizational cultures, and (4) individual moral choice and responsibility. Topics, issues, and kinds of material appropriate for approaching each of these four are presented, and a list of scholarly articles, books, and court cases, is included as a source of additional classroom material.