Schumpeterian Elite Democracy Theory Study

Schumpeter's elitist theory of democracy is a turning point in the development ofdemocracy theory. This dissertation sorts out its inherent logic. Schumpeter's definition ofdemocracy, his critique of the classical theory of democracy, the theory of "HumanNature in politic" and his own theory of the democratic process has internally consisted atheoretical system, being normative obviously. The theory of" Human Nature in politic "is the cornerstone of the system, but the theory is fundamentally metaphysical assertion.Owing to the lack of a credible theory of observation, the credibility of the "facts" whichsupporting his theory is in doubt. Therefore, Schumpeter's theory of democracy seems tohave lost empirical features and can not be shown false. But this is not good reason for usto reject this theory, since these problems exists in almost all democratic theory. It is adilemma that we have not any guides to tell us how to choose in these theory ofdemocracy which are not perfect. To solve this problem, Lakatos's "Methodology ofscientific research programmes" is being used to assess Schumpeter's elitist theory ofdemocracy and its competitor, the "classical" theory of democracy. Note a single theorybut a theory system is being assess in the competition. The key to the competition isresearch programmes's ability of forecasting "innovative" facts. As the theory ofdemocracy itself may become part of public knowledge to change the people's politicalbehavior, the forecasts is closely linked with what happened during the actual politicalstruggle. It make us more difficult to determine the merits of research programmes, butthe democratic theory is appropriately combined with the political practice. Finally, howto respond to Schumpeter's challenge to democratic theory is being discussed, thestrategies of theory development and possible directions are being proposed.