Parliament the Mirror of the Nation: Representation, Deliberation, and Democracy in Victorian Britain (Ideas in Context, Series Number 119)

In Contemporary Politics And Political Theory, Democracy Is Often Associated With Descriptive Representation. Whether It Goes Under This Name Or Such Cognate Labels As The Politics Of Presence, Indicative Representation, Or Simply Group Representation, It Has Become Commonplace To Treat Concern About The Presence Of A Range Of Social Groups In Legislatures And Other Institutions As Intrinsic To A Commitment To Democracy Itself. Today, Anxieties About A Democratic Deficit Often Stem From A Complaint That The Composition Of Political Bodies Does Not Reflect The Important Divisions Within Society At-large-- Diversity Without Democracy, The Theory Of The Variety Of Suffrages, Part One : Institutions And Sociologies -- Diversity Without Democracy, The Theory Of The Variety Of Suffrages, Part Two : Values And Criticisms -- Democracy, Diversity, And Contestability : Democracy Against The Variety Of Suffrages -- Diversity With Democracy? Proportional Representation, Part One : Concepts And Techniques -- Diversity With Democracy? Proportional Representation, Part Two : The Debate On Pr's Moral And Political Effects. Gregory Conti. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The notion of 'representative democracy' seems unquestionably familiar today, but how did the Victorian era - the epoch when the modern democratic state was made - understand democracy, parliamentary representation, and diversity? In the famous nineteenth-century debates about representation and parliamentary reform, two interlocked ideals were of the greatest importance: descriptive representation, that the House of Commons 'mirror' the diversity that marked society, and deliberation within the legislative assembly. These ideals presented a major obstacle to the acceptance of a democratic suffrage, which it was widely feared would produce an unrepresentative and un-deliberative House of Commons. Here, Gregory Conti examines how the Victorians conceived the representative and deliberative functions of the House of Commons and what it meant for parliament to be the 'mirror of the nation'. Combining historical analysis and political theory, he analyses the fascinating nineteenth-century debates among contending schools of thought over the norms and institutions of deliberative representative government, and explores the consequences of recovering this debate. Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Note on the Text 11 Abbreviations 12 Introduction 15 1 Diversity without Democracy: The Theory of the Variety of Suffrages 27 2 Diversity without Democracy: The Theory of the Variety of Suffrages 91 3 Democracy, Diversity, and Contestability: 169 4 Diversity with Democracy? Proportional Representation 207 5 Diversity with Democracy? Proportional Representation 288 Conclusion 373 Bibliography 380 PARLIAMENT,THE,MIRROR,OF,THE,NATION