Political Philosophy Podcast Do Elections Define Democracy? with Natasha Piano
Jul 26, 2025
Natasha Piano, an assistant professor at UCLA specializing in democratic theory, discusses the complexities of democracy in light of her book, Democratic Elitism. She critiques the conventional link between elections and democracy, urging for a broader understanding of representation. The conversation dives into Machiavelli’s thoughts on elite dominance and popular resistance, and the influence of right populism on voter behavior. Piano highlights the role of masculinity in political ideologies and the cyclical nature of institutional change, advocating for innovative reforms and trust between elites and the public.
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Risks of Equating Democracy with Elections
- Equating democracy with elections risks concealing plutocratic dominance in representative systems.
- It also empowers demagogues to claim unjustified democratic legitimacy from electoral wins.
Democracy as Anti-Plutocratic Power
- Democracy should be seen as a pluralistic principle limiting plutocratic power, not just electoral processes.
- External institutions must counterbalance elite consolidation to enable genuine democratic competition.
Elections Both Disperse and Obscure Power
- Elections can simultaneously disperse and obscure elite power consolidation.
- Parliamentary politics may hide alliances between economic, military, and political elites.
