DAHL - Pluralism Revisited
DAHL - Pluralism Revisited
DAHL - Pluralism Revisited
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Pluralism Revisited
Robert A. Dahl
191
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Comparative Politics January 1978
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Robert A. Dahl
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Comparative Politics January 1978
194
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Robert A. Dahl
195
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Comparative Politics January, 1978
196
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RobertA. Dahl
Organizational is ordinarily
pluralism a concomitant,
bothas causeandeffect,of
the liberalization
anddemocratizationof hegemonicregimes.
197
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Comparative Politics January 1978
198
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Robert A. Dahl
A particular
constellation
of organizational canproducea stablesystem
pluralism
in whichmutualvetoespreventthereductionof inequalities
and,moregenerally,
changesin the statusquo.
structural
199
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ComparativePolitics January 1978
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Robert A. Dahl
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ComparativePolitics January 1978
pletely. Let me call a special subsystem of this kind the "Center." Then
startingfrom any given situation, to decentralize means to increase the au-
tonomy of othersubsystemsin relationto the Center.By definition, decentrali-
zation also means a decrease in the Center's control of the subsystems. To
centralize means exactly the reverse.
Now it is sometimes arguedthat because organizationalpluralismleads to
unacceptableinequalities and prevents the adoption of policies designed to
reduceinequalities,the solutionis to reducethe autonomyof organizationsand
to increase the control of a Center. In relation to private organizationsthe
Center is ordinarilythe governmentof the state. In relation to governmental
organizations,the Centeris usuallythe leadershipof the governmentalbureau-
cratichierarchies.Advocatesof this solutiontypicallyproposegreatercentrali-
zation of control in the government and a correspondingreduction in the
autonomyof business firms and certainother organizations.Within the gov-
ernment,they advocategreatercentralizationof control in the chief executive
and a correspondingreductionin the autonomyof governmentbureaucracies.
Some advocates of the centralizingstrategyrecommendthe abandonmentof
polyarchy itself, arguing that polyarchy is inherently too pluralistic; they
recommendthe adoptioninsteadof a highly centralizedhegemonicregime and
a commandeconomy. Only so, they argue, is it possible to reduceunacceptable
inequalities in both the opportunitiesand rewardsthat are generatedby any
modern industrialor "post industrial"society.
Whether the solution of centralizationis intended to preserve and even
strengthenpolyarchy, or to transformpolyarchy into a hegemonic regime, it
faces one grave difficulty. As we have seen, centralizationmeans that the
autonomy of certain subsystems is reduced and the control of the Center is
increased. To increase the control of the Center requires that the political
resourcesof the Centerbe increasedrelativeto the resourcesof the subsystems.
If the Center is the central leadershipin the governmentof the state, as this
solution usually prescribes,these political resourceswill ordinarilyinclude an
increasein the access to the means of coercion availableto the centralleaders.
The more the subsystemsmust be deprivedof theirautonomyin orderto bring
about the reallocations necessary if greater equality is to be achieved, the
greatermust be the resourcesof control, including coercion, available to the
leaders at the Center. At the limit, subsystemswill have no autonomyand no
resources for resisting the control of the central leaders. -
To say thatothersubsystemshave little autonomyand little controlover the
Center is to say that the political system is based on a high degree of political
inequality. Since reciprocalcontrols by others are weak or absent, the incen-
tives of the centralleadersto reduceinequalitiesaregeneratedonly by theirown
consciences and ideology. Historically, over the long run these have been
weak, particularlyas new generationsof leaders succeed to top positions in a
centralized system. The leaders at the Center are free to redirect privileges
202
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Robert A. Dahl
203
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