Robert Dahl — Verified

Instead of a single "majority" ruling, Dahl saw a messy competition between . Farmers vs. bankers. Environmentalists vs. unions. He called this theory Pluralism .

In Dahl’s view, power isn't held by a small elite (sorry, C. Wright Mills) nor by a fickle mob. Power is dispersed among thousands of interest groups. Because most people are passive on most issues, the groups who care the most about a specific policy tend to win—until another group pushes back. Dahl disliked the vague word "democracy" because it was too easy to abuse (e.g., "People’s Republic of North Korea"). Instead, he coined the term Polyarchy (meaning "rule by many") to describe real-world political systems like the US, UK, or Germany. robert dahl

When we talk about democracy, we usually stick to the basics: voting, majority rule, and "power to the people." But for decades, political scientists have wrestled with a thorny question: Who actually rules? Instead of a single "majority" ruling, Dahl saw