Jeremy Bentham's ‘unusually liberal’ representative democracy

Jeremy Bentham is a philosopher who deserves a prominent position in the history of democratic ideas. He not only thought popular rule as a vehicle for materializing his vision of utilitarian society, but also gave us a detailed picture of the basic institutions of the form of democratic governance he envisaged. It is also noteworthy that in his radical system the people, who are the ultimate and undisputable source of all power, are protected from the authoritarian tendencies of state authorities not by a bill of constitutional rights but by a set of enhanced democratic powers that enable them to exercise strict control over their elected representatives. In this essay we present an outline of his ‘unusually liberal’ theory of democracy based on recently published texts and studies as well as a brief assessment of its strong and weak points.

► For Bentham representative democracy is the only form of government compatible with his utilitarianism.
► Bentham is one of the most uncompromising supporters of popular sovereignty.
► Many of the political institutions Bentham proposes are relevant to modern discussions about democracy.