Related to Obama Care and healthcare reform. determine which of the three modern theories of democracy (popular, elite, pluralism) best explains the nature of electoral democracy in the US when looking at the health care reform debate.
Discuss the different ways of understanding democracy (the three theories) and tell us which theory best explains how the past four elections functioned with respect to health reform.
Choose the theory that does the worst job of explaining the democratic process and explain why, drawing on specific examples from the health care debate in the various election cycles.
You'll need to cover: Who should be the primary actor (voter, interest group, elite) according to the theory and what evidence do you have that this actor was not relevant?
What is the source of power that actor is supposed to have and may have in other circumstances and what evidence do you have that they didn't wield it in this case?
Choose the theory that does the second best job of explaining the democratic process and repeat the above Do the above demonstrating the strength of the theory you argue does the best job of explaining the democratic process.
What are the implications for democracy considering the explanatory strength of the theory you showed to be the best?
If you would prefer that the country functioned differently, what would have to change?