E&Z chapter 14- Q1a.
The representative democracy theory is supposed to support the democracy theory that states that democracy is a form of government in which the people have the ultimate power. The people elect representatives to make decisions for them, but in many ways this system, or theory, does not work. Some of the most important decisions such as war & peace, and economic & forign policies, are not made by the people. Politicians are known to decieve the public especially when they are trying to cover up illegal operations, mistakes, and or undemocratic actions. Congress holds "secret meetings" and even the president will go long portions of time with out holding a press conference to let the people know what is going on. Another reason that the representative theory is misleading, is that in order to be a running candidate for almost any office you must have wealth or means to wealth. That means candidates only represent the wealthy or powerful. Defenders of this theory might respond by saying that anyone can run for something as long as they are willing and able to obtain contributions, donations, and funds. I think for the most part the representative democracy theory has a lot of holes in it and that the representatives only represent a portion of the people, and that portion is mainly the wealthy.