A Critique of Robert E. Goodin's Stars to Steer By
A Critique of Robert Goodin’s Stars to Steer By Political Science 2200-001 Douglas College Dayna Wilson [300113188] 26 September 2021 Word count: 862 Oh, to live in the world that Robert E. Goodin imagines. As Mr. Goodin sees it, the principles of representative democracy are inherently inferior to those of oligarchical governance. Harkening back to Platonic ideals of old, Goodin posits that rather than basing policy decision on public opinion and collective response, elected officials should rely instead on their own internal understanding of the concept of ‘The Good.’ Defining said philosophical concept of Good in concrete terms as “good (or have merit) independently of any desire that people may or may not have for them” (243), Goodin indicates that it is the responsibility of political elites to identify what he calls merit goods and impose them upon the population at large wheth