S/P/25. To what extent was Schumpeter right to suppose that representative democracy is best explained as a method 'for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people's vote'?

Schumpeter (1952) regarded representative democracy as merely the means for acquiring political leaders who, once in power, would act autonomously of the 'masses.' Schumpeter's thought has been challenged on a number of accounts, particularly his disregard of the relevance of frequent elections. This essay will present Schumpeter's theory of democracy, criticisms of his theory and the alternatives, advocating that neither the "classical doctrine" of democracy or Schumpeter's minimalist conception of democracy is satisfactory in explaining the dynamics of representative democracy. Rather, this essay will propose that politicians are likely to adapt their objectives and proposals in order to be elected, and if they succeed, they will maintain an autonomy, which is, however, merely a partial autonomy, constrained by the desire to be re-elected.