Abstract
The elite theory of democracy has emerged out of two major concerns of its precursors: no theory of democracy until now has given leadership the importance it ought to have, and none has really settled the issue of whether the common man is up to the task of governing a modern and large society. From empirical facts, some theorists have argued that every single modern society is ruled by a class that knows better and has better skills to govern: the elite. Primarily aimed at explaining the on-going structure of our societies, the elite theory of democracy can also result in some normative statements. Indeed, the participative form of democracy is clearly rejected by the theorists, who argue that too much participation would actually weaken democracy rather than reassert it. They argue that masses are incompetent, and thus unable to act "in default of an initiative from without and from above".
