individual or a narrow group would have started
undermining the foundations of pluralistic political
institutions, and the true measure of pluralism is precisely
its ability to resist such attempts. Pluralism also enshrines
the notion of the rule of law, the principle that laws should
be applied equally to everybody—something that is
naturally impossible under an absolutist monarchy. But the
rule of law, in turn, implies that laws cannot simply be used
by one group to encroach upon the rights of another.
What’s more, the principle of the rule of law opens the door
for greater participation in the political process and greater
inclusivity, as it powerfully introduces the idea that people
should be equal not only before the law but also in the
political system. This was one of the principles that made it
difficult for the British political system to resist the forceful
calls for greater democracy throughout the nineteenth
century, opening the way to the gradual extension of the
franchise to all adults.
Second, as we have seen several times before, inclusive
political institutions support and are supported by inclusive
economic institutions. This creates another mechanism of
the virtuous circle. Inclusive economic institutions remove
the most egregious extractive economic relations, such as
slavery and serfdom, reduce the importance of monopolies,
and create a dynamic economy, all of which reduces the
economic benefits that one can secure, at least in the short
run, by usurping political power. Because economic
institutions had already become sufficiently inclusive in
Britain by the eighteenth century, the elite had less to gain
by clinging to power and, in fact, much to lose by using
widespread repression against those demanding greater
democracy. This facet of the virtuous circle made the
gradual march of democracy in nineteenth-century Britain
both less threatening to the elite and more likely to
succeed. This contrasts with the situation in absolutist
regimes such as the Austro-Hungarian or Russian empires,
where economic institutions were still highly extractive and,
in consequence, where calls for greater political inclusion
later in the nineteenth century would be met by repression
because the elite had too much to lose from sharing power.
Finally, inclusive political institutions allow a free media
to flourish, and a free media often provides information