Henry Bertram Mayo,
D.Phil,
FRSC, (—) was a
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
political scientist
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. At the time of his death, he was Canada's oldest living
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Esta ...
, and professor emeritus at
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...
,
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
. Born in
Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fate
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
,
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
, Mayo taught at a number of universities, received multiple honorary degrees and was president of the
Canadian Political Science Association
The Canadian Political Science Association () is an organization of political scientists in Canada. It is a bilingual organization and publishes the bilingual journal ''Canadian Journal of Political Science''. The organization is headquartered in ...
.
Key ideas about democracy
''The definition of democracy''
In ''An Introduction to Democratic Theory'' (1960), Mayo argued that "a consistent and coherent theory of democracy" could be presented interms of a few "distinguishing principles."
* (1) ''Popular control of policy-makers,'' which required "choosing the policy-makers (representatives) at elections held at more or less regular intervals."
* (2) ''Political equality,'' which is "institutionalized as the equality of all adult citizens in voting" and, more specifically, that (a) "Every adult should have the vote", (b) "One person should have one vote", (c) "Each vote should count equally", and (d) "the number of representatives elected should be directly proportional to the number of votes cast for them."
* (3) ''Effectiveness of the popular control,'' which "entails a range of political freedoms. Among them are certainly the freedoms of speech, assembly, and organization, as well as die freedom to run for office."
* (4) ''Majority rule,'' such that "policies are made by representatives, on the majority principle."
Based on these four principles, Mayo proposed the following "working definition" of democracy: "a democratic political system is one in which public policies are made, on a majority basis, by representatives subject to effective popular control at periodic elections which are conducted on the principle of political equality and under conditions of political freedom."
''The value of democracy''
Mayo also argued that democracy was valuable for "inherent" and "instrumental" reasons.
He listed eight "inherent" reasons:
* (1) The peaceful voluntary adjustment of disputes
* (2) Ensuring peaceful change in a changing society
* (3) The orderly succession of rulers
* (4) The minimum of coercion
* (5) Diversity
* (6) The attainment of justice
* (7) The promotion of science
* (8) The freedoms found in a democracy
He discussed two "instrumental" reasons:
* (1) The maintenance of a free economy
* (2) The preservation of individual rights
Partial bibliography
"Newfoundland and Confederation in the Eighteen Sixties," ''Canadian Historical Review'', 1948.
''Democracy and Marxism'', Oxford University Press, 1955.
''An Introduction to Democratic Theory'', Oxford University Press, 1960.
''An Introduction to Marxist Theory'', Oxford University Press, 1955.
See also
*
Robert Dahl
Robert Alan Dahl (; December 17, 1915 – February 5, 2014) was an American Political philosophy, political theorist and Sterling Professor, Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University.
He established the pluralism (political the ...
*
Democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, H. B.
1911 births
2009 deaths
Canadian Rhodes Scholars
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Alumni of New College, Oxford
People from Fortune, Newfoundland and Labrador
Presidents of the Canadian Political Science Association
20th-century Canadian political scientists