Authors: Bobbio, Matteucci, Pasquino
Summary: The entry defines pluralism in different contexts and according to different doctrines. Political pluralism sees society as composed of many groups and centers of power in actual or potential conflict with each other, all bent on limiting, contesting, or controlling the State's power. As a theme in political theory, pluralism opposes the concentration and unification of political power that are the chief features of the modern State. Pluralism also opposes every purely individualist conception of politics and society. Modern pluralism builds on the concept of intermediaries between the State and individuals, a concept most closely associated with Montesquieu.
The entry ends by describing several different types of pluralism. Socialist pluralism, exemplified by Proudhon, asserts the superiority of the community over the individual. Democratic pluralism, associated with Tocqueville and Dahl, sees multiple loci of power as a check against tyranny by any single group or interest. Christian Social pluralism, whose best-known advocates were Sturzo and Murri, views society organically, seeing different social groups as hierarchically arrayed.