Benefits And Limitations Of Democracy Essay

Democracy is known as a system of government when all eligible people of a state can voice their own opinions as well as elect representatives. Democracy is not once mentioned in The Declaration of Independence. Pros of a democracy are, its by the people and for the people. Democracy is meant for everybody to be eligible to vote and they are able to vote. The people are also able to participate in what they think, feel , and voice about the political, social, and economic issues that are presented to them. It's in the people's best interest not just the governments. The goal is to find solutions with decision-makers best interest. The main goal is to is find solutions that are best for the people and regulate conflicts between states and government.  A democracy imposes equality, the people's votes carry the same weight, which makes all individuals to be heard and make them feel as if their opinion is important. Other than in elections of the state a citizens

Democracy is a Greek invention, first practiced in the ancient Greek city of Athens. In the late 20th century, Democracy triumphed over all other major ideological systems, so overpowering was its victory that former critics now began to advocate their own democratic credentials. The vigorous rise of democracy has continued ever since and today there are over 112 self-proclaimed democratic countries around the world(Kekic 2007), whether all these countries are truly democratic or not is debatable and which will be discussed further in the essay. Important questions arise here: will democracies face a formidable opponent in the future? Have democracies remained true to their essence? or have they been breached by competing ideologies? A large majority of these 112 countries are not true democracies, as they do not adhere to the basic democratic credentials of :of the people, by the people and for the people. Serious revisions are needed in the workings of the modern state if democracy, in its true form, is to remain the dominant system. Whether democracy even in its purest form is flawed or not is a different question, one that I will not address in this essay.

Democracy, as most people think of it today, did not exist during the first few decades of U.S. history.

The United States does not have a direct democracy, it is a Republic. Our form of government was created by the founding fathers of America. The founding fathers were educated and scholarly men they were the political leaders of the colonies. These men developed their own ideas about what government should be which influenced the writing of the US constitution. They used their knowledge of past governments and political philosophy to shape the history and government in the United States. Some founders were Thomas Jefferson, author of The Declaration of Independence. George Washington who led the army against the British in the Revolutionary War and who eventually became the first president. James Madison was known for being the father of the constitution because he contributed the most in it, he included the Virginia Plan and The Bill of Rights. Direct Democracy was used by the Greeks in Athens influenced the founders to write the US Constitution in 1788.

In the nineteenth century, when the influences of a recent democratic society began to spread among the Americans, the equality of gender, the role of women, and the family began to change into an individualistic culture. In the United States, democracy opens up new beliefs on equality among the role of gender. In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville argues on how Americans were able to see the roles of gender more equally important than the Europeans. The Americans recognize the roles of the women and men important in being part as a contribution in the community. Each of the gender contains the same understanding that makes the American gender undetectable. For example, Tocqueville notice, in the United States, that the American

Ever since the advent of democratic systems of political decision-making in Ancient Greece, one of the primary concerns about democratic functioning has been the principle of majority rule. Whether a majoritarian system is divisive in its essence, paves the way for demagoguery, or obstructs minority groups from having a fair say in public affairs, criticisms of majority rule have and still persist nowadays. Indeed, notorious political figures such as Hamilton, Madison or Mill expressed concerns about the potential threat of a tyranny of the majority which would infringe on citizens’ fundamental rights. Moreover and recently, the outcome of the Brexit referendum has renewed the debate around majority rule and its flaws. However, within the context of the contemporary world in which democracy prevails, majority rule is the norm many states follow. Why is this so; how can majority rule be defended and what are its limits? In order to provide an articulate and coherent answer, it is first necessary to lay down some premises to the functioning of the democratic process. Then, after arguing for majority rule, its flaws shall be assessed before eventually drawing potential alternatives from such dysfunctions.

“The strongest democracies flourish from frequent and lively debate, but they endure when people of every background and belief find a way to set aside smaller differences in service of a greater purpose.” This quote was said by former President Barack Obama at a press conference back in 2009. The United States of America was the underdog in the American Revolutionary War, but with the help of the strong-willed people who migrated over to this forward-thinking country and the support of our French allies, we won our independence. While residence of the red, white, and blue might have thought that the war was the end of our problems, in hindsight, it was only the beginning. We built our nation to be the best example of democracy on the planet, but it took a long time before that affirmation became true. Many lives have been lost fighting for our democracy. Before the Civil War, to call our great country a democracy would be a dishonest statement. According to Merriam-Webster, Democracy is “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” During this time, slaves, women of all races, and white men in the original thirteen colonies who did not own land could not vote. These people had no say in the government and that is not a democracy. The United States of America was not a true democracy after we declared independence in 1776.

Since the middle ages, corporatism has taken a leading role in countries by involving different organizations into a group of people to develop cooperative associations on the basis of shared interests. In Europe, corporatism was the main objective of people in a country. For example, Lewis Mumford note that the basic society "was based on classes and ranks" and there was no guaranteeing demand through security and no power that did not recognize the legal obligations of a corporate profile (Mumford). Once democracy began to spread and become definite in the United States, the Americans began to experiment with new ideas and values. In America, corporatism began to evolve into a new system where the knowing of freedom and justice was

Due to the nature of democratic system where the decision is made according to the majority rule, many critics argue the possibility of tyranny by majority where the group with the most number of members rules in favor of its preference over the interests of other groups who are considered to be minority with less members. Furthermore, people fear whether such majority-favored interest will be forced up on minority groups who do not agree with such view of the majority. Such takeover of majority in politics is what we call “tyranny of majority” However, others believe that minority group can also become a tyrant in a society, triumphing over the majority of a society. Contrary to the widespread fear of

Democracy is that type of government in which the decision force of a state is legitimately vested not in a specific class or classes, but rather in the individuals from the group all in all. it is a legislature in which the will of he greater part of subjects tenets without overriding the rights o the minority. The perfect of the vote-based system is that of equity, flexibility, and welfare for all. it includes the cancelation of the exceptionally type of confinement and benefit. Antiquated majority rule government depended on the immediate cooperation of the masses in broad daylight issues. Present day vote based system is illustrative in character and it requests widespread grown-up suffrage, as well as the dynamic investment of the general

Democracy is a unique type of government, and the purpose of this essay is to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses that a democratic government provides. I will detail that many components of this type of society are both strengths and weakness as each component has beneficial aspects as well as unavoidable pitfalls.

America is synonymous with the word freedom, even being dubbed “the land of the free” by its own national anthem. But, what makes America so much more “free” than other countries? Some would argue that it’s America’s system of democracy, despite the fact that democratic governments are now the most common form of rule found in countries around the world. American democracy, although effective, is not the best democracy style for all nations; because, like many other countries, its government contains many flaws, including: its low voter turnout, two-party political parties creating division and deadlock in congress, and government positions of power being bankrolled and controlled by the rich.

Winston Churchill once remarked that “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried”. In agreement with his statement, this paper will examine the problems of democratic governments using specific examples, and compare it to the failure of fascist governments in Nazi Germany and Italy and communist governments in the Soviet Union and China.

Throughout history different types of instrumental regimes have been in tact so civilizations remained structured and cohesive. As humanity advanced, governments obligingly followed. Although there have been hiccups from the ancient times to modern day, one type of government, democracy, has proven to be the most effective and adaptive. As quoted by Winston Churchill, democracy is the best form of government that has existed. This is true because the heart of democracy is reliant, dependent, and thrives on the populaces desires; which gives them the ability for maintaining the right to choose, over time it adjusts and fixes itself to engulf the prominent troubling issues, and people have the right of electing the person they

Churchill’s claim that “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried” is deliberately provocative and intended to challenge the reader’s simplistic ideal that democracy is without faults. There are an estimated 114 democracies in the world today (Wong, Oct 3rd lecture). A figure that has increased rapidly in the last century not necessarily because democracy is the best form of government, but primarily for reason that in practice, under stable social, economic and political conditions, it has the least limitations in comparison to other forms of government. Be it the transparency of a democratic government or the prevalence of majority rule, all subdivisions of democracy benefit and hinder its