Bernie Sanders In A Meritocratic Democracy

Bernie Sanders is a very progressive candidate compared to other candidates and to the U.S. public’s BPI(Bing Political Index compares presidential candidates’ public

There are many of us who are disillusioned by the American Political system, over the years we have become increasingly cynical, viewing politicians as extensions of Corporate America, the good OLE boys from the South and the Eastern Elite. For such politicians, politics itself was a life long destiny, full of ambition, finesse, and struggle for power, yet a severe lack

More specifically, the president. Almost one year ago, President Donald Trump completed his cabinet. While normally this is good, Trump filled his cabinet with billionaires who have more experience with money than politics. “Meet the Billionaires who run Trump’s Government” by Newsweek, expresses Trump’s way of running the country like a business, “The New York real estate developers now advising the president spent their professional lives in… city regulators, 50-story crane operators… responsible for the New York skyline…” (Burleigh). While businessmen who understand operational aspects of companies can be useful, this could result in decision making that does not focus on the wants and needs of the people. “Trump voters know they’ve had a government for billionaires… but to have one by billionaires means… setting the nation’s agenda and there is no curtain” (Burleigh). Trump’s choice in his cabinet members is full of businessmen similar to him, men who already have it all. Although these men may be able to manage their government position, hiring those with lots of money and little experience does not seem wise. Flaws like this can lead to even more issues within the justice system. Instead of hiring men with money, men who understand the political roles should be playing a bigger part. The government needs solid people to

Bernie Sanders once said “Finally, let [us] understand that when we stand together, we will always win. When men and women stand together for justice, we win. When black, white and Hispanic people stand together for justice, we win.” Bernie Sanders started as a young activist fighting to desegregate and end the Vietnam war, As he got older he dwelled into politics and became a self identified socialist; he competed against corporate backing and a corrupt political system yet remained true to his beliefs of Universal Health Care System, affordable education, better social security and welfare, the right for a woman to choose what she wants for her body, cares for the environment, but most importantly, Bernie Sanders believes in America.

Every day people wake up, get ready for the day, and go to work or school. By the end of the day, these individuals may end up failing a test, get demoted, receive a raise in their salaries, or get selected as employee of the month. The answer to whether or not these achievements and failures are a product of these people’s merit and effort are often questioned. Looking at the American society, there are many issues that occur which keep members of society from being able to say that these achievements and failures were due to their merit and effort. The issues that are able to support this idea that American society is unfair and that an individual’s fate is not largely a product of his or her merit and effort are income trends, the gender

Society is a difficult concept to grasp. Corruption is all around the world. Society is a global pandemic, not just in the U.S.. The public minds are manipulated daily. News articles, rumors and television all are sources that can be manipulated. “The immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation. (Hamilton)” What Hamilton is saying is that we need people who know when a person is not trying to deliberate

When you hear the word “Democratic Socialist”, who pops up in your mind? Most people probably think of Bernie Sanders. He is an amazing Democratic Socialist, but what was it that helped him make it up to his point? What is his life story? How would the world be without him? What is his personality? Because we all know you don’t just wake up and become an extraordinary Democrat and presidential candidate.

How is the American meritocracy able to flourish as an elite selection mechanism when systems that serve the elite and disadvantage the majority non-elite are despised by the great majority of citizens? The answer, a simple one, is blindness. The elite selection mechanism could successfully hide behind the face of a meritocracy. Meritocratic systems are so highly regarded because they preach a value that is universally cherished, that prosperity is achieved by working hard. In the American Dream, the ultimate meritocratic ideal, success is not determined by ones origins but by how hard one works. This dream declares that all people, penniless or wealthy, have the opportunity to achieve upward mobility as long as they put their head down and work hard. The American Dream was created to serve all people. The American meritocracy was not.

The United State is definitely not a society where there is meritocracy because of the class system within our country. Class plays a major role in which the rich have access to higher education, jobs and opportunities than compared to the lower classes. A great example of this would be an upper class in the United State, better known as the one percent. The upper class is a numerous small group with wealthy member, which is said to make up about 1 percent of the population. They are the upper class of United State, who owns a large amount of the money in the country. The class system is something that is very well known as stated by William Domhoff “People are very aware of basic economic and educational differences and they can size up social standing fairly well from such outward signs as speech patterns, mannerisms, and style of dress, but the

Do Americans believe meritocracy exists in America? Do talented people who work hard earning the reward that they deserve? Do talented people have enough challenges for their promotion that they merit? Living in the United States, many people think meritocracy exists because people expect about the opportunities to learn, to work, to earn, and to deserve. People also think they may have chances to earn what they deserve because the trusting of meritocracy. However, talented people do not receive any adequate reward as they expect. Meritocracy does not exist in America and becomes a myth for many debates. Moreover, most talented people in America who work hard still have fewer resources, less promotion,

The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case as perpetuated by class inequalities. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776. Today, American democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, which are purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper class has a monopoly over the political influence and are the sole benefactors from public policies due to their influence over the policy making process. The upper class has an overall benefit from class inequality, as it greatly impacts American ‘democracy’ through the significant power gained through money and status, leadership roles that impact government, and the influence in the policymaking process that creates upper class advantages.

In the case that politicians do not live up to the ideals and criteria they were chosen for, a merit of democracy is that it allows the citizenry to punish these officials – not necessarily through extreme forms like impeachment, but perhaps by simply electing someone else in the forthcoming election. While, as previously addressed, not all participants in the election process vote based on truthful information, some citizens do. It must be remembered that not only those in authority

Income inequality is a phenomenon that is undeniably real in our current world, and more specifically, the present United States. Canon describes how the gap between the elite and the poor has been consistently growing for many years and continues to widen (189). Whether the differences between the top and the bottom are a threat to current society is another story. Does income inequality undermine a democracy? Ray Williams argues that societies are strongest when they have a higher rate of equality while George Will challenges that inequality is the very basis of what make democratic processes. A. Barton Hinkle takes a Libertarian approach to the idea that inequality is threatening to democracy and how it can be fixed. Some threats that each article addressed were economic impacts, civility, and fairness. Overall, there is a definite need to evaluate whether the United States democracy is being threatened due to the continuous rise of the elites and the fall of the working class.

Prevalent flaws within most modern democracies are evident in their social and economic systems. One such problem, in a system that advocates freedom to do whatever you please, is the consequential wealth disparity (Wong, Oct. 24 lecture, tutorial). Aristotle once said that, “democracy is the form of government in which… the free are the many and the rich are the few”. This highlights a paradox of democracy in that it attempts to be equal to all, yet often the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer, and an increasing wealth divide will influence governance. Constant writes (pg. 12), “wealth is a power more readily available at any moment… more

There is a fundamental problem with democracy in Canada. The problem is rooted within our federal parliamentary voting-system. However, there is a promising solution to this issue. Canada should adopt the proportional representation system, known as the party list format (party-list PR), at the federal level if we wish to promote the expansion of democracy. If Canada embraces proportional representation in the battle for electoral reform then we will see beneficial results. Party-list PR will increase voter participation, which in turn will create more accurate representation in the parliament and ultimately a positive shift away from our disturbingly partisan dominated political culture.