Comparison Of Democracy And Plato's Electoral System In Canada

Canada’s friendly neighbor to the South, the US, has an electoral system that is composed of 3 separate elections, one of them deciding the head of state. The president elected by the people and he or she is the determining person of the country’s political system. In the US runs like a majority system” In Canada, however, elections are held slightly differently. Citizens vote for a Member of Parliament in a 308-seat house and candidates win not by a majority, unlike in the US, but by a plurality. This means that a candidate can actually win by simply having more votes than the other candidates. This method of representative democracy, in general, does not cause too much controversy in a global scope but has

The issue of electoral reform has become more important than ever in Canada in recent years as the general public has come to realize that our current first-past-the-post, winner-take-all system, formally known as single-member plurality (SMP) has produced majority governments of questionable legitimacy. Of the major democracies in the world, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom are the only countries that still have SMP systems in place. Interestingly enough, there has been enormous political tension and division in the last few years in these countries, culminating with the election results in Canada and the USA this year that polarized both countries. In the last year we have seen

The Canadian Prime Minister presents the illusion that this so-called democratic Canada is run by the will of the people and attempts to maintain this image, yet the truth is that the power stays

The Canadian voting system is called, “First past the Post”. This electoral system only runs fair if there is a total of 2 candidates. In that way, the chance of winning is split into two, therefore majority of the voters are taken into consideration.

Although Canadian electoral system has always undergone periodic reforms, new challenges always accompany electoral changes and therefore the system should be consistently reformed to meet new circumstances.The current electoral system in Canada is a product of a series of electoral changes that have always taken place since the foundation of the Canadian confederation in the mid 1880s. During the early years, the rights of individuals to vote were significantly limited as only white males had the right to vote but only after meeting certain requirements. A secret ballot was unheard, and it was only after a number of changes were implemented that all social groups in Canada were given the right to vote. Even after these changes, electoral

     In the report by Paul Howe and David Northrup titled, “Strengthening Canadian Democracy: the Views of Canadians” Policy Matters 1:5, Canadians attitudes towards government including questions about electoral system reform, representation and the rate of veter turnout.(Howe & Northrup, 2000) After reading, this report it is clear that many Canadians find many issues of their government to be unacceptable. One of the most menacing concerns is in the form that government attains office. The voting process, the form in which Canadians are represented by their Members of Parliament, and the first past the post method of election.

Let us carry this line of thought back to the issue of democracy. As Socrates suggested in Plato’s

When evaluating the liberal democracy or constitutional monarchy in Canada it is imperative to identify that the Canadian governing system cannot unambiguously be either correct or incorrect. Hence, Canada’s democratic system functions well enough; nonetheless it would further benefit from adopting a Nordic democratic-socialist model as well as adopting a proportional representation electoral system. A Nordic democratic system would benefit the citizens by providing them with universal health care, closely similar wages, free and inexpensive education, public pension plans, and virtually free trade. Second, if Canada is to adopt a proportional representation system the citizens will be better represented. Despite these flaws in the liberal

In the present era, the democratic government is mostly liked by the people as this is also known as "People 's Government". This paper seeks to better understanding of the democracy in Canada and this also tell us about various kind of democracies and he type of democracy present in canada and it also develop our understanding about strenghts and weakness of canadian democracy. Also, it tell us about the rights people have in canada.

Wren writes that the idea of the appropriate leaders "was an initial fiction that was "created or invented in response to the challenges of societal governance"¦" (p.13) Wren states that Plato was particularly astute in regards to "implications for leaders in a democracy." (p.14) In a democracy, according to Wren "the people do not recognize what is best for them, particularly with respect to who should lead them." (2007, p.14) Plato utilized allegorical methods to describe the problems of leading a democracy stating that the people "honor as a good and profoundly wise person any obsequious flatterer who"¦can minister agreeable to their humors, which he is clever enough to anticipate." (Wren, 2007, p.14)

With the rise of democratic power in the world’s societies, comes also many problems that plague the citizens in those societies with regards of how the government uses and applies that democratic power. The structure of the Canadian government is an example, as are many other democratic organizations, of how despite the fact that the power is elected by the people of Canada, it also has created an unbalanced entity that creates somewhat of a disadvantage to the citizens. Within the fundamental documents that grant the people of Canada the rights and freedoms they are entitled to as well as outline the extent of the government’s power, also provide the government the ability to veto bills that were voted in by the population. In addition, the

In The Republic of Plato, Plato, in addition to sharing his views on justice, shares his views on democracy using a fictionalized Socrates to outline the most pressing issues. Plato’s views on democracy are negative; he believes democracy to be bred from a response to inequality of wealth and to heighten all of humanities worst traits. Plato believes democracy leads to unequipped leaders who hold offices and power without the necessary traits and preparation.

In the contemporary world, democracy is one of the most progressive system of government that states freedom as a core value. Democracy is based on the free expression of people’s opinions, points of view as well as their opposition to the government actions. Citizens have a great control over the political events taking place in their country because through the elections they can select the right candidate who will be able to represent their interests. Core values of the democracy such as freedom, equality, pursuit of happiness are similar in different countries. However, the implementation of democracies may vary. USA and Canada are two big and prosperous countries that can be a prime example of how democracies may vary despite all the similarities. There are three major differences between US democracy and Canadian democracy such as consensus or in other words substantive goals of political actions, checks and balances or how do different branches of government work, and the last but not least federalism in regards to the division of power between federal government and territorial entities.

When evaluating the liberal democracy or constitutional monarchy in Canada it is important to recognize that the Canadian governing system cannot simply be correct or incorrect. Hence, Canada’s democratic system functions decently; nonetheless it would further benefit from adopting a Nordic democratic-socialist model as well as adopting a proportional representation electoral system. A Nordic democratic system would benefit the citizens by providing them with universal health care, closely similar wages, free and cheaper education, public pension plans, and virtually free trade. Second, If Canada is to adopt a proportional representation system the citizens will be more represented, subsequently no votes will be wasted. Despite these flaws

Plato was a mentor of Aristotle lending ideas to his student about composition and operation of citizens, city state, and political regimes. Although Aristotle criticized Plato’s notion of ranking democracy at a fourth position out of five competing systems of government, he agreed with Plato that democracy is the corrupt form of government as it violates justice of proportionality. The concept of justice of proportionality is to answer who is the most deserving. This is explained in an analogy of whoever deserves the best flute. A rich or a handsome man have no business with the flute, but the best flute player does. Similarly, in political competition, according to Plato, the man most deserving to rule is the either a philosophers king or for Aristotle, the most educated man in the field of politics.