Critical Analysis: "The Spirit of Democracy" Essay

Equally important, the Atlantic Revolutions sparked the development of different political institutions. Initially, most revolutions began with the desire for further democracy. But, in some individual societies, this political idea transformed into different systems. After the French Revolution demonstrated the impact of human action, communism began to rise. To illustrate, communism in Russia was inspired by Karl Marx and surfaced with the pursuit of economic and political equality. Socialism stems from democracy because both political parties benefit the general public. However, socialism and communism are like extreme forms of democracy as they are established for the people; democracy is built by the people. In another case, communism also emerged in China. Chairman Mao Zedong’s rule resulted in extractive political and economic institutions. Because of this, China was still able to grow. This “authoritarian growth” can be described as a “bird in a cage”: “China’s economy was the bird; the party’s control, the cage, had to be enlarged to make the bird healthier and more dynamic, but it could not be unlocked or removed, lest the bird fly away” (Acemoglu, Daron, and James A. Robinson, 438). By this, the cage is able to expand but the bird is still limited from achieving true freedom. These political changes fostered equality

We know that democracies are common among the economically urbanized countries and rare between the very deprived ones. The reason we scrutinize this pattern is not that democracies are more probable to emerge, as a result, of economic development but that they are to a large extent more possible to survive if they occur to emerge in most urbanized countries. The paths to democracy are diverse. Indeed, they appear to follow no unsurprising pattern. But once democracy is conventional, for whatever reasons, its endurance depends on a few, easily particular, factors.

Democracy and the challenges it is facing has been the main topic in the field of international politics since some Authoritarian regimes have raised again as a great power after a long time of absence. In this essay, we will look at some of the challenges facing the international democracy based on the work of Azar Gat “ The Return Of Authoritarian Great Powers”. The article is presenting the author view on the rise of authoritarian regimes as the main challenge of liberal democracy. The main part of my essay will be an illustration and reflection on a number of arguments that have been brought by the author. Additionally and before concluding my piece I will establish my own argument as a critical response to the article or more specifically to the Economic efficiency argument brought by Azar Gat.

About a year ago i was going into town on a sunday afternoon. I went to walmart to do some shopping. When i walked in and seen this guy asking for some change. I had asked him what it was for, and he said food. Then he had mentioned he was a veteran. He was a pretty old guy too i felt super bad, we should not treat are veterans like that so here's what i think we should do.

Despite the many crises that the United States has faced historically, democracy has persisted. However, this is not to say that the system is secure or deeply rooted. In fact, based on the events of recent decades, it has been weakening. In How Democracies Die, Levitsky and Ziblatt provide examples of how American democracy has exemplified the positive and negative aspects of other global democracies of the past and present. Although the US is exceptional in some ways, with its longstanding democratic institutions and diverse population, it is more similar to others than different. Thus, the idea that few parallels can be drawn to other nations is disproven. The process of comparing each state is analogous to that of differentiating between

b. Articles of Confederation – first constitution of the US adopted during the last stages of the revolutionary war, created a system of government with most power lodged in the states and little in the central government. Ratified in 1781 by requisite number of the states; passed @ second continental congress in 1777

In his argument on the universal value of democracy Amartya Sen discusses the relationship between democracy and economic development. He notes that it is often claimed that nondemocratic systems are better at bringing about economic development than democratic ones. Sen disagrees with this claim. He asserts that this hypothesis is based on "very selective and limited information" (3). He admits that it is true that some disciplinarian states, like South Korea, Singapore, and postreform China, have had faster rates of economic growth than many less authoritarian ones, like India, Jamaica, and Costa Rica (3). However, he points out that this very selective evidence cannot be used to establish the general hypothesis that nondemocratic systems are better at bringing about economic development (3). "There is no convincing evidence that authoritarian governance and the suppression of political and civil rights are

Democracy: A political system in which citizens enjoy a number of basic civil and political rights, and in which their most important political leaders are elected in free and fair elections and accountable under a rule of law (26). In the studies we have undertaken, comparing and exploring various countries and systems politically, economically, and psychologically throughout the quarter, this outcry of democracy has prevailed as a main theme. Successful countries such as the United States and Great Britain are based upon such democratic ideals. It is no wonder that countries have striven more recently toward this goal of democratization. Both the Russian and Mexican revolutions prove that democracy is an attainable goal in the next

This nation's success lies in the hands of its people. America is extremely fortunate to live in a democracy, a government in which the citizens elect the leaders and representatives. The idea of it began in the Athens when an emperor wanted his people to be involved in creating rules and choosing overseers for their society. This idea became highly popular in the Middle Ages, but empires like the “Holy Roman Empire” overruled it for dictatorship, but people soon began to fight back (Karen Carr). America’s fight was to succeed from England in the revolutionary war in hopes of having the basic rights that democracy promises. The citizens demanded a voice in their government so they fought hard and though lives were lost, the United States won its independence from England. The actions, dedication, and perseverance of the citizens were the main reasons why this country gained its freedom. Citizens are the vital key to success so it is important for them to be active in electing proper officials, recognizing past mistakes and correcting current ones in today’s society.

Throughout the course of history, few nations have turned out, from a political standpoint, to seem as great as America has. One might argue that America's political status as one of the top nations is largely due to its solid governmental system. America's democratic republic has paved the way for the core of the nation, the American citizens, the shape the nation as they desire. America takes pride in its democracy, and as a result, it has become a nation where everyone single person has an equal opportunity to succeed.Supposedly. America's perception of being a "true" democracy is only an elongated fallacy that has only gotten worse over the course of time. If one was to really look back in detail over of history, they would see how many

Democracy has become the most widespread political form of government during the past decade, after the fall of all its alternatives. During the second part of the 20th century, the 3 main enemies of democracy, namely communism, fascism and Nazism, lost most of their power and influence. However, democracy is still only to be found in less than half of this world's countries. China with a fifth of the total population "had never experienced a democratic government" and Russia still doesn't have a well established democracy. By adopting a democratic perspective, 3 types of governments emerge, non-democratic, new democracies, and old democracies, and all have a different challenge to overcome: either to become democratic, to "consolidate"

Schedler argues that authoritarian regimes – particularly since the end of the Cold War era have been replaced by electoral authoritarian regimes that combine the façade of electoral democracy with systemic abuse of democratic procedures. They have reproduced institutional arrangements present in the democratic system, such as elections, the legislative and judicial powers, and independent local governments. However, these institution creations are never meant to become autonomous, rather manipulative in order to be instruments of pretentious delegation of power from the executive.

In his article, Democracy as a Universal Value, Amartya Sen asserts that democracy is a universal value. In order to develop his argument Sen needs to state his definition of democracy and define what he means by universal value. In the course of Sen's argument he gives his view of the relationship between democracy and the economy. He then defends his view of democracy as a universal value against a main argument that deals with cultural differences between regions.

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.

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