Democracy In The United States

From the early 1840s to the present day, a democracy can be described as a flawed establishment which has been shaped by the power of wealth and control, complex social relations, and most importantly the people’s desire to live a fulfilling life. Throughout this time period the principles of democracy, such as equality, protection of the people’s interest, and promotion of human rights were shifting in order to increase the democracy efficiency. Therefore the continued importance of the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and Constitution remain significant since, in American today, democracy is a system that is continuously being shaped by the people within it.

What is democracy? Democracy is a form of government that vest the power onto the people (Barbour & Wright, 2016). When a state actor’s form of government is democracy, the citizens vote for their leaders and on laws to be passed. Democracy is part of the non-authoritarian system which means the individual citizens decide how to live their lives and the government’s role is very limited (Barbour & Wright, 2016). There are many state actors that run their countries in a democracy way including, United States, Sweden, Japan, and India. Although the United States Democracy is not exactly a true democracy.

Many people believe that America is a democracy; these people are not wrong; however, the more accurate term would be a ‘representative democracy’. The reason behind this is, as opposed to every citizen going to the polls and voting on each public issue, we have elected officials that vote based on their constituents preferences. Since it is the people that elect these representatives, it is critical that public opinion be taken into consideration. However, regardless of how we gather our data, bias often makes it difficult to accurately gauge public opinion.

The Webster definition for democracy is a system of rule by laws, not by individuals. In a democracy, the rule of law protects the rights of citizens, maintain orders and limits the power of the government. All citizens are equal under the law. No one may be discriminated against based on age, beliefs, race, religion, ethic group or gender. In the United States of America, our country is known for its democracy. The people hold the power to rule and make all the decisions both direct and representative. An example of direct democracy is when we can vote on certain concerns and vote on who we would like to represent for us. A direct democracy is when the people can decide on policy initiatives. Representative democracy is when we have a representative

How democratic is the US? This is a question not many people ask themselves, most people living in the United States believe that they have a very democratic country since it is what they hear everyone says about it. Nonetheless, to those who have learned about United States of America the reality can be different, some might say there is nothing democratic at all about America. The questions to ask are “what is democracy? How democratic is the US? Do we meet the standards of democratic theory?

There are many ways states are governed and many different systems of governments. The United States of America uses a democratic system of government; a system where the common person holds power through the ability to vote and participate in politics. Although this holds true for a majority of the operations carried out within the state, some may say the United States has shares particular characteristics of a dictatorship; a system of government where politics are controlled by a small subset of individuals, rather than the power being held by the people in a democratic system.

The United States was a country built on values of fair representation and freedom. Americans disagreed with the monarchy of British reign, and thus declared the United States to be a democratic - a government in which the masses elect the leaders and thereby act in the interests of the people. Regulations were established to reinforce these ideals, including three different branches of government and a term limit for the president in order to prevent a monopoly. Yet there are major flaws in the country that hide behind the ruse of democracy. This form of government is a source of pride for the United States, but that pride blinds people from the blatant issues that plague the country. The underlying corruption and oppression in the United

“Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are the ideals the United States was founded on. This means that everyone has a right to live and go after what makes them happy. They are able to do this without fear of punishment, retaliation, or persecution. However, some countries throughout history, believed that this was not the correct way for their people to live. They felt that the government should have outright control over everything the people did. In light of this, such a country may be led by someone who is formally known as dictator. Americans that have been born and raised with the belief in freedom and choice find this way of thinking to be unprincipled and undeserved. The idea of freedom and choice is known as democracy; which is the way the United States government has been run since 1776. Both of these forms of government are in some ways very similar. For the most part, however, a dictatorship is very different from a democracy.

What is a democracy? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2017), a 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 representations usually involving periodically held free elections.” When supporting democracy, it not only encourages basic American values but it also encourages one national interest to help secure its citizens focusing on human rights. A democracy allows the citizens to speak their minds on issues and help the government come up with ways to solve them. The United States seeks to secure peace, discourage aggression, fight international terrorism and crime, uphold worker rights, improve the environment globally,

The local government is responsible for setting the overall direction for their municipalities through long-term planning. Some include financial planning, council plans and municipal strategic planning. The local government is also responsible for managing and providing a wide range of quality services to their communities and its citizens. They also legislate and make decisions in areas where the have the legislative authority to do so. Local governments also have the power to make and enforce local laws and other legislative actions that are within their power of authority. Policies are what guide the activities of a local government and creating these policies are important for local governments operate properly. Also councils of local government represent their local community for matters that concern to those constituents. Another role that the local government has is supporting the behalf of their constituencies to the state and federal levels of government (Good governance, 2012). The mayor of a city or town has a number of different roles that are both legislative functional. Then there is the council of a local government, who sets the vision of the city, develops the strategy and the policy, and reviews the outcomes. The role of the councillors is to balance the interests of the entire municipality and their

We live in this country for the land, and the for the free as Americans we rely on many attributes in this world in order for us to live our lives. Our government has supplied us with many great things for us to be proud of. Our government is “the institutions and processes though which public policies are made for society.” (Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry, p. 7). With all these institutions which includes the President, Congress, the courts and all the federal administrative agencies. These are the institutions that make up public policies for us, and to shape the way we live as Americans. The way this system has been operating through all the years has been

In all actuality, the United States is not a true democracy. This is largely due to the fact that many of the people in the country do not take part in its political process, choosing instead to merely function as spectators and consumers. There is a very finite number of people who actually do take part in this process certainly no more than 50 percent (in a liberal estimate) and probably limited to approximately 25 percent most of the time. When one considers this aspect of the extremely limited form of U.S. democracy due to the circumscribed involvement of the majority of its citizens, it means that essentially the country's future, and that for the rest of the world, will be determined by a small, select group of individuals typically the ones financing campaigns and ensuring that measures representing their interests are enacted. In essence, then, an oligarchy will determine the future of the country and that of the rest of the world.

American democracy established based on federalism, where two or more levels of governments have a control over the same geographic area. This is a unique characteristic of American democracy unlike some other democracies that the powers are centralized. Generally, a federal government governs issues such as national defense, borders, and foreign policy, while the states govern issues of education, law enforcement, and local regulations. Both the national or federal government and the state governments have the power to make laws, and they have divided yet overlapping sovereign power from each other. The Tenth Amendment states that powers are not specifically listed in the U.S. Constitution, like minimum drinking age, property taxes, and minimum

The challenges facing modern democracy now are expanding, with the advent of unforeseen changes in the rule book and circumstances of governance, such as judicial review and an ever growing population that is demanding social and economic changes; these challenges manifest themselves in the form of how citizenship works, and why being a citizen is important in the large scope of democracy; being a citizen effects how democracy is defined, how democracy accompanies civil rights, and how we, as citizens can manage to initiate effective collective action to promote the advancement of issues that we hold to be of utmost importance. This does not mean, however, that as a term, democracy is all-encompassing, and is consistently regarded as a perfect

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “democracy is a government by the people.” Merriam additionally specifies democracy as the “rule of the majority.” In government, this definition may be a contradiction. A classic democratic state is defined as a government in which the supreme power is invested in the people which is exercised directly or indirectly through the use of elections. However, according to the definition of Merriam-Webster the power comes from the masses. In the parliamentary democracy of the United Kingdom and Sweden either theory may be applied. In both countries, the Constitution declares the people as the main source of public power. Nevertheless, voters are hesitant to exercise their right of control through free