Every form of government is bound to have some shortfalls. Different people have different views about the various political systems. But in today's world, democracy is considered to be the best form of government, reason being that people are treated equally and have full rights to live a life of their liking. Unlike a Oligarchy government is not considered to be a
A democracy, according to Abraham Lincoln, is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. The word "democracy" comes from the Greek word "demos" which means “people" and kratia, which means rule (http://educationportal.ontla.on.ca/en/ ). A democracy is a system where the people have a little of control over the government in some specific important processes like voting in elections and decision making. In a democracy, the majority rule and minority rights . Although there are positive sides of the United Kingdom’s democracy, there are negative sides which cause the reliability of democracy in the United Kingdom to be questionable. “Over half of the world’s countries employ some type of democracy” (Clark, 2001-2016). Democracy is a very popular system of government; In a democratic government, everyone is under the “rule of law”, people have the power to devise laws and decide how they want to be ruled. Different political scientists have come to a conclusion that without the four basic principles; Free elections,Political participation, Civil liberties and a Functioning government, a country cannot be called a democracy (http://classroom.synonym.com/). There are two main types of democracy, the direct democracy and the indirect or representative democracy. In this essay, I am going to critically analyse the democracy in the United Kingdom, stating the strengths and the weaknesses of the democratic system in the United
Richard Bellamy says that our dissatisfaction with our current democracy stems from our comparison with the “ideal” democracy we have imagined. Our “ideal” democracy would be direct participatory, meaning everyone is equally involved in making law. Also, there is no prejudice or private interest in this imaginary democracy. As nice as that system of government may sound, with it come a lot of problems. First of all, to vote on all decisions is too time-consuming and would be too much of a commitment expected from the citizens. Next, people can only rule themselves if they can come to a unanimous conclusion on every decision they have to make. If this doesn’t happen, the minority of voters will be ruled by the majority anyways. A more practical
In truth, democracy has helped to stabilize and also create unity among citizens. It has become a recognized and accepted process which everyone look forward to periodically. It is intended to involve all qualified adults in picking their next leaders. The sense is that once everyone is involved, then the majority will be pleased with the government. However, as much as there has been good governance through democracy, there have also been some unintended consequences too. These consequences can be seen by examining the latent function of our democracy. Today, one can hardly watch TV or listen to the radio without seeing or hearing the fracture that exists in the political system of our country. Citizens have been divided into two or more groups based on their party affiliations. The divide is so obvious that parties are not willing to compromise on any issue. The result is a stagnant government, and no reasonable policies have been passed into law. It is hard to know if this fraction is recognized but we surely know that it is unintended.
For better or worse man has no choice but to live in society, but yet to live in society individuals are involved in multiple situations that lead to conflicts and disputes. Democracy is the only viable political framework and satisfactory for a society to move in harmony. Democracy allows us to find additional solutions that reflect the multitude of interests that exist in society. The authors of the books The Struggle for Democracy mention“ Some political thinkers think that democracy is the form of government that best protects human right because it is the only one based on a recognition of the intrinsic worth and equality or human beings.” (4) Democracy is good for the growth of a nation, through democracy people have been able to manifest in a peaceful way their needs, making agreements and disagreements, from my point of view, between this and other facts have led the United States to be a great nation. Democracy is a way to govern the people of a nation where every citizen agrees to the way the government governs the people. In other words, the people is part of the democracy. But, it has been with the help of the important factors that United States has achieve a fair political democracy. Next, you will find the three main features of Representative democracy of United States (Popular Sovereignty, Political Equality and Political Liberty)
Democracy is a “system of government in which political authority vested in the people” (Ch. 1, Pg. 4). Democracy is by far the most challenging form of government, for perhaps both politicians and the people. The term democracy comes from a Greek term which in short means “rule by the people”. The antique democracies in ancient cities, such as Rome and Athens, represent precursors of modern democracies. Like modern democracy, the need for organized rule arose in the midst of power abuse. The democracy we abide by today was created in the 17th century during the Age of Enlightenment, by philosophers such as John Locke, Voltaire… These philosophers created the foundation for our modern democracy. These essential elements such as the separation
The United States is a representative democracy which means that the “leaders can make decisions by winning a competitive struggle” It also depends on the person when the question “how democratic should it be?” is asked. A representative democracy such as the one in the United States right now can be useful because it lessens the chance that power can be abused because there is an equal balance between the judiciary, legislative and the executive branch. Also, a representative democracy and its elections provide a chance for all of America’s voices to be heard through polls. For example, this year is an election year, so in a few months, many Americans will be expressing their views through a vote, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. However,
Aristotle says that justice is thought of as equality among all, there is a disregard to merit (p.172). In a society, there is usually more poor people and because there is this demand of equality then the majority rule (p.174). Mob rule is then authoritative. All governments have their forms, which are good and are bad. Democracy to Aristotle is not the best regime because it is ruled by the poor or the ones that need from the government. Government is not chosen by those who pursue virtue, but instead pursue wealth. The democratic principle is that of freedom, wealth, and birth. Not virtue. He believes the best regime would not be exactly a democracy but a polity that would be a combination of freedom, wealth, birth and virtue. The best regime has ideal conditions in which it becomes a predictable regime and consists of values, choices, the inanimate, elements of the class of workers, and the education of rulers. Democracy has a big defect in that it does not have intelligence or wisdom. It is the rule of many. It is based on the idea of happiness by following pleasures (p.48). Democracy comes into play when the majority revolt against the oligarchy because of the ideas of freedom. The problem with it is that people are pursuing their pleasures, not thinking of the state as a whole. There is unity based on pleasure. Before long, everyone is pursuing their own pleasures and there is an undermining of authority
Democracy is defined as a form of government that is ruled by the people. That is, rather than a single or a small group of leaders, democracy obligates the citizens who are affected by the law to collectively create the law through active participation. The United States is a nation that prides itself as a democracy, built on rule by the people via elected representatives. However, the electoral college system and other institutions within the electoral process actually inhibit many democratic values. This, paired with remarkably low voter turnout rates, leaves political decisions to be made by those in power rather than the people. To overcome this, it is necessary to go beyond elections as the central form of political participation. Likewise,
In a democracy, the people are supposed to rule via representatives. Using a system by, of, and for the people, everyone is equal and rights are guaranteed. Democracy is vital to uphold basic human rights such as freedom of expression or liberty. For this reason, democracy is the cornerstone of nearly all developed nations today, including the United States. Yet in many places, that cornerstone is weak. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a democracy as “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives” (Definition). To be an effective democracy, all the members of a state must be properly represented, and elections should favor public opinion. Yet this is not always the case - in fact, the democracies that represent the most people, such as in the UK, the US, and India are quite weak.
Our experiment in Democracy was very effective based from the federal, state, and local view. When looking up the definition of Democracy, it come out as a, noun; “A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.” Democracy originated in the late 16th century and comes from two Greek words, word one being, “Demos" which means the people, and work two, "Kratia" which means power or authority. Mainly meaning a form of government that gives power to the people. The first known use of democracy were the Greeks. All citizens were to meet and discuss the policies, then make decisions by majority rule (“What Is Democracy?”) The only thing was, it was very exclusive,
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
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
Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.
What is democracy? Democracy a form of government in which the people freely elect representatives to govern them in a country, democracy guarantees free and fair elections, basic personal and political rights and independent court of law. There are two types of democracy, direct and indirect democracy. Direct democracy or pure democracy is where there is direct participate of the people; people make decisions for them instead of letting them representative make decision for them. Indirect democracy the decisions are made by the representative on behalf of the people that voted for them. All over the world people are having different views with regard to democracy and how it operates. “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of