Democracy Murders Itself: Is John Adams Correct? Essay

Many countries in the world have democracies, but there are still some where there is a dictatorship. In a dictatorship, nobody is free or safe and nobody will

If you compare Oligarchy vs Democracy on how stable a government these can provide, then certainly dictatorship wins hands down. Oligarchy government often resort to violent methods to curb any kind of public uprisings to protect its power and ruling status in the country.

Language, like all else, changes over time. “Nice” used to mean foolish, and “awful” used to mean full of awe. This too gives context to why when democracy, or “rule by the people,” is mentioned today, the word does not have the same connotation as it did to the inhabitants of colonial North America. Similarly, the democracy of the 1800s, colloquially known as the early republic period, was different from democracy during the time of the revolution. The tradition in colonial Virginia, for instance, was that democratic voting power only applied to the aristocratic members of the clergy. In New England, only the property-holding “elect” had a say in town decisions. This tradition of not-quite equality in democracy held through to revolutionary times. As Stanley N. Katz puts it, “Indeed, during most of American history, framers of constitutions, lawmakers, and judges avoided committing the nation to the protection of individual equality.” Because of the strength of majorities, laissez-faire economic policy, and an increase in opportunity, democracy replaced tradition as the provider of political power during the early republic in the northern United States.

John Adams acted more like a king and did not always help build a strong democracy. First he did in fact suggest he be called, your highness, Also, when he was president he did in fact favor one political party over another. He supported the Federalist and gave them more power. Foreexample, when people spoke against him he got the sedition Acts passed making it illegal to speak agaist the President or Congress. Finaly, when he lost and didn’t get a second term, he tried to fill the government and courts with Federalist at the last minute. To close, John Adams acted more like a king than a fair president.

The colonial era had a significant impact on the way America would run its government. Although their government wasn’t a fully developed democracy, it had similar aspects of democracies today. Colonial America was in many ways encountered as a democracy. One of these democratic features were that there was a representative government and voting rights in the colonies. Through the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, “The choice for governor shall be made by all those who are eligible to vote.”

The early 1800’s was a time of democratic expansion within the States as they began to eliminate property qualifications necessary to vote. Although the idea of decreasing qualifications needed to vote seemed like a step forward towards democracy, it took two steps back because of its racist and sexist specificity denying women and minorities voting rights. A democracy is a government system intended to be ran by the whole population or by their representatives, not one that discriminates against minorities and women by denying their right to vote and be fairly represented in that government system. Cracks in the foundation of the United States’ democracy is foreseeable in the early 1800’s due to this discrimination of women and minorities, like the Civil War, the

Democracy, as a word, has many interpretations. Communist countries define themselves as economic democracies. Clearly the opposite is true due to the definition that the Founding Fathers of The United States used. Democracy is defined as having five key characteristics. These principles are the following: majority rule, equality, liberty, necessity of compromise, and individual worth. Majority rule, principle number one, can be broken down into two distinct categories, popular majority and representative majority. Popular majority, in its root definition, means that the majority of all the citizens or all voters are taken into account in the election of governmental offices. The second type of majority rule is representative majority. This

Democracy, as most people think of it today, did not exist during the first few decades of U.S. history.

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

The greatest threat to democracy as a way of life, not just a political arrangement, but as an attitude of mind - is authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is stoked by fear, both rational and irrational, and it looks to a strong punitive leader who promises to use force to end threats by outsiders and persons "not like us." It seeks order and stability at all costs. It subscribes to a command-and-obey or "top down" or hierarchical mentality. This is directly opposed to a democratic or "horizontal" mentality, characterized by openmindness, cooperation, and respect for others as equals.

or dictatorship one person has the power in a society and all the rest serve only to obey him.

I agree with Miss Wollstonecraft. Mr Hobbes, your argument goes against the true meaning of democracy. The commoners of France were ridiculed and abused by King Louis XVI. You falsely assume that the people are incapable of protecting themselves, and that they require a ‘King’ to guide them. In my opinion, a true democracy can only be achieved when the people are engaged in a process of direct democracy, for man can either become corrupted by society, or politically enlightened by it. In other words, a man of the people should not be in power, rather the people themselves should be in power.

Democracy varies in every country depending on the type of government or regime they have. There is the liberal democracy, which is all about giving people their rights and liberties; everything is done through fair voting and electing. The people are aware of everything that happens in their government. Illiberal democracies are basically the same as liberal, but the people in power are more secretive of their activities, and there is less civil liberty. It is essentially a partial democracy. Now Authoritarian regimes designate any political system that concentrates power in the hands of one leader or a small elite. There are no free elections and very little regard for the law. Political institutions, social structures, and the democratic rule of law all affect liberal, illiberal, and authoritarian regimes democratic quality differently.

Theoretically, democracy is a stable form of government where power is in the hands of the people. In a democracy, people have the liberty to elect officials that best represent their interests, and political institutions exist as a result: Benjamin Constant argues in The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with that of the Moderns that “true modern liberty is

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