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Does Democracy Work for the Entire World? Essay

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Does Democracy Work for the Entire World?

Immanuel Kant—the father of Liberal Internationalism—envisioned a world not torn by hostilities and fraught with the horrors of war. Instead he aspired to a higher level of existence— an existence to be obtained through democracy and free market capitalism, to be regulated by a hierarchy, to maintain sovereignty. Kant’s vision of a league of peace—a treaty to end all wars forever, so to speak—has yet to be accomplished. These hopes for a perpetual peace taunt and mock those in the international field and will continue to do so forever, in light of the improbability that such a level will be attained. Though democratization and globalization have yielded many positive outcomes, it is …show more content…

In less developed countries, democracy and capitalism help expand peace and justice in many ways. These systems promote equal opportunity and choice, which often result in growth in many of the interconnected sectors. However, simple growth in these nations is not enough, as growth does not require two of the most important attributes for expanding peace and justice; that is, the elements of sustainability and equality are not accounted for.

Justice is defined by different people in various ways, but it is very commonly associated with fairness. Instating a free market economic structure in a nation may promote growth, but this growth does not usually occur across the board. In fact, it often results in an increase in income inequality. That the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer is a fact illustrated by the shrinking middle class around the world. A system in which wealth is concentrated in the hands of few is inherently unjust, and as long as such massive injustices occur, how can peace take hold?
Even with the pretense of the United States as a paradigm of justice, one can see that the top 20% of income holders controls 45.8% of income in comparison to the 5.4% of income controlled by the lowest 20%. Though these numbers represent much more inequality than many would expect of the US,

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