Patrick Henry Trumbo Analysis

As much as we citizens want to deny it, government corruption exists everywhere, whether it be a small group of greedy politicians or the system entirely. Is it shouted at the top of the mountains? Of course not, because it defeats the whole purpose of being corrupt, which is to quietly sweep away one’s imperfections and present themselves as honourable people. An appalling level of corruption and political power is described in the book 1984 written by George Orwell. Ingsoc, a political party, runs a totalitarian society, and with no resistance from their citizens, the government deceives them by changing the past and announcing fake news. Ultimately, they limit the thoughts and emotions of their citizens. Although 1984 tells a fictional

Research Essay on Democracy and Citizenship in Australia “Australia is an excellent example to the world of a democracy which values the participation of its citizens in all levels of government. Discuss”

Democracy in the United Kingdom has changed a lot over the years however the definition has never changed. The right for people to choose and decide how a country is run. This essay will help decide whether the United Kingdom still follows that definition of being a true democracy and analysing how this has affected the people of the UK.

Summary: In Chapter 1, Hudson addresses the distorted views of democracy from modern-day Americans. He explains how separation of power within the government lessens the power of American citizens and ultimately alters the ideology behind a true democracy into what we have today.

In “We’re a Democracy” by Eugene Volokh, he shows that there is a fine line between being a

In Inventing the People, Morgan initially makes a radical claim that the entire foundation upon which American democracy was built, is a fiction. What follows is a three-hundred-page analysis of what Morgan calls political fictions. These fictions have been developed throughout our history, most notably, the fictions of the divine right of kings and the sovereignty of the people. Systematically, Morgan breaks down these fictions to their root, unveiling the shaky basis upon which they lie, and then revealing all of the pitfalls inherent in their actual realization, to indicate the modified form of these political fictions that we know today. Morgan argues that the problem with political fictions is that they have become so ingrained in societal thought that we are

Joe is constantly debating in his mind about how foot soldiers are manipulated by those in command and whether it is worth the risk to be involved in the wars that are a result of political games. Trumbo seems to highlight this theme and uses it to support the argument that wars are almost always unnecessary and that the use of manipulation by the “big guy” to meet their interests is completely unjust. People should never sacrifice the lives of others in order to gain for themselves. Joe also discusses liberty and ethics by thinking about the true gains that the war had brought to him and the world. He questioned whether freedom for all was really possible. The issue of suffering is also seen to be a direct result of all the other themes found in this book (Dawidowicz

In the era of the contemporary United States, a country that has had the longest standing democracy, we are used to thinking very highly of its system. However, throughout our history, there have been a couple of critics to the system of democracy. It comes as no surprise that democracy does have its issues. One of the first pieces of literature where democracy was mentioned and analyzed at a deeper level was The Republic by Plato. This ancient Greek philosopher did not completely agree with democracy, regardless of the fact that ancient Athens was the first civilization that gave rise to it. In fact, in a numerical list that he composes on which are the best ways of ruling, Plato puts democracy at one of the lowest levels. In order, Plato’s list of types of government from most desirable to least desirable looks like this: 1.) Republic (The ideal city) 2.) Timocracy 3.) Oligarchy 4.) Democracy 5.) Tyranny. Additionally, In The Republic, Plato tells us his beliefs and values on certain aspects of life through the eyes of Socrates. So, even though Plato himself does not appear in The Republic and instead Socrates does, nonetheless, Plato and Socrates shared the same ideology when it came to democracy. As we know, Plato did not agree with democracy. As a result, in this paper, I will explore the greatest intellectual strengths and weaknesses of Plato’s view on democracy.

The general understanding of democracy is that it is a state of leadership where citizens of a country participate equally either directly or by representative individuals in the establishment of laws, which run the society. However, like many other forms of leadership, democracy has its cons and may not give the citizens the necessary freedoms that they think they have. Different philosophers have different insights on democracy in terms of concepts such as liberty, which they embraced. This paper will look at Benjamin Barber and Joseph Schumpeter’s idea of democracy contrasting their definition in terms of citizenship, obligation, rights and duties of each individual in the society declaring whose idea of democracy creates a compelling vision (Terchek & Conte, 2001).

In this essay I will reflect upon James Scott’s ‘Two Cheers for Anarchism’, exploring both the novel and the concept of anarchism. Firstly, I will explain why I chose to focus upon ‘Two Cheers for Anarchism’ arguing that many of merits of the book result from the unusual style which Scott adopted. Subsequently, I will justify the fragmented framework I have adopted from the book for this essay and highlight how this style allows me to reflect much more effectively upon both the book and the concept of anarchism. This will compromise the first section of my essay. The second fragmented section will bring into consideration many themes from the book from the nature of historical interpretation to queries about human nature and democracy. In lieu of a conclusion

. . . It is based upon propositions that are palpably not true and what is not true, as every one knows, is always immensely more fascinating and satisfying to the vast majority of men than what is true. Truth has a harshness that alarms them, and an air of finality that collides with their incurable romanticism. . . . More, democracy gives it a certain appearance of objective and demonstrable truth. The mob man, functioning as citizen, gets a feeling that he is really important to the world — that he is genuinely running things. . . . [He is convinced] that he is somehow wise, that his views are taken seriously by his betters.” Moreover, happiness for the democrat is illusionary. “The seeds of his disaster . . . lie in his own stupidity: he can never get rid of the naive delusion . . . that happiness is something to be got by taking it away from the other fellow. . . . Here the irony that lies under all human aspiration shows itself: the quest for happiness, as always, brings only unhappiness in the end. . . . [Thus,] the true charm of democracy is not for the democrat but for the spectator.” Mencken contends, “The fraud of democracy . . . is more amusing than any other — more amusing even, and by miles, than the fraud of

Democracy is always named and used in the liberal discursive process. But if we refer to history, democracy of these days is not the same as democracy decades ago. Thus, it is important that democracy is understood as an evolution and not as a static concept. Similarly it is necessary to understand democracy by its principles and not by its practitioners in power.

The word democracy is associated with liberty, equality, freedom of speech etc. Democracy is the most dominant form of government in the world, yet the public faith in democracy is disappearing, according to British MP Rory Stewart. Afghanistan and Iraq’s new democracies are deeply corrupt; while 84 percent of the British people share the opinion that their democracy is simply broke. In the important speech “ Why democracy matters” by Rory Stewart in 2016, Stewart sees it necessary to call to action in order to rebuild democracy, starting with the importance of democracy as an ideal.

In Jason Brennan’s second chapter of Against Democracy (2016) multiple topics are discussed pertaining to the political action of voting. Throughout this chapter Brennan explores the ideologies of rational ignorance and rational irrationality about politics, as well as the psychological benefits of holding firm to an irrational belief, and the cognitive biases or errors displayed in society. Brennan’s views create controversy and often times don’t seem to directly favor one another. Although I admired the viewpoints Brennan gave, I had a difficult time buying into the philosophical ideas he presented. As we progress in this paper, we will learn more about Brennan’s narrow view of politics being only associated to voting. Brennan created adequate argument for the philosophical measures he presents, however this strict polices don’t seem to equate with democracy in its entirety.

In the early 1830’s Alex Tocqueville , a French historian and politician wrote the “holy cult of freedom”, he encountered on his own visit to the United States. His key insite was; democracy meant far more than the right to vote, or a particular set of instructions. It was a habit of