Research Paper: Is Democratic Capitalism Really Democratic?

Government is an essential part of civilization in modern and historic times. This crucial element of society has been observed in different forms. There are three main systems of governments: autocracy, oligarchy, and democracy. Which system a government belongs to is determined by who hold the sovereignty, meaning who has the supreme power and authority (“Sovereignty”). This leads to there being major differences between autocracies, oligarchies, and democracies.

Democracy and the challenges it is facing has been the main topic in the field of international politics since some Authoritarian regimes have raised again as a great power after a long time of absence. In this essay, we will look at some of the challenges facing the international democracy based on the work of Azar Gat “ The Return Of Authoritarian Great Powers”. The article is presenting the author view on the rise of authoritarian regimes as the main challenge of liberal democracy. The main part of my essay will be an illustration and reflection on a number of arguments that have been brought by the author. Additionally and before concluding my piece I will establish my own argument as a critical response to the article or more specifically to the Economic efficiency argument brought by Azar Gat.

“Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.” John F. Kennedy, September 25, 1961

Democracy is a form of government where people choose leaders through elections and social construct that are based on the equality of everyone within the state. It is a form of government were majority and public opinions combine to choose leaders with respect to the social structure of a particular society, taking into consideration the social laws, rules, traditions, norms, values, and culture. Plato and Aristotle tow of the most influential figures in Greek philosophy. Both Plato and Aristotle were big critics of democracy as a poor form of government. Aristotle’s views about democracy hold that democratic office will cause corruption in the people, if the people choose to redistribute the wealth of the

Plain capitalism bypasses any form of elected government and any kind of spiritual, ethical, or moral grounds in order to solely focus on free enterprise. On the other hand, democratic capitalism is composed of three major elements. While democratic capitalism is also built upon free enterprise, the other two necessary components include a freely elected government and a moral, ethical, or spiritual basis (“Foundations of the Capitalist System,” n.d.). Therefore, as the name insinuates, plain capitalism is like democratic capitalism but without two parts. Democratic capitalism engulfs the concept of plain capitalism and then goes on to expand upon two more necessary principles. Thus, the two forms of capitalism are closely related. As mentioned earlier, capitalism exists in daily life. Putting it together, both forms of capitalism are apparent in daily work

In his article, Democracy as a Universal Value, Amartya Sen asserts that democracy is a universal value. In order to develop his argument Sen needs to state his definition of democracy and define what he means by universal value. In the course of Sen's argument he gives his view of the relationship between democracy and the economy. He then defends his view of democracy as a universal value against a main argument that deals with cultural differences between regions.

Democracy: A political system in which citizens enjoy a number of basic civil and political rights, and in which their most important political leaders are elected in free and fair elections and accountable under a rule of law (26). In the studies we have undertaken, comparing and exploring various countries and systems politically, economically, and psychologically throughout the quarter, this outcry of democracy has prevailed as a main theme. Successful countries such as the United States and Great Britain are based upon such democratic ideals. It is no wonder that countries have striven more recently toward this goal of democratization. Both the Russian and Mexican revolutions prove that democracy is an attainable goal in the next

"Democratic capitalism has three unequalled strengths. It is the only system that achieves both economic growth and individual freedom, and it adapts to the many diverse cultures in the world... Democracy works to remove the most common criticism of capitalism that it generates inequality in income distribution." (Metzer, 1995)

The prevalence of capitalism in America poses a fundamental threat to both procedural and substantive democratic values. The argument that capitalism threatens procedural democracy is relatively straightforward. Capitalism breeds economic inequality, and the wealthy have much more political power. This is due to laws and implicit bias of election officials that make it disproportionately hard for poor and minority citizens to vote, the elaborate infrastructure of the two political parties and the influence of money in politics through lobbying and interest groups. While this threat is easily recognizable the argument is slightly more complicated on the substantive side. Essentially, economic incentives make it profitable to expand the incarceration

Democratic ideals are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and other significant documents, speeches, and other writings. During the time periods 1825-1850, Reform movements in the United States sought to expand these ideals because of rising equality and liberty due to social reforms, institutional reforms, religious reforms, and abolitionist reforms, which all peaked into the arrival of a more righteous America and the further advancement of both equality, and liberty, despite some movements attempted to limit political freedoms of some. Overall, reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals.

Democracy has become the most widespread political form of government during the past decade, after the fall of all its alternatives. During the second part of the 20th century, the 3 main enemies of democracy, namely communism, fascism and Nazism, lost most of their power and influence. However, democracy is still only to be found in less than half of this world's countries. China with a fifth of the total population "had never experienced a democratic government" and Russia still doesn't have a well established democracy. By adopting a democratic perspective, 3 types of governments emerge, non-democratic, new democracies, and old democracies, and all have a different challenge to overcome: either to become democratic, to "consolidate"

Democracy is a unique type of government, and the purpose of this essay is to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses that a democratic government provides. I will detail that many components of this type of society are both strengths and weakness as each component has beneficial aspects as well as unavoidable pitfalls.

In his article, Democracy as a Universal Value, Amartya Sen asserts that democracy is a universal value. In order to develop his argument Sen needs to state his definition of democracy and define what he means by universal value. In the course of Sen's argument he gives his view of the relationship between democracy and the economy. He then defends his view of democracy as a universal value against a main argument that deals with cultural differences between regions.

Winston Churchill once remarked that “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried”. In agreement with his statement, this paper will examine the problems of democratic governments using specific examples, and compare it to the failure of fascist governments in Nazi Germany and Italy and communist governments in the Soviet Union and China.

The author has been able to fulfill the target of the book, which is to test and answer the questions raised by critics through the provision of evidence of the reason no democracy exists at the present. The author presents the arguments in a chronological way that gives a better understanding of the past, today, and prospective future of democracy. The root of the present democracy is stated in the book and lays the basis of the other arguments in the book. Dahl argues that there are conditions that any state should attain in order for it to be considered as a democratic