Theories of American Democracy
I believe the pluralism theory best explains the American political process because, it speaks on the existence of classes, it emphasizes how the larger the group the bigger the influence it will have, and it is based on power being dispersed. These facts coincide with America’s current political process. To begin analyzing the pluralism theory we have to first take note that it states, most decision making happens in the framework of the government, but groups will use their resources to influence these choices.
The existence of political parties and interest groups also adds to the idea of power being distributed. Having these different classes prevents one group or person from making decisions that affect all of society. This is primarily how the United States government works, there are different groups, each one pushing for their own preferences. “…leaders influence the decisions of constituents, but the decisions of leaders are also determined in part by what they think they are, will be, or have been the preferences of their constituents.” (Dahl, 90) The political parties will state what they will change, if we were to vote for them, this is how they influence our decisions. We all want whoever is in charge to have the
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Therefore if the majority of the population sides with one party, it dramatically influences the votes. “In the apolitical strata, people are notably less calculating; their political choices are more strongly influenced by inertia, habit, unexamined loyalties, personal attachments, emotions, transient impulses.” (Dahl, 90) There are many citizens that will continuously vote for the same party out of commitment. In America many do not notice that when election time comes around, the candidate’s preferences differ. The person whom they were rooting for way back when, does not share the exact same priorities as the current runner
Pluralism is one of the three theories of government, which is a condition or system in which two or more states, groups, principles, sources of authority, etc., coexist. Pluralism is a combination of different sorts of people among the many are like-minded people, unions, professional associates, and business lobbyists. For pluralism to operate and to be successful in establishing the common
The American democracy is one of the most peaceful kinds of government in the world although it is a long way from utopia. The democracy in which we live has many strengths and weaknesses. Neither strengths or weaknesses out weigh one another, but it is necessary to have both due to the varying definitions. A democracy is a government that is run by the people. The politicians that we elect to run our government are human and they are susceptible to mistakes based on their own strengths and weaknesses. The strengths and weaknesses they possess are reflected into our government but at least “we the people” elect them and they are not chosen for us.
The United States government is commonly referred to as a “Duopoly”, which means that there are two established political parties, Democratic and Republic, and that these two parties share the vast majority of the political power in the country. This is because the United States follows a winner-takes-all voting system, utilizing a “single-member district plurality”. The “single-member district” portion means that for each geographic area or district, there is only one elected official, and the “plurality” portion means that in United States elections, the representative or politician who receives the most number of votes, wins the given election, even if it’s less than half the percentage of votes. According to Duverger’s law, a Political Science principle, plurality voting procedures correlationally support the emergence of only two political parties, in contrast to a multiparty democracy.
When referring to classical antiquity period, most think of Greece and Rome dominating and flourishing in the areas of philosophy, sciences, mathematics and literature. One other admirable achievement, the establishment of early forms of democracy, came from this time period and should not be overlooked as it is the historical basis of our government today. The Founding Fathers of the United States were influenced by Greek and Roman concepts in law, government structure, and even philosophy. Concepts described in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States can be traced back historically to the classical antiquity period, and show that the United States government and law were modeled after those of Greece
American Democracy is an important thing in our society. Everybody knows how powerful it can be. It is the most important thing in our Constitution that our Founding Fathers introduced. As citizens in today's society, we all should know about it. We should know the history of it and how it works to understand what our government is doing to us that affects our daily lives.
Pluralist theory views politics and decision making as a competitive phenomenon where different groups and individuals have different views and that there is no single elite group that exercises influence (Davis & Go, 2009). The theory holds that power is relatively broadly distributed among different interest groups. These groups hold different views of the same aspect and compete with each other for
Democracy is perhaps the most elusive concept of all times. But if there has to be something more elusive, it will surely be the concept of American democracy. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln is known to have written:
Many people believe that democracy did not exist during the first few decades of U.S. history. I agree to this. Democracy, the word Democracy has been characterized in different routes by numerous individuals everywhere throughout the nation. This word has suggested different things during the time as things changed all through the United States. People in the past had alternate points of view on Democracy in light of the way that life in those days was altogether different than it is today. Individuals now fully understand that they truly have a voice and an opportunity to battle and vote in favor of what they put in. The word democracy is actually from the Greek words of “demos”, meaning to people and “Kratos”, meaning power. The Greeks actually
We live in this country for the land, and the for the free as Americans we rely on many attributes in this world in order for us to live our lives. Our government has supplied us with many great things for us to be proud of. Our government is “the institutions and processes though which public policies are made for society.” (Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry, p. 7). With all these institutions which includes the President, Congress, the courts and all the federal administrative agencies. These are the institutions that make up public policies for us, and to shape the way we live as Americans. The way this system has been operating through all the years has been
This nation's success lies in the hands of its people. America is extremely fortunate to live in a democracy, a government in which the citizens elect the leaders and representatives. The idea of it began in the Athens when an emperor wanted his people to be involved in creating rules and choosing overseers for their society. This idea became highly popular in the Middle Ages, but empires like the “Holy Roman Empire” overruled it for dictatorship, but people soon began to fight back (Karen Carr). America’s fight was to succeed from England in the revolutionary war in hopes of having the basic rights that democracy promises. The citizens demanded a voice in their government so they fought hard and though lives were lost, the United States won its independence from England. The actions, dedication, and perseverance of the citizens were the main reasons why this country gained its freedom. Citizens are the vital key to success so it is important for them to be active in electing proper officials, recognizing past mistakes and correcting current ones in today’s society.
The American political party system before being dominated by a two political party system had multiple parties that were formed on different ideologies and principles. A political party essentially refers to a group of voters who are organized in a way to support particular public policies, as such, the primary objective of political parties is usually to put official representatives who will represent and carry out the policies of the party in power through an electoral process. Political parties differ in ideologies on national aspects such as education, security, human rights, agriculture, and much more and as such, citizens of a country usually vote for the candidates that are closely associated with their issues through the political
Political parties also make the country almost bias in a way. From the start you can only see things the way your party tells you too, or that's the way it seems. The parties make you believe radically were if you agree with one party, but identify with another you are seen as indecisive. There are so many topics in politics how can someone just agree with everything one group says?
"United States can be seen as the first liberal democracy. The United States Constitution, adopted in 1788, provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. On the American frontier, democracy became a way of life, with widespread social, economic and political equality. The system gradually evolved, from Jeffersonian Democracy or the First Party System to Jacksonian Democracy or the Second Party System and later to the Third Party System. In Reconstruction after the Civil War (late 1860s) the newly freed slaves became citizens, and they were given the vote as well." (Web, 1)
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.
Democracy offers people the chance to be involved citizens rather than unreceptive subordinates. However, this right doesn’t come unchallenged. Citizens are required to assess a broad range of political subjects (such as candidates, parties, and policies) and then combine and simplify their likings in a way that allows them to choose on voting decisions. So, how are these challenges met? In the United States, some citizens are conservative Republics, some are liberal Democrats, and others fall in between or outside the two. Recent studies have proposed that these recognitions play an important part in voting behavior and political perception. Recently, however, more studies have accumulated advocating for two meager assumptions in regards to this study: that liberal/conservative identifications are bipolar in meaning and that underlying this bipolarity is cognitive meaning based on political issues (Conover, Feldman, 265). These variances in political positions are called political attitudes, and fall on a spectrum between extremely liberal and extremely conservative. Broadly speaking, this spectrum distinguishes what someone believes about social issues and governments role in society. These beliefs are formed by a variation of aspects, which can include family, gender, religion, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and region. Even things like behavior, core ideals and values, and ideology can affect people’s political attitudes.