Winston Churchill Said That Democracy Was Not Perfect but That It Was the Best Political System Available. Was He Right?

Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, and is one with representative institutions and a rule of law.

What is democracy, do we really understand the concept and the implications of the freedoms that our society enjoys. Democracy by definition is a “government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections”.(1) The United States democracy in current times can be a difficult situation to grasp, due to the fact that we are operating off of the Constitution written over 200 years ago, and individuals modern

Pericles , a famous Greek statesman once wrote a document called the Funeral oration (document 3) in which he describes what a democracy. This is the form of government which was instated during the Ancient Greek civilizations and is instated in the (modern-day) the United States. Democracy is made for the majority and not the minority. It is not based on the few leading, rather everyone gets a voice in society. It gives

Most people believe that the United States of America is a democracy, or a government run by the voice of the citizens. But this country is actually built on a slightly different principle; one that values the representation of groups more than the whole population as one. A country ruled by the choices of the majority could become an unjust and entirely undemocratic state. The framers of the constitution understood this possibility and worked to limit the power of popular majorities in order to have a fair and equally representative government. Chapter 2, The Constitution and Democracy, states:

“In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme” - Aristotle. This quote lays out the main idea behind Democracy. The idea that the people deserve equality and freedom. Equality in race, colour and religion, and freedom of speech, and will, unless it is against the will of the majority of the people. Democracy endeavors to achieve a balance in freedom of an individual, whilst not violating the majority's will. Democracy was developed in Ancient Greece. The word itself comes from the greek term ‘demokratia’ (‘demos - the people’ and ‘kratos - rule’. Democracy was first used in the Greek state, Athens. Athens used a direct form of Democracy, as people knew each other. Nowadays, there are an abundant amount of countries that are ruled under democracy, such as New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, and Austria.

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

Many ancient regimes throughout the world teased with the idea of basic personal rights and elections , but not until the 6th century did this form of government become a legitimate way to exercise a country's control. The earliest traces of democracy can be seen in Ancient Greece, “the birthplace of democracy”, which can be attributed for democracy through their radical political ideas. Since then the idea of democracy has slowly grown, and in some countries decayed into another form of government. Without this evolution and radical thinking where would our country be today? Would we be living in a country that allows our leader to get away with murder? A communist government led by a corrupt leader or system? Democracy did

Democracy is a form of government where all eligible citizens are meant to participate equally. Democracy is founded on four key elements; protection of citizen rights, laws that apply to all people, the involvement of the people in both social and political life, and a system by choosing government officials by equal elections. As more people focused on equality and the importance of the individual, democracy started to appear in the Ancient World. Despite the fact that democracy in the Ancient World is not like it is today, the Judeo-Christian tradition, Athens, and the Roman Republic helped to influence modern democracy. To begin with, the Judeo-Christian era greatly influenced the ideas of democracy.

The issue with this concept is that it allows for a small minority, which is unlikely to be representative of the general population, to create policies that may affect huge populations. It gives the control of the government to the most powerful man in the competition but this competition may be rigged. In a nation of millions, ten men could be the entirety of the competition (potential leaders and electors), which makes it outside the accepted view of democracy. The system is not required to have proportional representation and will not if it does not stand to benefit the elites who have created the institutions of government to work in their favor. This does not create equality among the people and does not provide equal opportunity to the general population.

Democracy: a government by the people, in which citizens rule either directly or through elected representatives - the latter description more relevant to today’s societies. Quite evidently, democracy is not perfect; like any other political system, it is subject to a plethora of flaws. For instance, it is no secret that voters tend to make illogical decisions – not out of sheer malice, but as a result of being wrongly informed. Politicians also make erroneous choices, whether they do so because they are dishonest or simply out of touch with the true will of their constituents. Further, anyone who has studied the government of a parliamentary democracy knows gerrymandering can have a powerful say in determining elections. Despite these and

It is thought that Democracy is most desirable in our current state, that it opens many more freedoms then other political philosophies. Believing that many are benefiting from these freedoms and citizens are holding the power. Philosopher Aristotle notes “For democracy is said to be the government of the many. But what if the many are men of property and have the many” (Aristotle 72). He is arguing that only a certain character is actually exercising their beliefs, others are just being controlled. Aristotle’s concept leads to my argument that in democracy individuality is taken away and we unknowing become controlled therefor democracy is not a desirable political philosophy,

To conclude I feel that although democracy has its obvious flaws like all political systems it is most probably the closest that we have yet achieved in creating a perfectly fair system of shared power. Those who live under a democracy have the responsibility to ensure legitimacy through their active involvement in making decisions by voting and talking to

Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.

Finally, democracy is the best form of government thus far because it is susceptible to change. The role of high courts, and equal rights makes change possible. For example, if the majority impedes on a minority groups’ rights, over time, the legislature will adjust, enumerating those who were previously attacked. Overall, democracy makes the necessary refinements needed to keep up with societal developments.

Churchill’s claim that “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried” is deliberately provocative and intended to challenge the reader’s simplistic ideal that democracy is without faults. There are an estimated 114 democracies in the world today (Wong, Oct 3rd lecture). A figure that has increased rapidly in the last century not necessarily because democracy is the best form of government, but primarily for reason that in practice, under stable social, economic and political conditions, it has the least limitations in comparison to other forms of government. Be it the transparency of a democratic government or the prevalence of majority rule, all subdivisions of democracy benefit and hinder its