One of the main arguments presented by Crick in In Defence of Politics is that politics is a realistic good necessary for well-organized governance. From my experiences in the field, I understand that democracy allows for differing interests and views to be heard in a diplomatic manner. While democracy elicits diverging ideas and opinions for people, citizens in a democratic state still understand their interests are often served through democratic values and equal representation in government affairs. Political representatives must be accountable to the masses for their actions and decisions in order for the rule of law to be obligatory. Democracy does not discriminate against ideology or party affiliation. During my internship, constituents with varying party affiliations voiced their concerns and opinions in regards to legislation either presented by the Assemblyman or presented in the State Assembly. Unlike many other forms of government rule, democracy does not discriminate against political affiliation or ideology. My personal experiences with constituents on the phone, both for and against various bills in the State Assembly, underline how highly involved and engaged the demos are in local political affairs. Constituents, as a collective, have the power and will to affect the passage or denial of a bill in the Senate or Assembly simply by voicing their opinion as a group. Personalized e-mails and letters to the Assemblyman on issues ranging from animal rights to after-school programs are examples of the democratic process working in conjunction with majority consent. Democracy permits citizens to voice their opinions and offer concern or support for legislation. In addition, constituents will voice their concerns or co...
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...e office to express their views on issues took an active role in their rights as citizens in a representative democracy. Politicians are concerned with the good of the state, and a consensus on proper laws and legislation are carried out in the State Assembly. Democracy permits people to choose representatives that will best serve their interests in public affairs. Every citizen has an equal share of representation in government. The constituents I met and talked with during my internship experience have freedoms that are purely democratic, including the freedom to vote, the freedom to elect individuals that will serve their needs, the freedom to own property, and the freedom to express their views to the representatives who are responsible to their county or district.
Works Cited
Crick, Bernard. In Defence of Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
Representation: the effort of elected officials to look out for the interests of those who elect them
Factions, or parties, are described in The Federalist No. 10 as groups of citizens “united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest.” According to Madison, these human passions divide the public into competing parties that are “much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good.” These parties often negatively impact the rights of other citizens as they pursue their own specialized goals, but it is “the nature of man” to create them. Thus, in order to protect the rights and voices of the people, a successful government must be committed to the regulation of these various factions. A pure (direct) democracy, argues Madison, cannot effectively do this because it offers every citizen a vote in serious public matters, and economic stratification alone prevents th...
Schiller, W. J., Geer, J. G., & Segal, J. A. (2013). Gateways to democracy: introduction to American government, the essentials. (2nd ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth ;.
In order to explain the lack of control politicians have over government, it is essential to examine the range of responsibilities politicians carry out as an elected official. In a Democratic government, the fundamental role of politicians is to create and suggest laws that reflect the needs of the public. Since politicians are the face of government they are responsible for representing and responding to constituents. Politicians generally know how to incorporate the interests of large parts of society that h...
The United States government could be described as a representative democracy. This form of government puts power in the people’s hands by letting them vote for their representatives. United States citizens vote on presidents, congress members, etc., which allows some power to be placed in the hands of every citizen. A representative democracy allows us to have a say in who represents our beliefs, values, and standards for the country. As stated in How Congress Works, a representative democracy is a way “in which the people would choose elected representatives to carry their voices to Washington.”
Democracy is rule by the people; the people elect governing officials based off of their personal values and beliefs. Different political parties rule the political scene and are serving to represent the people’s opinions in the best ways possible. Previously, I had a belief that my political view was essentially the only one possible and therefore it was the best. These views changed quickly once I learned the different political parties, their views, how they represent the people’s views, and how public opinion shapes politics. The government is formed around differentiating opinions on which policies should be in place and which social aspects need to be considered first. Not only is the government guided by opinion, but the people’s lives are guided by opinion as well. Each individual holds a different view, and each view can have an influence on society. Fortunately, after roughly eight weeks of studying American Government, I now have a better sense of complexity and the value of
In the article The American Democracy is Broken” written by, Eric Alterman; Alterman contends that the United States democracy needs real change. He believes that “we need to elect politicians willing to challenge the outdated rules of the senate ”, to add to this; senators are stuck in their own ideological ideas and thoughts. While the framers clearly wanted to build a government by the people, and for the people, bureaucrats which is an individual who is part of the government ; and lobbyist, which is an interest group representative who seeks to influence legislation in the benefit of his or her organization ; aff...
Can social order be maintained without power? Some political thinkers believe that political order can be maintained with sources such as human nature, the natural harmony of interests, and customs other than power. Rousseau and Marx believed in human nature if men and women were basically good. Locke thought that humans were at bottom reasonable. Edmund Burke was a proponent of habit, prejudice, and respect. The concept of natural harmony of interest is essentially summarized by the theory of classical economists, which is basic rationale for free enterprise. The classical economist regarded humans as materialistic and self-seeking and the social order could be created and sustained with power. The government role would be to ensure and maintain
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In other words, democracy relies on the existence of the arrangements of electoral representatives. If the citizens of the United States have the right to vote in elections for policies and people in office, then those elected officials are supposed to take the wants and needs of those people into consideration. (2)
Before that can be established, I think a definition of democracy should be stated so that it may be called upon later in this essay. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, democracy is stated as "the principle of social equality and respect for the individual within a community" .
Political apathy and the fact that less and less people, especially young people, vote affects the country and its state of democracy greatly. When more people do not believe that their right to vote can actually achieve something and make a difference the voter outcome will decrease. The united states pride itself on the fact that all citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote and change what they do not like about our government. The people of the united states were given the right to vote because the founding fathers did not want the people of the united states to be oppressed by one leader and gave the people the right to change the government by electing someone new. The whole idea of the united states being a “representative democracy”
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 other flaws however, democracy still seems to work.
...e equality without ignoring differences, make room for civil society without degrading the role of the state, and to reserve the rights of the individual without overlooking the general interest. As a result, democracy is becoming too difficult for ordinary citizens. The difficulty of being a democrat deals with a high degree of rationality in a world controlled by propaganda.
The foundation of the modern political system was laid in the times when the world was strangled in slavery. In those moments, enlightened minds in Greek came up with the new system that was there to remain for the next thousands of years. This system, now known as democracy, is a form of government in which supreme power is vested to the people themselves. People have the right to elect their leaders directly or indirectly through a scheme of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. A new democratic government is usually established after every 4-5 years, and it is trusted with the responsibility to cater to the needs of all the people irrespective of the fact that they voted for them or not. Although the minorities may not be very pleased with the idea of democracy, however, a democratic government is certainly the best because it establishes social equality among people, reduces the conflicts in the state to a minimum, gives the chance to vote repeatedly, and creates patriotism.