Important Factors of a Nation’s Well-Being

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Personal rights, the freedom of thought and belief, and a population’s standard of living are important factors of a nation’s well-being. The society’s opinions, in many democratic countries, play an important role in political decision-making. However, several of those freedoms, as well as democratic government practices slow down the speed at which laws and policies come into place. In times of crisis, this many not be the best for the nation’s security. Governments should allow personal rights, along with the right to say and think what people believe, but should suspend them during times of crisis to allow affairs to be kept under control, and important political decisions to become effective immediately.

In a dictatorship, we can see that all the power is limited to the ruling elite or the dictator. When a crisis such as war or depression strikes upon a nation, the dictator takes action towards helping the country become stable again. In 1933, Adolf Hitler passed the Enabling Act which allowed him to rule by decree, and he was now a dictator. He promised the German people that he will pull the country out of depression, regain lost territories and peoples, and build up their military. Dictatorial power allowed him to do all of those things.

This type of dictatorial power should only be kept in place while the country is in struggle. Once the government’s goals have been reached, democracy should slowly be restored. If democracy does not eventually become restored, usually most fascist leaders will take the concept of fascism too far and will result in failure. By keeping strong fascist values in place, ultranationalist feeling will arise. Minorities present in country will begin being exploited. In Nazi Germany, Jewi...

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... a way that benefits all the different groups that populate it, not just one. In order to do that, a democratic government is better because the government’s decisions would reflect the thoughts and desires of the people, while dissent would be not only permitted, but considered.

In order for a nation to become successful and satisfy its government and people, a democracy is the best choice. It allows freedom of thought and belief, personal rights, raises their standard of living, and allows their concerns and opinions to affect political decisions. However, in times of crisis, the government’s decisions and actions must be quick, and should assume what would be the best in the people, in order to do what is best for the entire nation. This mean temporarily suspending people’s rights and freedoms and controlling their thoughts in order to keep the nation secure.

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