Traditionally, the purpose of democracy is to prevent the accumulation of too much authority in the hands of one or a few. It rests on a balance of giving enough power for what Alexander Hamilton called "vigorous and energetic government" and avoiding giving out so much power that it becomes abused. Democracy is believed by some, such as Winston Churchill, to be the "least bad" form of government. By creating a system where the public can remove administrations, without changing the legal basis for government, democracy aims at reducing political uncertainty and instability, and assuring citizens that however much they may disagree with present policies, they will be given a regular chance to change those who are in power, or change policies with which they disagree. Democracy is also related to the idea of constitutional government, setting limits beyond which a current majority in government may not step.
Nonetheless, some people believe that there is no system that can ideally order society and that democracy is not morally ideal. These advocates say that at the heart of democracy is the belief that if a majority is in agreement, it is legitimate to harm the minority. The opponents to this viewpoint say that in a liberal democracy where particular minority groups are protected from being targeted, majorities and minorities actually take a markedly different shape on every issue; therefore, majorities will usually be careful to take into account the di...
America's Democracy The United States of America is a republic, or representative democracy. Democracy, a word that comes to us from Greek, literally means the people rule (Romance, July 8). This broad definition leaves unanswered a few important details such as who are the people, how shall they rule, and what should they rule on (July 8). Defining the answers to those questions means defining a model for a democratic system.
In theory, the idea of democracy is a fantastic one, a system where the people can decide for themselves what happens in their lives through voting is truly wonderful. However, a system works only as well as the person
Government was, after all, established by the consent of people, and it is only natural that they maintain this consent. However, this was not always the case, as from this basic model, monarchies and aristocracies also emerged. These systems violate the principles of civil government insofar as there is no common authority and an imbalance between legislative and executive powers. Thus, a democracy was the preferred form of government, as it allowed for citizens to retain some of their natural freedoms and rights, while at the same time continuing to allow them a voice in how they wished to be
Schmitter, Philippe C., and Terry Lynn Karl. "What Democracy Is ... and Is Not." Journal of Democracy 2.3 (1991): 75-88. Project MUSE. Web. 10 Sept. 2013.
Majority rule can often lead to tyranny because of the pursuit of the majorities’ interests; however, with the Supreme Court and its interpretation of the Constitution, minority groups are often able to rule over the unjust majority. Majority rule is essential in a democracy and having limits does not contradict the majority’s power. The principles of majority rule can be upheld while the rights of minorities are protected as long as justice is maintained through the checks on majority factions and justified court rulings.
The democracy has a literal essence as well as a deeply rooted understanding for the structure of governing the people in a satisfactory way. The term ‘Democracy’ originates from a Greek word, implying ‘rule of the people’. As its origins designate, it’s a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives, either directly or through elected representatives which seems more rational since they are the ones who had to live through it. Daniel Hannan said in his article that Abraham Lincoln said “…government of the people, by the people, for the people…”. Providing the people with the rights to vot...
The minority rights in a democratic society appear to even out with the majority rule in an unusual way. There are some incidents where the minority may have loss, but on the other hand won. For example, when Rosa Parks didn’t give up her seat on that hot Alabama day, she stood up to the majority tyranny. The majority won by putting her in jail, however; the minority prevailed by establishing the civil rights movements.
The system of democracy is based off unity. Citizens come together to work out issues in a way that benefits everyone, ideally. As humans, however, and being that democracy is a manmade concept, it’s prone to errors that affect voting outcomes. Some of these errors can include people’s votes being swayed because they were born into following certain parties or the domino effect that often occurs where trying to solve one problem may negatively affect another. While the “majority rules” method proves useful in many ways, there are obstacles that challenge the wholesomeness of democracy.
A memorable expression said by President Abraham Lincoln reads, “Democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Democracy, is a derived from the Greek term "demos" which means people. It is a successful, system of government that vests power to the public or majority. Adopted by the United States in 1776, a democratic government has six basic characteristics: (i) established/elected sovereignty (where power and civic responsibility are exercised either directly by the public or their freely agreed elected representative(s)), (ii) majority rule(vs minority), (iii) (protects one’s own and reside with) human rights, (iv) regular free and fair elections to citizens (upon a certain age), (v) responsibility of
One of the contemporary definitions of democracy today is as follows: “Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives; Rule by the majority” (“Democracy” Def.1,4). Democracy, as a form of government, was a radical idea when it manifested; many governments in the early history of the world were totalitarian or tyrannical in nature, due to overarching beliefs that the strong ruled over the weak.
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.
Throughout history different types of instrumental regimes have been in tact so civilizations remained structured and cohesive. As humanity advanced, governments obligingly followed. Although there have been hiccups from the ancient times to modern day, one type of government, democracy, has proven to be the most effective and adaptive. As quoted by Winston Churchill, democracy is the best form of government that has existed. This is true because the heart of democracy is reliant, dependent, and thrives on the populaces desires; which gives them the ability for maintaining the right to choose, over time it adjusts and fixes itself to engulf the prominent troubling issues, and people have the right of electing the person they deem appropriate and can denounce them once they no longer appease them. In this paper, the benefits of democracy are outlined, compared to autocratic communism, and finally the flaws of democracy are illustrated.
In the end, democracy is the best form of government. It gives people a say in who should rule, it allows the best decisions to be made, and laws that are fair and just according to the majority of that societies’ needs. This can provide a very good and peaceful country, and that’s why democracy is a better form of government than oligarchy, dictatorship, communism, or monarchy. Government is needed to control and bring peace to a society, which other forms of government cannot do to the best of their ability due to their structure. In conclusion, democracy is the best form of government for the people.
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.
What is democracy? Democracy a form of government in which the people freely elect representatives to govern them in a country, democracy guarantees free and fair elections, basic personal and political rights and independent court of law. There are two types of democracy, direct and indirect democracy. Direct democracy or pure democracy is where there is direct participate of the people; people make decisions for them instead of letting them representative make decision for them. Indirect democracy the decisions are made by the representative on behalf of the people that voted for them. All over the world people are having different views with regard to democracy and how it operates. “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried” ~ Winston Churchill, some have said democracy is the worst government form of government which I also think it’s! Due to the how it operates.