Introduction
Referring to “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Abraham Lincoln 1861), democracy has long been upheld as the cornerstone of the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. This may well explain why a recently conducted survey reveals that an overwhelming majority (83%) of the Hong Kong people recognize democracy as one of the important core values . Despite a well-embraced core value, democracy is not necessarily conducive to the development of a country. In the eyes of some renowned scholars such as John T. Wenders and Milton Friedman, democracy also has its own drawbacks on different aspects. Therefore, it is the high time for us to examine the both sides of democracy thoroughly.
Benefits of democracy
First
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Unlike authoritative regime, a democratic society needs to reach a majority consensus before policy implementation. Nonetheless, consensus-reaching process is often time-consuming. As social policies cannot be enforced before attaining consensus, a democratic state may not respond to different changes promptly. The separation of powers further adds fuels to the governance inefficiency. With checks and balance among the executive, the legislature and the judiciary (Montesquieu, 18th century), the policies or bills proposed by the executive can be turned down by the other two branches. For instance, as the republicans obstructed the passage of the federal budget, the US government was forced to shut down, which incurred a cost of $ 24 billion . This reveals that a democratic system may hinder the proper functioning of the government, incurring an expensive social cost. Also, in a bid to solicit people’s support and be re-elected, some politicians may be pressurized to provide more social welfare. This does not only increase the government’s financial burden but also undermines the working incentives of the nationals, which might lead to economic inefficiency. (Milton …show more content…
As decisions are made by majority consensus, democracy does not guarantee rights and freedom for every citizen, especially the minority groups. Thus, the interests of the minority group may be sacrificed for that of the majority group under a democratic system. A vivid example would be the disapproval of same-sex marriage in Hong Kong. Owing to the conservative values, most of the Hong Kong people regard gay marriage as a distorted value and thus refuse to embrace it. Consequently, the homosexuals are bereft of the right to marriage, which is a fundamental right granted by the Basic Law. This reflects that individual rights are subject to the majority values, depriving the minority group of the freedom and liberty safeguarded by
Many Americans are proud to live in a country that claims to be a democracy. They are enlightened to know that “the people” have the power to actively participate in the decision making process of the government. They constantly show pride and faith on the principles of democracy everywhere they go. Yet, there are many who also seem to disapprove of the process that others so claim to be the best form of rule of government.
The majority of Americans when asked what type of government their country practices, will answer with a strong and proud, “Democracy!” but the reality is vastly different. The Unites States is not strictly a democracy. Democracy as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is, “a system of government in which all the people of a state or polity… are involved in making decisions about its affairs, typically by voting to elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly,” (Oxford English Dictionary) and if you observe our practices including gerrymandering, the electoral college, the intentions of the founding fathers, our history of racism and discrimination, and a republic vs. a democracy, you will see that the U.S. is in fact, not
The framers of the constitution created the Democratic Republic, these are just some of the features that define the Democratic Republic. First is that a Democratic Republic is both a republic and a democracy. Democracy is based upon the majority rule and a person’s individual rights. A Democracy protects against all powerful central governments and transfer government to regional and local levels, and is a political system for choosing who should be in office based on free,and fair elections. Also makes sure that there is a protection of human rights. Citizens get the right to vote.
The American Democracy is one of the strongest and most powerful in the world with many influences that has tailored the constitutions and laws of other countries. In the 21st century the Constitution of the United States still remains one of the simplest, shortest, most envied, most difficult to change and predominant role of how effective democracy can be. However, American Democracy is not static; it is constantly evolving. Even though democracy offers a number of advantages over other forms of government, no system is perfect and federalism offers, and still offers, both advantages and disadvantages. The Declaration of Independence of 1776 and the Constitution of 1789 form the foundations of the United States federal government. The Declaration of Independence establishes the United States as an independent political entity, while the Constitution creates the basic structure of the federal government. This paper is will examine a number of factors that prove to establish and define the strengths and weakness of the Constitution, the impact of policy on federal bureaucracy, the efficiency of branches of government and the impact of interest groups. The forecast for democracy is anything but certain, and many opinions
In the twentieth century Latin America went through several political systems such as military dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. The transition to democracy involved national contexts,institutions, economic development, and that shaped the outcome (225). Although democracy is now more positive than how Latin American initially began, certain aspects of the state are not as democratized as others. In the general sense democracy is embedded in Latin American states and have accommodated democratic norms (250). Elections now function in a stable manner and governments easily rotate without dispute (250). Latin America is on the correct path to democratization however has not completely made the transition. There are still many issues
Athens was one of the first places to develop the idea of a democracy. They experimented with the idea of a direct democracy where instead of electing a representative who voted on the citizen’s behalf, all citizens were able to vote for themselves. However, not everyone was a citizen. To be a citizen one must be born in Athens, male, landowning, and free-born. After meeting all the requirements they were able to vote on all bills and legislation. The assembly was a main aspect of Athenian Democracy, they had many jobs such as making public announcements, and voting on the primary issues of Athens. Another important part of the democracy was the council of 500, who were drawn randomly and could only serve once. They knew that all citizens couldn’t meet everyday at the assembly, so they created the Council of 500 to direct the daily business of Athens. Another group controlling the democracy was the court, they were the ones supervising all
Much has been made about whether or not the United States is truly a democratic country. The nature of this debate stems from the different ways that democracy is defined. Many scholars, including Howard Zinn have defined democracy operationally rather than conclusively thus creating a focus that goes beyond political institutions and addresses the quality of life of the citizens. This focus on equality and fairness of outcomes generally leads to the conclusion that America is not that democratic. On the other hand, many other scholars, including Sidney Hook, have argued that democracy does not have to do with outcomes, but rather it is about the procedural process, specifically the concept of majority
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
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.
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
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.
Democracy is “...the word that resonates in people’s minds and springs from their lips as they struggle for freedom and a better way of life...” (Schmitter and Karl, 1991:75). However, the word democracy has many different means depending on the country and context it is used in. “Every country has is own culture and comes by its political system through its own history” (Greenberg, 2007:101, cited in Li, 2008:4). Li, (2008) states that because of China’s political structure the usual road to democracy may be difficult for it to achieve. The western idea ...
In addition, democracy maintains the right of choice. These characteristics are the most appealing and dominate because people can formulate decisions based on their cultural, religious, interpersonal, intrapersonal beliefs that outline who...
There have been enormous efforts to spread democracy as a political system throughout the world by the developed democratic countries and the international development organizations including the World Bank. By the late 1990s the United States alone spent over a half billion dollars to promote democratic expansion throughout the world (Diamond, 2003). These were done considering that the democratic system leads towards development. As a result in the late 20th century we saw a huge political transformation towards democracy. During the last few decades a huge number of countries adopted democracy as their political system. However, it retain a big question how far democracy is successful in bringing development of a country? At this stage, some people also criticizes the effort of democratization arguing that it is done without considering the context of a country, sometimes democracy is not ideal for all countries and it is an effort to extinct diversity of political system. In studying the literature regarding the debate, we found a paradoxical relationship between democracy and development. Some argue that democracy has failed to ensure expected outcomes in terms of development. While others confronted that democracy has a considerable impact on development. Another group of people argue that form of political system actually does not have any impact on development process. On the verge of these debates, some development institutions and academics throw light on why democracy is not working properly, and what measure should be taken to make it more successful in bringing effective development of developing countries. Consequently, this writing is an effort of revisiting the different views about impact of democra...
In a democracy, free and fair elections which are held after around half a decade, guarantee social rights and equality. These elections ensure that every citizen has the right to vote, and hence they create social stability among the society. Each and every individual casting his vote in the elections reduces discrimination among the people. Citizens are not judged on the basis of religion, race, color, social status and so on. In this way, the dignity of nationals is not damaged and people can live in peace. In addition to voting rights, a democracy also assures access to other services like security, education, property rights, and healthcare facilities. These human rights maintain social equity and involv...