There are two kinds of benefits which are commonly attributed to democracy: relatively better laws and policies and improvement in the characters of participants. John Stuart Mill argued that a democratic method of making legislation is better than non-democratic methods in three ways: epistemologically, strategically and via the improvement of the characters of the democratic citizens. (Mill,1861, Chapter 3.) Epistemologically, democracy is the finest decision-making method on the premise that it gives people access to the decisions of their choice more often than in any other form of government. The democratic decision making is believed to be more informed than any other form of rule, about the citizens’ interests and the steps necessary steps required in fulfilling those interests. As democracy influences a good number of demos in the domain of decision making, it manages to take dominance over data and analytical appraisal of policies and laws. Additionaly, we can say that broad based discussion of democracy enhances the evaluative estimation of the different virtuous ideas that guide people who make decisions.
Strategically, democracy is a beneficial political process because it compels decision makers to take into consideration the interests, opinions and rights of demos in a society. As democracy provides some political power and capability to each elected representative, interests of people are taken into consideration more than that they are taken in aristocracy or monarchy. Amartya Sen has given a compelling statement of this argument, he argues that “ no substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent country with a democratic form of government and relatively free press.”(Sen 1999, 152.) The foundation fo...
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... political system. So we can arguably, say that the argument which was earlier raised against the democracy is not the credible one and we cannot say that democracy is the vilest form of government on the basis of that argument.
Second, Plato (Republic, Book VI) argued that “some people are more intelligent and more moral than others and that person ought to rule.” Here again we can argue that if some people are more intelligent than others then it is not necessary that they ought to rule on a premise that because no one can guarantee the morality of an individual. There is always a chance that an intelligent person may engage in corruption or immoral activities. As Aristotle had said “For if liberty and equality, as it is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when al persons alike share in the government to the utmost.”
In Plato’s reasoning he explains that everyone is born with innate qualifications that make them more fit than others for a certain occupation. He suggests that in this way each person’s function will be completed thoroughly. The same theory applies when deciding how the city with be ruled. Only people who possess superior traits will have the power to rule. These people will pertain to the highest ranking class of the state called the guardian class.
Plato firmly believed that only a select few should rule. This idea stems from his view that people are unequal in essence, as some truly enlightened individuals are able to understand justice and good whereas others could only see the suggestion of the phenomenas. He asserted that many people were
This Journal entry by Plattner, just like Fukuyama’s, He defines the meaning of Democracy and explores its relationship with the democratic system. But unlike Fukuyama’s entry where he is not in favor of democracy, Plattner in his defined both democracy and governance in an unbiased point of view. Although he adds on his personal views, his unbiased statement is prevalent which makes his entry a good source of reference because he not only provides information but because of his purely formal way of studying democracy and its relationship towards governance and which serves as a guide to an unbiased
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.
In his article, Democracy as a Universal Value, Amartya Sen asserts that democracy is a universal value. In order to develop his argument Sen needs to state his definition of democracy and define what he means by universal value. In the course of Sen's argument he gives his view of the relationship between democracy and the economy. He then defends his view of democracy as a universal value against a main argument that deals with cultural differences between regions.
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.
In comparing the average citizen in a democratic nation, say the United States, to that of a non-democratic nation, for instance Egypt, it will be found that the citizen in the democratic nation is generally better off – free of persecution, free from fear of the authorities, and free to express his opinions on governmental matters. And while national conflicts occur everywhere, incidents like violent revolts have shown to be more prevalent in nations where citizens are not allowed to choose who governs them. It is slightly paradoxical that democracy, so inherently flawed in theory, can lead to such successful outcomes in practice. The question, then, becomes: “If democracy has so many weaknesses, why does it work?”
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 The Republic, a truly just state contains four cardinal virtues, which can also be found in a just individual. Justice is the fourth cardinal virtue, but can only be reached once three other virtues are achieved. The first cardinal virtue necessary for justice is wisdom. In an individual, wisdom stems from the prevalence of reason in one’s rational mind, which in turn leads to knowledge and a good sense of judgment. When extended to the just state, the members of Socrates’ utopian society who embody wisdom are the ruling class of philosopher kings (Plato, Republic, 428e). In fact, wisdom is so important to Socrates that he believes in a extremely rigid and structured education for these members of society, so as to develop the rational part of their brain (Plato, Republic, 428e). Courage is another virtue necessary for justice, and occurs when an individual’s wisdom is “backed up” by his or her spirit, unflinching in the face of “fears and desires”(Plato, Republic, 429d). Without courage, wisdom and reason will not be the dominant forces is one’s mind. This reasoning certainly applies to the importance of auxiliaries in a perfect society, where the values and beliefs integral to its well being are constantly imparted on public servants through education and training (Plato, Republic,
Human history is pock-marked with innumerable wars and revolutions. The cause for most of the revolutions has been the choice of freedom. The opportunity to live a life without physical, mental or emotional restrictions has been and still is of supreme importance to man. This has resulted in the most widely followed discipline of political governance: Democracy.
Firstly, K. Isbester mentions that democracy has a different meaning for everyone, as some can define democracy as a good aspect for development, on the contrary other believe that it is nothing more than voting after several years. Although, Latin America see democratic g...
Democracy is robust, widely accepted and highly anticipated around the world. It is the triumphant form of government; dominantly used in Europe, North and South and America and becoming reformed and taking new roots in Africa and Asia. Although the term democracy is based on its Greek origin, demos kratos, meaning people rule, the term cannot be simply understood as such. Due to vast coverage, the adaptation of democracy has varied greatly, whether regionally, nationally, by state or through different branches of government. Perhaps this can be advantageous when the different categorizations listed above can use democracy to rule and suit themselves best, but other factors, such as globalization and neoliberalism, has caused the need for
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 Plato’s Republic, the main argument is dedicated to answering Glaucon and Adeimantus, who question the reason for just behavior. They argue it is against one’s self-interest to be just, but Plato believes the behavior is in fact in one’s self-interest because justice is inherently good. Plato tries to prove this through his depiction of an ideal city, which he builds from the ground up, and ultimately concludes that justice requires the philosopher to perform the task of ruling. Since the overall argument is that justice pays, it follows that it would be in the philosopher’s self-interest to rule – however, Plato also states that whenever people with political power believe they benefit from ruling, a good government is impossible. Thus, those who rule regard the task of ruling as not in their self-interest, but something intrinsically evil. This is where Plato’s argument that justice is in one’s self-interest is disturbed. This paper will discuss the idea that justice is not in one’s self-interest, and thus does not pay.
Democracy has come to mean a principle under whose flag has most of the developed countries aced in their race for Imperialism. It has gone beyond all previous governing systems and has made room for progress and development. By offering free and fair elections, democracy has redefined human dignity and patriotism. It has also helped to improve decision-making among the citizens, and brought down the crime level. Democracy is for sure the most fitting among the other types of government, and needs to be implemented fully for effective functioning of a state.