“Democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man” (Reagan, N.d.). This quote said by Ronald Reagan, shows that Democracy is more than just a government; it’s honor, freedom and hope. While looking at previous government systems, including Communism and Capitalism, one can notice the limitations that made each of these government systems fail time and time again. Through the balance of other systems prior, people representation, and limited power, Democracy has been proven helpful to this country’s prosperity and growth. Even though most government systems have shattered and failed on numerous counts, Democracy has remained intact and has gained the right to be named the best form of government in today’s society.
One can believe that Democracy is the best form of government in today society because it contains a combined balance of several other systems prior to it. Karl Marx, the founder of the Communism, believed that equality is key to a strong governmental system. He believed money, and the power that came with it, would only draw people, communities and citizens, apart. Money “appears as this distorting power both against the individual and against the bonds of society, etc., which claim to be entities in themselves… it transforms fidelity into infidelity, love into hate, hate into love, virtue into vice, vice into virtue, servant into master, master into servant, idiocy into intelligence, and intelligence into idiocy” (Marx, 1844). Since Communism wants to limit power and control over other people, they make everyone absolutely equal. Everyone is guaranteed the same things, including housing, clothing and education, and no one is allowed the opportunity to rise...
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Works Cited
Marx, Karl. “The Power of Money.” Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts. 1844. Web. < http://www.alamo.edu/nvc/programs/humanities/huma/pages/state_marx.htm> .
Reagan, Ronald. “Qoute” Brainqoute. Xplore, n.d. Web. < http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/ronaldreag387305.html >.
Smith, Adam. “Excerpts.” The Wealth of Nations. London, 1776. Web. < http://www.alamo.edu/nvc/programs/humanities/huma/pages/state_smith.htm> .
“The Pros and Cons of Capitalism.” Phil for Humanity. N.p. N.d. Web. < http://www.philforhumanity.com/Capitalism.html >.
“The Pros & Cons of Communism.” Pros & Cons of Communism. N.p. N.d. Web. < http://debate.yukozimo.com/pros-and-cons-of-communism/ >.
Wiki Associate. “Representation (politics).” Wikipedia Foundation, 2014. Web. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representation_(politics) >.
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" .
Janda, K., Berry, J., Golman, J., & Hula, K. (2009). The Challenge of Democracy: American
Although this manifesto is small, it emanates one of the most recognized and well thought out political arguments in history. The basis of Marx’s reasoning for the use of this type of gov-ernment is seemingly straightforward. He believed all resources in a nation should be distributed equally to all citizens, so that the division of social classes would cease to exist and to make sure there was no exploitation of any citizens. Marx also wanted the abolition of owning private prop-erty, which is the main contributor to the bourgeoisie’s source of wealth. Marx broke this manifes-t...
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
The Constitution gave our country a frame work in which we have built into a great nation. Their idea is that the purpose of our system, meaning our democracy, is to protect an individual’s liberty. William Hudson tries to convince us that there should be a connection between the government we have today and the government in other countries, Parliamentary System. In chapter 1 of the textbook, Democracy in Peril, starts off by giving the reader background knowledge of the found fathers, signers of the Declaration of Independence and the drafters of the Constitution, which reflect as “democracy models” or “protective democrats.” What the founding fathers did not want to happen is for there to be a corrupt government which ignored the rights
The United States is run by a democracy. There are many pieces to democracy that must be in good health in order for democracy to be effective and work. In this essay I will critique some of the most important parts of democracy in America and go deeper. I will first focus on the strengths of United States democracy and then I will dive into categories of democracy that I believe to not be thriving. I believe that the current conditions of United States democracy are becoming a hindrance to this nation, because the opinions and freedoms the public possess are being stripped away through poor media, education, and economy.
One of the scholars who didn’t support the idea of a mergence between capitalism and democracy was the famous Karl Marx, who thought that it either wouldn’t happen or if it did it would have evaporated quickly. In his work he portrayed his opinion on capitalist democracy as ‘only the political form of revolution of bourgeois society and not its conservative form of life.” On the arena of politics it appears to be that there are numerous moments of clashes between both the economic ideology capitalism and the political ideology democracy and this is an opinion stated by various scholars including Karl Marx. According t...
Works Cited Hudson, William E. American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America’s Future – Fourth Edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2004. Landy, Marc and Sidney M. Milkis. American Government: Balancing Democracy and Rights.
Throughout the course of history, mankind has been recorded to corrupt itself. Men have grown tired of simply surviving; they have had to take and conquer others. Absolute monarchies control wealth, land, and even lives of men. The conditions of the people were solely dependent on the conditions of the one who was in power in that particular place and time. History has proven that most men rule unwisely in their kingdoms. To avoid tyrannical rule, some make an attempt to set up a government in which the people ruled themselves. This form of government is called a democracy, or “rule of the people.” History has also revealed through the Greeks and the French Revolution, that a democracy that gives complete power to the people, “absolute democracy”, is nothing more than a short prelude to tyranny.
These two democratic forms of government are the most used to demonstrate the key concept of ideal democracy. The aim of having a democratic government is to achieve equality and have equal rights to vote. However, the democratic government is still facing many challenges that limits individuals in many aspects. Democracy is still struggling to accomplish in having the right to vote for certain ethnicity, women, race, religion, and other factors that may be taken account to. Tax systems are proposed directly for achieving economic equality, resulting in large gaps for income tax rate. Whereas, the poor in poverty might pay absolutely no tax or as little as one dollar, while the wealthier person has to pay 25-33% of his/her income towards the contribution. Having said, a democratic government allows all of the people to vote, nevertheless, if your opinion and beliefs differs from the majority, your voice will not be heard. In this essay, I will thoroughly analyze what exactly is democracy and what it means to have a democratic government. I will then contend to derive all of the barriers which limits opinion and
Though the rewards are pleasing to the ear, the path to obtaining the benefits of communism is a violent one. This strict governing idea was derived from Communist Manifesto, a book written by two German economists, Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels, who declare that many problems in society are caused by the unequal distribution of wealth. These two believe that “Communism deprives no man of the ability to appropriate the fruits of his labour. The only thing it deprives him of is the ability to enslave others by means of such appropriations.” To achieve the goal of happiness and prosperity for all, the lines that distinguish the differences between the rich and poor must be erased. Obviously, the rich will never voluntarily give up their goods or status; therefore the figureheads must force equality among the citizens. Communism places their citizens, whether they be the wealthy or the laborers, into working classes that specify their contribution to the government. With such balanced placement of the people, individuality is impossible for any single person to achieve.
A democracy promotes equal rights for all its citizens and the equal opportunity to represent and choose for themselves in matters that affect their lives (Liddell, Robert Scott). The advent of democracy brought the opportunity of choice and the freedom of choosing according to ones wants and desires. This was considered as a stepping stone to a modern free world, and still holds true.
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
Marx thought of a society that would create equality and bring power to the people. He didn 't expect society to be totally equal but a society with distributed justice. According to Marx, a good society is when there is no exploitation. To get rid of exploitation, we have to get rid of surplus values and make everyone equal. But Marx also knows that no good society can exist as long as exploitation is allowed. That is why some societies will want a Marx type of living and some will not. A society that has used and embodied the Marxist tradition is Russia. They have used Marx ideas and lived by the communist manifesto. This way of life worked for many years and to the people of Russia, it made a good society. But to people outside of Russia, people who lived in a democratic state or country, they looked at it as a failed society. A type of society that should not be allowed to exist in the world of democracy. But like Marx said, some societies will be able to live in a Marxist environment and some won’t. Marx also states, “ In a communist society, the working class will be more important than the capital class”(M 10-25-2016). By having everyone equal, this allows for class conflict to be no more and exploitation not exist. Marx knows there can be no good society but a Marxist society will do its best to form a ideal
The idea of an ideal democracy is not a particularly obtainable idea, considering the different in culture and history of countries this could be a dramatic change to previous authoritarian regimes. Although we can work towards this idea of an ideal democracy reaching this goal will be a much harder task. The attributes that contribute to having an ideal democracy are free and fair elections, their capability to implement policies, political participation of the masses and universal adult suffrage, and a multiple party political system.