Philosophical Theories Of Democracy

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Many philosophical theories and arguments were used during the establishment of government in the United States. These arguments told of the virtues of democracy as an instrument, and some suggested, that democracy was based on the moral rights of men having equality and liberty regardless of the outcomes. As an instrument, “John Stuart Mills believed that since democracy brings a lot of people into the process of decision making, it can take advantage of many sources of information and critical assessment of laws and policies.” (Christiano) Although the United States is technically a Republic, the idea that the people give authority to the representatives of their choosing still has the foundational principles of democracy. This republic …show more content…

“ (Christiano) This is a point that is closely related to the previous point. As the political machine rolls on and becomes larger and more powerful, citizens become hopeless to changing the status quo. In the best of situations, an individual has a hard time accounting for small actions making a big difference. In Texas, many districts have only one party to vote for, so there is no chance for your vote to make a difference if you are of the opposing party. “I 'm definitely not super political and I know I 'm sitting in a red state that 's probably going to stay red for a long time," says Harrison, who leans left. But I still want my vote to count." (qtd. Schleifer) This lack of individual power is the reason for interest group pluralism. The group empowers people that might not otherwise be able to make change. In a perfect world these groups would debate, initiate conversations and compromise to support candidates that would stimulate potential voters. I think what has happened is that the people naturally attuned to running large organizations have found a structure in politics that suits their skill set. They have made the individual vote less powerful and the ordinary person has to overcome psychological barriers to voting along with the institutionalized barriers to

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