In a democracy, the construction of the government involves the opinion of the people. In the article, Democracy Index 2013: Global Democracy At A Standstill, The Economist Intelligence Unit's Annual Report Shows, Kavitha Davidson, a journalist from the Huffington Post, analyzes the growth of democratic countries around the world. As a result, there were “165 independent countries and two territories to show the status of regional and worldwide democracy,” however only “15 percent” of the 165 countries claim to have a completely democratic regimes (Davidson). The statistic is significant because it illustrates that nearly half of world’s countries are authoritarian governments. Living in a democratic society is a privilege and many citizens take advantage of the system. However, to understand the importance of a democratic society, one needs to know the subject. Historically politicians referenced the Greek and Roman models of democracy to show specific characteristics of citizenship. The Roman model of democracy has influenced multiple democratic governments by illustrating the notion of human equality and distributing the power evenly among the people. The Roman model showed citizens are equal under the law and most of the authority came from the senate, however there are checks and balances to make sure fairness. In addition, the Greek model of democracy provided the concept of homonoia, a Greek word for harmony, which has influenced a large amount of democratic regime around the world. The concept influenced democratic societies by showing that citizens must make decisions that will benefit the collective good rather for private interests. Both models have influenced democratic societies and have influenced the characteristics...
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...make decisions that will benefit the community. The concept is crucial in a democratic society because the theory defines democracy. A democracy involves citizens to dedicate themselves to the process in which they will make decisions that will help the community rather for self-interests. It is the citizen’s responsibility to be aware of their decisions and analyze the possible outcomes that can result. Although, the role of the individual in a society involves participating in democratic process, participating in the community is an essential aspect as well. However, participating locally will affect the overall democratic process, thus it is more important for citizens to partake in the system. In conclusion, citizens shape democracy by participating in the system and individuals must be aware of the consequences that can arise from defying the democratic process.
In comparing the Ancient Athenian system of government, and the Modern Day American political system, there are many similarities. In Ancient Athens, democracy was developed in response to a long history of oppressive rulers who used their position of power for their own benefit. Ancient Athenians sought a government where all citizens were considered equal under the eyes of the law, and all had a fair say in the running of their country. Following a series
Democracy may be the best foundation on which to build a society, but to glorify it
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" .
“The nature of tyrannies, dictatorships, and oligarchies is to use powers of suppression to deny citizens political and human rights. The nature of democracy is to find ways to guarantee those rights.” (Jacobus, pg. 51) By definition, democracy is, “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.” (en.oxforddictionaries.com) The basic elements of democracy are (but not limited to) free and fair elections, protection of human rights, limited government power, and equality before the law. Robert A. Dahl believed the ideal of a perfect democracy is unrealistic. However, Dahl believed a democratic government is the best option despite its imperfections. Dahl lists
Plato defines Athens as a democratic society that “treats all men as equal, whether they are equal or not.” Therefore, believes that there are those that are born to rule and others that are born to be ruled. Plato presents the argument that democracy does not achieve the greatest good, giving four main objections to democracy. Firstly, he identifies that most of us are ruled by passions, pleasure, sentiment and impulse. Hence, th...
Democracy is control by the people. On the surface, this appears to be a superior form, but as Plato warned it is slow to react, oppresses of the minority, and lacks skilled leaders (Perry,
During the age of Pericles, the ideal form of government was believed to be a government formed by all of the citizens regardless of wealth or social standing. This was known as democracy, literally meaning “ government of the people” [Document 3.] This government favored the many instead of the few. Athens was a direct democracy, meaning every citizen participated in debates. Western civilization used this philosophy of government by many, and created an indirect democracy where citizens elect officials to make and enforce laws.
Throughout history several ideologies were acquired from different governmental institutions and implemented in establishing the United States Government. Both The Roman Republic and Athenian democracy have a great impact on our government today. The Roman Republic, on the other hand, utilizes many different concepts from different types of governments and executes it in its own government. Moreover, Athenian democracy shares a great deal of similarities with our government such as equality before the law, meritocracy, and open society. Through the basic understanding of those two institutions we can understand more about our own government. Some fundamental aspects that are used in our government today are majority rules, checks and balances, freedom of religion, Habeas Corpus, and the implementation of different governmental ideologies to form one government in order to further strengthen and stabilize it. Finally, we can observe how these ideas were used in the past and how they are carried out today.
Citizens are a vital part in any government; some more than others. There is a great contrast between the roles citizens play in a democratic government rather than a government under absolute control. Emerging in the 16th century, absolute monarchy is a form of government in which the ruling monarch has absolute control without limitations. In this form of government, the monarch is the head of state and head of government with unrestricted political power. On the contrary, a democracy is a form of government in which citizens elect leaders to represent them through voting. On the surface, there is a lot of differences: having a say in government versus not having a say, all for one versus one for all, and fixed terms versus a lifetime of
According to Aristotle, a democracy is a failure. It is a majority rule where the majority is poor and non-virtuous. This means that whomever is in office, and all have equal access to office because of democracy’s concept of equality, may not act in the best interests of the city-state. When the city-state fails to reach its telos, providing the good life for its citizens, then the government of the city-state is non-virtuous, as are the people in the government. Since the city-state fails to achieve its telos under a democracy, Aristotle believes democracy to be a failure.
Democracy was a revolutionary development for the Ancient Greek society it was an innovative idea which gave the citizens of Ancient Greeks the freedom to participate in the governmental system and contribute in the processes and decisions, this in turn helped Ancient Greece succeed politically and economically. This democratic society not only helped Greece succeed in the Mediterranean region but also influenced modern day society. The Ancient Greeks succeeded significantly and were highly advanced for this period, the progressive thoughts and ideas demonstrated by individuals in this society contributed to the development of democracy in Athens which has become one of the most beneficial forms of government created.
This further raises the question as to whether Plato’s model of a republic is more beneficial. A democracy does embody positive attributes; such as letting the people take part in elections and having the freedom to choose their leader. In spite of this, the American vote is still uneducated. When it comes to national policies Americans only comprehend the relevance of worldly events based on one-sided information from politicians. The media contributes to this, portraying a narrow-minded view of the world, showing only portions of what could impact life in the States. Without complete information of outside nations, the democracy in America is flawed and elections are based more on favoritism and who can make the other look worst. This can lead citizens to favor the more socially appealing contender even if he/she is not the right person to lead. In the article “Plato’s Republic vs. Democracy” the author Ogochukwu Okpala stresses that, “to allow the public to vote based on emotions rather than an informed decision could be detrimental to the structure of a society.” The logical alternative is to educate the public that way they may vote for only the truly wise to determine what is best for the nation
Aristotle defines democracy as the rule of the poor and the rule of the majority. A government can be governed in two ways according to Aristotle; by virtuous or non-virtuous leaders or by its economic class. In order for a governmental system to be considered successful it needs to achieve its telos. In democracy the majority of the rule and the rule or poor does not assist the city-state in achieving telos. Hence, Aristotle believes democracy is not a good form of rule. According to Aristotle, democracy cannot be virtuous form of government because; of the way freedom is defined. “Democracies do not define freedom properly, everyone lives the way they want and toward what goals they want to attain” (Aristotle, p. 104). In order for a government to be considered virtuous its need to rule for the common good of its people. The government has to achieve its telos; the good for its citizens. By allowing the citizens to dictate the way of rule they are creating a government which is non-virtuou...
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.