For thousands of years, democracy has been the most acclaimed form of government. From the agoras of Athens, where democracy first erupted, to our current world, democracy has been a decisive element in modern world politics. The term democracy translates to “rule of the people”, a system where eligible citizens are able to decide through a common vote. However, democracy has radically evolved over the centuries, and so did the negative aspects of it. First, we must state what is considered an “effective political system” and why democracy is, or isn’t the most effective system of governance today. According to Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), effectiveness in governance can be seen through elements such as individual freedom, freedom
A good example would be to look at the United States. The legislative, judicial and executive branch all have the same authority, thus making it impossible for one body to have all power. This is a very important aspect of modern democracy, as it usually prevents dictatorships from forming. Being driven by public will, democracy is more stable than any other forms of government, it is unlikely that a democratic state would be subject to a revolution. Furthermore, democracies tend to be wealthier than non-democratic countries. This is a tempting image for a country wishing democracy, but many attempts at democratization have failed in the past due to poor handling of the economy. A prosperous economy means more social spending, which implies better and safer living conditions for the people. Democracies ensure that everything is done to respond to popular demand, and that the well being of the many outweighs the well being of the
Even though many argument are made against democratic regimes, it is clear that there isn’t any other political system that is able to fulfill the will of its citizens and give power to the many through nation-wide election of representatives, mayors, presidents and so on. Back in ancient Greece, this concept was reserved to eligible men, but as our world evolved, we have been able to spread democracy towards any ethnicity and gender. As new democracies emerge, we must not forget that no system is perfect, and every democracy will have its downsides as well as people who are unhappy, but bare in mind that no other political system aims to serve the needs of its citizens, while at the same time providing a safe and liberal
Democracy is the structure of government still used today in many countries.The definition of democracy is a system of government where people who rule directly are freely elected representatives.In addition, democracy comes from the Greek word demokratia. Demo meaning people and kratia meaning power of rule. For instance, here is an example, Great Britain has a democratic government since elected officials and laws are voted on by the people and also the representatives they elect. Therefore Athens exemplifies a democratic government. “Athenians would meet and vote on a simple question …. is anyone becoming a threat to democracy? If a simple majority voted yes,then they dispersed and reassembled two months later,
The epic poem, Beowulf, a work of fiction, offers more insight into Ancient Anglo-Saxon English culture than the work of Bede, who wrote, A History of the English Church and People. The epic poem Beowulf gives an enhanced illustration and clearer understanding of the culture of the Ancient Anglo-Saxon’s. The epic poem gives the audience a picture of what the Ancient Anglo-Saxon English valued; seafaring, warriors, heroes, and paganism.
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.
Every person has wondered about something - whether it be a person, place, thing, law, or anything that someone can think about. They ask questions both rhetorical and actual to themselves, and usually make it a mission to answer these questions. Some of the biggest questions have something to do with culture and religion. One of the most major questions of all time - to what extent does an individual have control over the outcome of his or her life? There are many different opinions on this topic.
““Well, they had a point. You are fat and disgusting!” The therapist announced. Patricia was sobbing, eyes red and nose runny...“Come on… Let’s go. We aren’t putting up with that!” her father...opened the door and ushered the family through. The therapist just observed and no more was heard from him…[Her nervous breakdown] was a result of long term bullying leading to an episode of being run out of school by a gang of boys. They threatened to kill her with a crowbar, sticks and wooden planks. She felt like a hunted fox” (shazwellyn.hubpages.com). No matter how hard a parent might try to help their child, whether they’re being bullied or are the bully, the consequences should not fall on the people who raise them because the victims have to do what they can to make up for what they’ve done or what they’ve suffered. The city of Monona, Wisconsin has proposed a new law that tickets and fines the parents for failing to respond properly to their child’s poor behavior. A behavioral and personal change consulting specialist, Mr. Michael Harmann, hypothesized that bullying behavior is typically an effort to cover up the bully's own vulnerability. It's a primitive mindset that wants to make you pay when you show vulnerability and since bullying mostly occurs under the legal age, that’s enough to say that higher levels of authority don’t have control over the thoughts and actions that bullies use as an outlet for their own pain because it goes against the Constitution. The key to helping the children we feel so sorry for is to heal the bully before he turns into a monster and the only way to help the perpetrator is to make him face his motivation to bully. “If you think about it, a great strategy to avoid being rejected is to reject everyon...
What makes a good person good? According to WikiHow, "We should learn to define our own morals ourselves. One of the simplest ways to do so is to love others, and treat them as you would like to be treated. Try to think of others before yourself. Even doing small things daily will greatly enrich and improve your life, and the lives of others around you." This quote shows us what we need to do in order to be what society thinks as, “good". In order to be a good person, you have to do good and moral things in your society consistently. However people might think that by doing one good thing once in a while will automatically make you a “good person”, but in reality it doesn’t.
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...
More importantly, what is a democracy exactly? Some would define it as a form of government where the people rule, others as where the poor rule, and I would say it is where everyone contributes in how the government is ran but do not control the final decisions made. In Aristotle 's "Democracy and Oligarchy", he discusses the different kinds of democracies that exist and how equality plays a huge role in defining it. Without equality, or even limiting it, it can change a democracy into an oligarchy. He goes into detail about each kind there is and further analyzes how regardless of having similar elements, they are each unique in their own way.
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?”
The link between democracy and human rights has been recognized by many scholars. For example O’Donnell (2004) summarized the quality of democracy as: Quality of Democracy = human rights + human development. This viewpoint indicates that democracy encapsulates human rights. Several research findings strongly support the idea that states with higher levels of democracy, regardless of their election rules, are more respectful of human rights (Davenport 1997; Poe, Tate, and Keith 1999).
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.
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...
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.
Politics is one of the most debated topics in the country today. With the wide variety of values present in America, it is bound to be a difficult topic to discuss. I’ve grown up in a family of democrats with religiously republican grandparents. Considering myself an Independent leaning democratic, I can usually calmly talk politics with my family. This year’s election has made any conversation surrounding politics toxic to my family and creates a large argument of one side or the other and no in between.