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Merits & demerits of democracy
Importance of democracy in a country
Merit and demerit of democracy
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One example of government is a regime ruled by democratic ideas. A government under this type of rule has specific qualities that distinguish it as a democracy. For instance, many people can have an impact to a democracy; they can possess some power. "It is true that we are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many and not of the few" (Benjamin Jowett). However, when one citizen among the people stands out, it can be a positive aspect towards public service. As stated in The History of Thucydides, "when a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as the reward of merit" (Benjamin Jowett). A citizen that is different from the rest should not be taken as beneficial towards public service, but as a gift of excellence. A democracy allows citizens to have this ability. In addition, a government under democratic rule consists of laws that create an equity among citizens. "But while the law secures equal justice to all alike in their private disputes, the claim of excellence is also recognized" (Benjamin Jowett). Conflicts and issues can occur in a society, but laws play a role in taming them. This is a reason as to how people are granted the same amount of justness and fairness among each other. Two characteristics among a democracy include having a unique citizen that is right for the public, and allowing laws to protect everyone's fair play.
Another type of government is an association under absolute control. Absolutism is the idea of governing by divine right, in which the ruler can come off as believing they are superior. This idea can be the cause of persuading rulers to be better than other parties. As stated in A History of Western ...
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...shed democracy ends due to Ralph not receiving enough respect from others, and lacking the ability in ruling efficiently. Ralph's formation of his democratic government goes wrong when these two characteristics lead to a formation of another society that ruins his own.
In the real world, there are two forms of government: an absolute government and a democratic government. A government under absolute control does not provide citizens with proper freedom or fair rights, while a government under democratic rule does. Citizens play a role in both of these types of government. Under absolute control, they serve to the government. In a democracy, they have an equal right, just like a figure of authority. In Lord of the Flies, a character named Ralph tries to commence a democracy that consists of justice and freedom, but cannot achieve this effort due to this flaws in
I see this quote showing that, when a widespread shift in belief occurs, a democracy may no longer function. The conch had value because the boys gave it value, much like Ralph's position as leader. I see this quote revealing a darker side of Ralph, as he seems to crave power and get extremely angry if he does not get
We all want to live in a world where we have freedom, rights, opinions and democracy gives us that. In the book Lord of the Flies, Ralph’s democratic leadership style is much better than Jack’s dictator leadership style because everyone has equal rights and that is fair. Firstly, Ralph gives everyone on the island a chance to express their opinion and contribute. Secondly, getting rescued is the most important thing for Ralph. Last but not least, Jack is very self centered and selfish. He is rude and inconsiderate. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.
He blows the conch and summons the deserted children together” (Li & Wu 1). While all the boys are interested mainly in playing and setting out to satisfy their own needs, Ralph is focused on building shelter and keeping a fire going to facilitate their rescue. As one can see, Ralph is “the representative of civilization and democracy, lives by rules, acts peacefully, and follows moral commands and values the good of the group, who dramatically reveals the condition of civilization and democracy in Golding’s time” (Li & Wu
'And each makes laws to its own advantage. Democracy makes democratic laws, tyranny makes tyrannical laws, and so on with the others. And they declare what they have made - what is to their own advantage - to be just for their subjects, and they punish anyone who goes against this as lawless and unjust. This, then, is what I say justice is, the same in all cities, the advantage of the established rule. Since the established rule is surely stronger, anyone who reasons correctly will conclude that the just is the same everywhere, namely, the advantage of the stronger.'" Plato, Republic, Book 1, 338
In the 17th century, every leader embraced Machiavelli’s, “power at all costs.” The meaning of Sovereignty is to have complete control over something, and the components that make up a government’s sovereignty are two things. The government has complete control over the military, and all of the operations that it does, and that all legal actions are also under the control of the government, meaning that they make and also enforce the laws. Absolutism means that the sovereignty of the government lie in the hands of one person, and that absolute ruler is not limited by any laws, not limited by others, not limited by religion or religious groups, and had gained control of nobility. In an absolute state, the ruler believed that they were to be the incarnation of the state.
Absolutism is a type of government that is ruled by an absolute ruler. They claim to rule by divine right, meaning that God chooses them to rule. Citizens have no part in determining who will lead their country. Because of this, most absolutist rulers are inclined to be boastful, self-centered, greedy, and ruthless. They are in control of every part of their land, including “…competing jurisdictions, institutions…interest groups,” and “…religious sects” (McKay), in their territories, and they constantly desire to expand. War is the only solution, so kings have to have a strong and organized army. “Discipline is the soul of armies; without it there are no soldiers, only confusion and defeat” (Oakeshott). Brutal rulers, such as Adolf Hitler, Ivan the Terrible, and Genghis Khan, had exceptional armies.
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.
Since it was believed that human beings reach their highest levels of morality and virtue by participating in government, (pg. 6) it would only make sense to create a government for the people by the people. But in order to limit the government and protect the rights of citizens, the new government would have to consist of checks and balances type of system. This is the reason for the three...
A democracy is a system of government controlled by the people, not by one certain group or individual. In the Declaration of Independence it states that “all men are created equal,” an idea which leads to the concept that all citizens should have the same rights, responsibilities, and influence in the governing of their country. In writing the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson was trying to break his ties with the harsh and non-democratic rule of the British and begin a new, equal society and government for America.
One important contribution of Ancient Greek to the Western Culture is Democracy. The very term itself is of Greek derivation, meaning "People’s Rule". Unlike modern states which call themselves "Democratic". For example, Pericles Funeral Oration gave the greatest contribution to our today’s society. In .(Doc. 2) Pericles stated "Our plan of government favors the many instead of the few". Because of this quote it has contributed the society tremendously due to the fact that the democratic society is a direct democracy. Yet in a way, people have the power to overthrow other powerful representatives; Pericles Funeral Oration, gave us the idea of keeping the civilization as a democracy rather than Oligarchy, Monarchy, and many more. Moreover, Solon an Athenian tyrant discussed his thought about democracy. In .(doc. 4) Solon stated, "I drew up laws for bad and good alike, and set straight justice over each". Solon reveals that he has created laws for the good of others. He wanted every individual having the ...
For Aristotle, a virtuous government is one that’s rules is done aristocratically; meaning that merit plays the basis of governance. In a democracy, however, as Aristotle describes it, ruling should be done on the basis of numerical equality. This means that everybody partakes in the ruling of the city-state. Aristotle makes the conclusion that no one has additional rights than another, after he points out if everyone is equal in ruling then either none should rule another or where there must be common rule. This leads to a non-virtuous form of government, because if the choices are made by people who do not agree with, or believe the telos of the city-state, then the telos of the city-state will never be reached, therefore making the government non-virtuous. Aristotle adds that whenever large amounts of people get together to make decisions, it is foreseeable that personal bias will appear, and virtuous decisions cannot be made for the city-state. This cognitive analysis leads Aristotle to believe that a democracy’s notion of equality is a portion of the issue with a democracy being non-virtuous. Aristotle believes that, the poor are worried about obtaining more wealth, which means that they are placing their personal good above the common good whilst engaged in governance. For an individual to rule in a virtuous way, they must put the common good for the
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...
In conclusion, absolutism is a better form of government than representative democracy because decisions are made quickly and efficiently, it is a stable government, and when under a representative democracy the passing of laws and making of decisions are time consuming or never happen. So, the Leviathan, or absolutism, is the best government to have. What do you
The citizens get to decide how they want to live their own lives, and the government’s role is to set fair rules guarantee and protect individual rights. There are different types of nonauthoritarian governments; one that has no real-world examples is called anarchy. An anarchy is when there is no government or laws, and the people do as they wish. A democracy government is the people. Democracies maximize freedom for all the people.
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.