Democracy Gone Wrong Is The Weimar Republic In Germany

A democracy is classified as a system of government in which power lays within the hands of the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives. Even though a democratic government is typically thought of as the “ideal” way to run a country, there have been several instances that prove otherwise. Countries such as Great Britain and Germany accurately demonstrate both aspects of such regime. In Great Britain, the transition from an absolute monarchy to a democratic constitutional monarchy first began in 1066 when King William I set up the first Parliament. Later in 1215, King John was forced by the nobles to sign the Magna Carta, which retained and protected the rights of all subjects under his rule. In 1649, King

At first, the Weimar Republic was a favorable democracy because it included things such as: a bill of rights and voting permission to all citizens. However, this form of democracy ran into extreme difficulties when both sides of Germany’s political parties attacked it. The communists, of course, disliked the entire concept of democracy as a whole and the nationalists refused to even accept that they had lost a war. Right wing nationalist groups assassinated politicians and set up paramilitary groups that terrorized their neighborhoods. It’s inability to contain rebellions can be attributed to Germany’s economic problems at the time. The stability of the middle class was destroyed due to inflation and Hitler obtained votes from them, as well as from the anti-communists. Since Germany was plagued with a depression, the Nazi’s served as the only alternative to communism that provided relief. In the article Exploiting nationalism in order to repudiate democracy: case of Nazi Germany by Noga Wolff, she explains how the written constitution during the Weimar Republic directly caused its downfall. Proportional representation created several small-scale parties with very little political authority. Obviously with multiple parties, it is really difficult to pass legislation or get anything done. Additionally, the constitution allowed Hitler to legally take over the country and completely abolish democracy in Germany. However, it is critical recognize that Hitler would not have been as successful of a leader if he had not gotten the amount of support that he did from the public. A large majority of German citizens agreed and followed his practices, which served as a great example as to how sometimes majority rule is not the best