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Democracy vs communism THESIS
Tocqueville's democracy in america, steps in restoring america
Tocqueville's democracy in america, steps in restoring america
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Recommended: Democracy vs communism THESIS
In past and even in recent history, world politics has taken many faces ranging from the absolute monarchies of PhillipII to the dictatorships of Sadam Hussein. Some political institutions have even stood out and have taken center stage in political theses. Two successful institutions that follow this criteria include democracy, backed by de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and communism, as written in Marx’s Communist Manifesto. While both these aspects of politics have enjoyed ample success, there is no possible way both these worlds can coexist and function because democracy has exceptionally achieved far more prestige and withstood the ravage of time in terms of American democracy. Communism could have been the answer to governing a nation but due to the vice of power-hungry leaders, democracy surpasses this institution with evidence from history, revealing why these political powers machines cannot remain mutually exclusive.
Communism can be regarded as a social system in which property is owned by the community and each member works for the common benefit. Such an ideal where the community as a whole works for equal benefit may seem to paint the perfect picture at first but this theory becomes tainted. The Communist Manifesto proclaims, “Communism deprives no man of the power to appropriate the products of society; all that it does is to deprive him of the power to subjugate the labor of others by means of such appropriations” (Marx 12). What communism lacks, due to ignorance by its perfect picture, is the aspect of proper management to further a country’s prestige. And what happens when you have management via dictatorship? There usually lurks the abuse of power and later the overthrow of a power by civil war or international powers. What communism lacks that democracy fosters is the virtue of progress that allows a nation to rise above and endure times of hostility.
The portrait of democracy is best painted by the French writer deTocqueville who acts as a mere observer of American democracy rather than a participant. Although taking such an objective stance, he adores the democratic institution in America. Democracy in response to communism is government by the whole people of a country. The answer communism exclusively has that democracy lacks is the solution to the class struggle as identified by deTocqueville, “The division of property has lessened the distance which separated the rich from the poor; but it would seem that, the nearer they draw to each other, the greater is their mutual hatred and the more vehement the envy and the dread…” (deTocqueville 6/10).
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary Democracy is a form of government by the people; especially: rule of the majority(Webster). This is what the United States is represented as, and this is based on the United States Constitution from which the United states draws all legal powers. In Robert Dahls book How democratic Is the American Constitution? He challenges this idea by trying to appeal to his readers in a way that they may view the United States Constitution in a different light. Dahl does this by pointing out flaws that the Constitution has and, draws on facts based on the other democracies around the world that the United States is compared too. He points out how many democratic ideas and innovations have a occurred since the conception of the American Constitution yet it has only adopted some of those idea.
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" .
While it is great that citizens live under similar economic terms and are assured of the same paycheck every week, communism is not an environment that will allow businesses or people to flourish. On the opposite side of a Capitalist society, where businesses are able to skyrocket earnings, a Communist society affects businesses ability to grow. If each worker is given the same amount of money, this can affect their motivation to do things and go above and beyond. Everyone who earns the same amount of money for the same amount of work seems like a peaceful agreement and a proletariat paradise, but it does not always turn out that way. Unfortunately, communism can often lead to widespread corruption and sometimes encourages greed.
Democracy in America has been a guiding principle since the foundation of the country. Many over the years have commented on the structure and formation of democracy but more importantly the implementation and daily function within the democratic parameters that have been set. Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian born July 29, 1805. He is most famously known for his work Democracy in America. Democracy in America has been an evolving social and economic reform, and has continually changed since it’s founding.
Janda, K., Berry, J., Golman, J., & Hula, K. (2009). The Challenge of Democracy: American
...re importantly, it tries to give democracy a good name at a time when democracy, rule by the people, was feared in Europe and the rest of the world. Democracy in America shows us how each society has certain habits that contribute to its definition of democracy. These habits, some of which are good and some bad, check each other to a balance of normalcy in which everyone has opportunity, safety, and potential progress in society. It shows us that democracy incorporates many “habits of the heart” and aggregates them to a common equality, making it an irresistible force in the world. Conversely, the “habits” of the people change over time. So, what Democracy was in America when Tocqueville visited may not be the same as that today or in the future. However, materialism and religion still play key roles in American democracy as a passion and a temper to that passion.
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,
The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society. The very history of the country, a major contributor to the evolution of its political culture, shows a legacy of democracy that reaches from the Declaration of Independence through over two hundred years to today’s society. The formation of the country as a reaction to the tyrannical rule of a monarchy marks the first unique feature of America’s democratic political culture. It was this reactionary mindset that greatly affected many of the decisions over how to set up the new governmental system. A fear of simply creating a new, but just as tyrannic... ...
Capitalism and democracy are the aim of almost the whole world with only several exceptions like Cuba, Iraq, North Korea and Myanmar. It is reasonable why states aspire to achieve both capitalism and democracy. Capitalist concepts have resulted in more increase of social welfare than any other economic system. Likewise, democracy has enabled billions of people to enjoy that welfare by giving them more freedom (Audretsch, 2000).
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.
Everything is run by the state and should be run by the government on behalf of the people. No private person is allowed to profit from the work of other citizens. Communism is a controlled economy. All profits don’t go into the pocket of one owner; the profits go to the state, which benefits everyone.... ...
Democracy is “...the word that resonates in people’s minds and springs from their lips as they struggle for freedom and a better way of life...” (Schmitter and Karl, 1991:75). However, the word democracy has many different means depending on the country and context it is used in. “Every country has is own culture and comes by its political system through its own history” (Greenberg, 2007:101, cited in Li, 2008:4). Li, (2008) states that because of China’s political structure the usual road to democracy may be difficult for it to achieve. The western idea ...
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.
Communism is most widely taken up by Third World countries striving for national independence and sudden social change (Russia, Cuba, and Northern Korea). Forms of democracy however, are usually exercised by countries, which have a long-range goal to succeed, or improve economically (Britain, U.S.A.). Most widely first heard of through Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, communism hasn’t been around nearly as long as democracy, which is first known to have existed in the city-states of ancient Greece and Rome.
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.