The ideas of democracy traces back to the ancient Greek word
‘dēmokratía’,
meaning the people hold the power. From this many forms of democracy have come to light and are now used globally. Looking at the types, there are about five main types of democracy; including direct, representative, parliamentary, constitutional, and presidential. Each form has its upsides and its downsides, and the form which a nation follows should be completely up the nation.
Starting off, direct democracy is a form in which the citizens have all the power. They participate actively in the government, and help guide the future of a nation. Direct Democracy is referred to as a ‘pure form of democracy’ because it makes everyone equal, and puts no one in
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Alongside this a vote requiring every citizen for even minor decisions like highway speeds, becomes a bit ridiculous.
“Deciding whose voices to listen to and whose voices are not important is not a decision that can be made easily and can lead people not to believe in direct democracy.”
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When people start to doubt the government, it reduces public involvement. Every member would be required to participate in order for it to be properly effective. Lastly, the tensions that arise from direct democracy can be a hassle to deal with. When you have a large group of people where it is nearly impossible to get anything done; large issues immediately become a problem. A country must be able to act fast and reliably, especially in today’s world, meaning direct democracy is almost impossibility. Regardless, some nations such as Switzerland continue on a legacy of direct democracy, and many of its methods of how the government
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(OCCUPY THEORY 2015)
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run, are based heavily on the ideas of a direct democracy.
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A direct democracy is one of the many forms of democracy; however it was the first method of democracy, but soon became irrelevant to most nations.
Next on, representative democracy is a form in which the citizens make the decisions, however the political power is handled through a few
‘representatives’ who are elected by the people. This
The Americans fought long and hard in their Revolution and deservingly so defeated the British and won their independence in 1783. From there, the US transferred to a government set by the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation did not turn out to provide a much better life than the Americans had under the British, with the states not able to work with each other. The lack of state's collaboration brought about this idea of too much Democracy. After the disaster that the AofC was, there was a new Constitution being drafted; however, many Americans were divided upon which path the new Constitution should take, one with or without a strong central government. This distinction in ideology put the country's elite at odds. The
Direct democracy is a government in which the people decide. Direct democracy overall is a positive thing, but as with everything, there can be some dangers. Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which the people are able to vote and form consensus on policies directly. The people have the power of recall, which gives the public the power to remove elected officials from office before the end of their term if they do not feel they are doing a great job. California voters are also able to help make laws by creating ballot propositions.
Over the course of the Revolutionary War, the people of the colonies fought for freedom, liberty, and a fair government. They were pursuing a better society, and wanted a non-tyrannical administration. They needed their government to reflect this. The Constitution addressed and embodied the ideals and opinions of the people during the Revolutionary Era, which included a need for a representative democracy, checks and balances on the government, and a protection for the citizen’s rights.
Democracy is a system of government in which the utmost influence is consigned in the individuals and implemented directly by them or by their designated representatives under a free voting arrangement. According to my research direct democracy also known as pure democracy is when all the individuals come together and make decisions by voting. They are the one who decide the regulation and guidelines through which the people will oversee. In contrast a representative democracy is when the population designate leaders who makes judgements on their behalf. There are many differences between a direct and a representative democracy and some of them are that in a direct democracy the public have authority and are responsible for decision making
Democracy is supposed to be about the people having the power, so we can't allow those we let represent us to try and take
After viewing the video and reading the chapter, respond to the following questions. 1. List and describe the major sections contained in most state constitutions. (E.g., federalism, separation of powers, individual rights,etc.).
In the past, referendums have been used to make some of the biggest constitutional changes in modern times. By definition, a referendum ‘is a general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision’. The very name and use of 'referendums' is thought to have originated in the Swiss canton of Graubünden as early as the 16th century where, to this day, still use a form direct democracy to settle many issues. Traditionally, Referendums were rarely used in the UK but, in recent times, they have been gaining popularity by the public and have also been used more often to decide constitutional changes such as the 2016 EU Referendum and the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum. Since the end
Government is an administration defined by the Constitution, but is also a constantly adjusting foundation by the efforts of its citizens. By Litherland (2014), government is defined as policies set in order to lead a body of people (p. 395). Over the span of time, the idea of government has been stretched, changed, and applied to various communities throughout both the nation and the world. Whether it was back in the eighteenth century, current, or in the very near future—government has existed and will continue to exist for its people and the nation it has built its foundation upon. With the use of multiple authors, those of: “Difference between Direct and Representative Democracy” (n.d.), “Federalism - Dividing Power between States and the
This paper will serve as a way of introducing the three competing theories of American democracy, which are Pluralism, the Elite theory, and Hyper pluralism. The following theories can all be applied as a lens to see American politics through, each serving as an essential part of government. Among this paper, we will come across a bill (S 256), this bill was fighting to overhaul the federal bankruptcy code, making it harder for people to file for bankruptcy. To file for bankruptcy individuals would have to go through the means test first. This paper will also examine what theory of American democracy is best portrayed within the bill.
America was founded on the basic principle of democracy…right? Isn’t that the freedom we were searching for when the voyagers left Europe to form the US in the first place? The irony in this is that we are often taught to believe that the United States uses a true democracy. Over the years the United States has contradicted many of their basic ideologies and principles that we were founded on. For the most part, our Constitution has remained basically intact, other than minor exceptions here and there. However, our founding documents are extremely open ended and leave much room to change and interpret throughout time. Due to the flexibility of the United States founding documents the country practices a representative democracy rather
Many people believe that America is a democracy; these people are not wrong; however, the more accurate term would be a ‘representative democracy’. The reason behind this is, as opposed to every citizen going to the polls and voting on each public issue, we have elected officials that vote based on their constituents preferences. Since it is the people that elect these representatives, it is critical that public opinion be taken into consideration. However, regardless of how we gather our data, bias often makes it difficult to accurately gauge public opinion.
Personally, I believe we need a fraction of the progressive movement incorprated into our current government system. As a young American citizen, with my current knowledge regarding government, I am aware that change is something many people are uncomfortable with, whereas many others demand it as soon as it arrives. There will not be a movement that will satisy every American citizen, however, it is possible to reach an equalibrium which will move America one step forward in the long journey towards a foolproof system. Our Democracy is currently a successful program, although a progressive movement would also increase America's status. Focusing on creating a better quality of life for our citizens and improving many factors of our society
I think that a republic is the best form of government. A Republic is another word for Representative Democracy. A republic is a form of government where nobody has ultimate power or makes all decisions. It is run on a system of checks and balances. This is good because then one person won't get too carried away with power, or if one person has a bad idea, other people can veto, or say no to that idea so that the country doesn't make too many bad decisions as a whole. Also, all of the people in the country have to choice to vote for who they want in office, so it is the people’s choice of who they want in power or who they want to make or veto decisions. Of course, many countries are much too big to count each individual vote, so a smaller
The United States of America’s liberation from Britain was an incredible feet, yet afterwards there were many loose ends that needed to be tied up to truly start their independence as a free nation. At the top of that list was to choice and construct what type of government our country would build itself around and from which it would grow for many years to come. There have always been various structures and frameworks, socialism, communism, etc, in which you can construct a country’s government from, but the United States of America picking a representative democracy, or a republic, made this country as great as it is.
There is a lot of controversy over which government is the best, and honestly I don’t think there really is a best form of government but I believe there that some are better than others. Direct Democracy definitely has its flaws, it is the best option open to us at this time. It gives the people the power to get what they want. America is already a form of Democracy, it’s a Representative Democracy. So direct Democracy is not too far fetched.