...the idea of democracy in the Age of Pericles was designed to strengthen Athens, its weaknesses ultimately led to its inevitable termination. This thesis will be defended by showing that democracy denied morals and ethics, examining the weakness in the system of democracy, and demonstrating a flawed system. Democracy has not worked in the past because although it holds up its idea of justice, it denies the basic morals and ethics of human rights. “Think not of life and children first, and justice afterward, but of justice first” (Document 2), is the message that was set out by the laws of democracy. These same laws are what failed Socrates in the end. He was a “victim, not of the laws, but of men” (Document 2). In the end, it was the laws set up by humans themselves that truly brought out the worst qualities in human nature. While philosophy focused on the rights of man, democracy focused on the rights to govern man. In order to create a form of government that benefited the people as well as morals and ethics, “a love of truth and hatred for falsehood that will not tolerate untruth in any form” (Document 3) was needed. According to Socrates, “there is nothing more closely akin to wisdom than truth. So the same nature cannot love wisdom and falsehood” (Document 3). The problem with democracy is that it denies truth in order to justify its means. Referring back to the example of Socrates, who was failed under the system of democracy, it is seen that although democracy justified...
Words: 798 - Pages: 4
...Converting Afghanistan into a democracy should be a major priority of the United States for many reason, one being, it would open up trade with the country. Democratic states tend to be more open to trade, trade to a greater extent, and have less trade barriers. This is because democratically elected leaders open up trade as it benefits the people they govern, which boosts their popularity1. Afghanistan is one of the wealthiest countries when natural resources are considered. Recently, large veins of valuable minerals such as copper, iron, and gold have been discovered across the country. It is estimated that Afghanistan also sits on nearly 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves2. Afghanistan also supplies the world with nearly 90 percent of all opium supplies which is used to create painkillers and heroin for medical purposes3. The wealth of Afghanistan is important to the United States as 12 percent of US natural gas reserves are imported and consumption of natural gas in the US is expected to increase by 11 percent by the year 20304. The United States imports 100 percent of 18 select minerals such as aluminum and magnesium, and imports 50 percent of 41 other minerals such as cobalt and copper5. If the United States managed to convert Afghanistan into a democracy, it would allow them to reap the benefits of their abundance of resources6. The attacks on US soil on 9/11 were conducted by a terror group known as al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is one of the more dominant terrorist...
Words: 1650 - Pages: 7
...Jordan Gabson Writing and Rhetoric Tuesday April 30, 2015 Democracy vs. Communism Communism has always been used as secret weapon to make the poor believe that being rich is inappropriate, and that the poor have less because the rich people took the money away from them. In reality, the communist government wants to take the money from the wealthy to make the governing body itself rich. Democracy, on the other hand, promotes capitalism, which allows economic freedom, which helps political freedom; efficiency, economic growth, and everybody having the opportunity to start the business that he or she desires. Communism and democracy are two different ideologies that have each had a great impact in the world. Communism can be defined as a socioeconomic structure that stands for the establishment of classless, egalitarian and stateless society. Democracy, on the other hand, is a political system of governance either carried out by the people directly or by elected representatives. “Democracy may not be the perfect form of government, but sure it is way better than communism” said Jones in his journal, Power and Democracy Education Every single human being in the world knows that this is not true. Everybody knows that communism is a secret weapon that the rulers in the countries where communism is practiced use it to enrich themselves, their families and their friends. Communism is...
Words: 1908 - Pages: 8
...direct democracy in the UK (25 marks) Direct democracy is a form of government in which all laws are created by a general vote of society. Direct Democracy is supposedly meant to remove the division between the government and the people being governed. The UK currently has a representative democracy with aspects of direct democracy. Direct democracy is genuine democracy in action. With popular participation emerges the precise and true view of all the citizenry. The people determine their future and shape accurately their society. There is no vacuum or distinction between the government and the people. For example this clear link can be seen in the case of the Scottish referendum on independence in 2014. However, the above may be more a reflection of an ideal and an aspiration than a functional practical possibility. In a large scale society direct democracy is not achievable, with voting population of almost 45 million. This means there is too many varying opinions for the public to come up with clear concise decisions. Representative Democracy requires the voter to vote for some candidate or party with whom they are very unlikely to agree on everything - the 'take it or leave it' option. Direct Democracy allows voters to vote on the issues separately. The problems with representative democracy can be seen in the case of the Liberal democrats as once they got into office very few of their policies came to fruition. However in general when representative democracy is used...
Words: 781 - Pages: 4
...birthplace of democracy and the democracy which happened there was rather direct democracy. Every citizen was entitled to vote on every piece of legislation passed by the legislature. For a long period Athenian democracy stayed firm and stable. It empowered the leaders in a manner which was never heard of in those times around 500 BCE. Citizen having high intellect and prudence were given higher ranks in the political throne, who led the citizens who were not as brainy as them. Themistocal, a very famous statesman who served as Athenian General for a long time was one of them, who as a matter of fact had risen from poverty of power. However, as it appeared from a distance, the Athenian democracy seemed to be seamless...
Words: 718 - Pages: 3
...that the government listens to people like them. It is the capacity to produce an effect. It indicates citizens’ faith and trust in their government. 3. Civic Engagement: The individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concerns. It can take many forms, from individual voluntarism to organizational involvement to electoral participation. It can include efforts to directly address an issue, work with others in a community to solve a problem or to interact with the institution of representative democracy. 4. Political Engagement: The citizen’s actions that are intended to solve public problems through political means. A wide variety of these political actions are possible, from boycotting and buycotting to running office. The people can help by organizing a fund raiser even, signing a petition, or joining a volunteer group. 5. Government: The institution that creates and implements policies and laws that guide the conduct of the nation and its citizens. It is the system by which a state or community is governed. Government of any kind currently affects every human activity in many important ways. 6. Citizens: The member of a polity who, through birth or naturalization, enjoy the rights, privileges, and responsibilities attached to membership in a given nation. The link between a person and a state or an association of states. A citizen is given the right to work and live in a country, and to participate in political life. ...
Words: 1440 - Pages: 6
...Elbe Vargas HIST 2340 November 1, 2011 Iraqis journey to Democracy The Iraqi government was the last government to try to build a democratic government. Mostly known for its ruling dictator Suddam Hussein, it is known for having a tyrant type of government rooted in Islamic religious practices. But with the help of the United States, and other countries, Iraqis will create a new era: the era of democracy. It all started on January 30, 2005 when an Iraq election promoted and built democracy. The world was speechless by the results of the significant amount of numbers to vote for Iraq’s Transitional National Assembly. The Iraqi government took a huge risk by publically announcing that voting was a human right in practicing Democracy. The United States played a huge role in helping Iraq promote and build democracy, with the final goal of ending dictatorship. For the past twenty five years the U.S. has provided crucial support for democracy as well as a basic principle of the U.S. foreign policy. Not only has America helped Iraq turn away from dictatorship, but it has also helped other countries such as Philippines, Nicaragua, Indonesia, and Ukraine toward democracy. The U.S. has grown to have the label of “leadership” stamped on them when it comes to helping other countries towards Democracy. Today electoral democracies now exist in 120 out of 192 countries that are about 63 percent of the world’s population! (Soudriette, 2005) One author however disagrees with the outcome...
Words: 3258 - Pages: 14
...Felon Voting In the United States, people convicted with felony are barred from participating in voting in any election. According to Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (2008), it is estimated that about five million felony victims have been denied this chance, a condition referred to as disenfranchisement. Every state in America has its own law concerning disenfranchisement. Felons are only allowed to vote in Maine and Vermont states (Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 2008). Some states demand that felon re-enfranchisement should be enhanced to allow felons who have already completed their sentence to participate in elections. They argue that their privileges and rights should be restored by allowing them to cast votes. According to them, blocking felons from voting is undemocratic, unfair, racially, and politically motivated while opponents state that felons have poor judgment, and should not be entrusted with this fundamental right. This research paper gives a clear summary of two articles concerning their position on felon voting. The first article is Liberal and republication argument against the disenfranchisement of felons by Jeffrey Reiman, and the second one is Locked out: felon disenfranchisement and America democracy by Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen. Both articles indicate that disenfranchisement of criminal offenders who are already through with their sentences is ethically and morally wrong. The two authors lobby for the enfranchisement...
Words: 1574 - Pages: 7
...factor as to how it operates today. Some claim that the United States of America is strictly a democracy on the basis of historical documents and statements made by historical figures. On the other hand, many believe that the United States government is modelled after a republic. Ultimately, a democratic or republic form of government is merely a set of ideals off of which an operating governments are based on. Given this notion, it is inaccurate to pigeonhole any modern government because it is difficult to live up to ideals in reality. Thus,...
Words: 1373 - Pages: 6
...Richard Hofstadter analyzes Andrew Jackson’s career as well as his concept of “Jacksonian Democracy.” After reading this chapter I was able to find the similarities and differences between the two principles of “Jacksonian Democracy” and “Jeffersonian Democracy.” Jacksonian Democracy and Jeffersonian Democracy are very similar in most aspects. As the Presidents of the United States they both had the same goals and views. They both were in favor for the common people in the society and believed that it was those who should have the most influence in government, and not the rich. They both believed in the “common men” which did not include minorities like Blacks and Native Americans. Each created their own democracy that helped influence the...
Words: 558 - Pages: 3
...Democracy in America Today Pos/110 October 16, 2011 Final Project: Democracy in America Since the beginning of American Democracy it has been morphed from the founder’s format. With all its changes, it still functions as a well-constructed form of democracy that supports our nation. American democracy has both strengths and weaknesses. Government spending or over-spending is a core issue facing our nation in these economically troubled times. There are many points to be addressed regarding American government today. Adjustments within American democracy have caused us to land in our current situation of economic uncertainty. Some of these developments have actually had a negative impact on democracy and the people of America. Some have enabled us to have vast achievements within our government. Our ability to take care of ourselves and continue to achieve greatness has been diminished by some of these changes. We will always face challenges and issues in our country, but we need to be able to see these problems and move forward in a positive way. The commonality between all American’s with regard to their views on democracy is that the very status of that democracy impacts every citizen of America. There are distinct views of democracy and the issues facing American government. “Democracy is the means to select any policy maker and government, in which the policy would then represent the citizens’ preferences” (Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry...
Words: 1737 - Pages: 7
...How democratic is the UK political system? In the UK we have a political system which is, essentially, democratic. As there are some 63 million people living in the UK, complete democracy – whereby the public decide on everything – would be impossible, as there would need to be constant referendums. Representative democracy means that elected politicians represent each constituency in the country; this aims to be a democratic system where each politician acts in the interests of their constituents. However, this system could be undemocratic as each MP belongs to a specific party, and therefore could vote on behalf of their party rather than with the opinions of the constituents. Although Britain is a democracy, some people and institutions which have power have not been elected by the people. This could be seen as undemocratic. An example of this is the House of Lords; the members are unelected, yet still hold power as bills cannot be passed without being considered by both Houses. The House of Commons could be viewed as more democratic than the Lords, as all MPs are elected, for example Ian Lucas was elected as the MP for Wrexham. The UK has a ‘first past the post’ electoral system. Many seen this as undemocratic as it allows a political party to gain seats in parliament even if another party had thousands more votes. An example is the Green party, who gained a seat in parliament with around 300,000 votes in the last election. UKIP had over three times this amount of...
Words: 1110 - Pages: 5
...Human Rights Paper One of the most undeniable and challenging foreign policy debates of the last several years has concerned the future of democracy and its role in human-rights law. The idea of Western societies encouraging democratization of non-western societies is believed to be cultural imperialism, which abuses the power of states in the developing world. However for the purpose of this paper, I view the support of democratization by Western societies as a positive approach to achieving the core significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that is supposedly recognized by all states. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created on the notion of a common human race. It represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are naturally entitled. Of the fifty-eight countries that were members of the United Nations in 1948, forty-eight countries initially approved the document. Essentially all of the world’s states have approved it since then, which indicates that in any event its principle articles should be used by all states as an instrument in binding international law in spite of the presence of treaty ratification or state of war. Considering the fact that most countries have agreed to abide by the Declaration of Human Rights, it can be assumed that all states would have the intention to accomplish that in the best way possible. With the intentions of protecting essential human rights, the promotion of democratization...
Words: 1103 - Pages: 5
...American National Government Topic 1 American Government: An Introduction Assessment 1 Chapter 1 Directions: Answer the following questions after viewing the assigned Power Point presentation and reading related materials in the text. Be sure to use complete sentences. 1. Define government and politics. Compare these two terms and cite examples of each. Explain how the two terms are distinct but related to each other. · Government is the people who run the country. Politics is the process followed by the leaders of political groups who rule the country. Government implements the policies of the lands, such as with the judicial branch to enforce the laws, the legislative branch to create the laws, and the executive branch to perform national security duties. And politics are the tool utilized by the government. They both utilize political science which is the study of government and politics. While they both perform and aid the same basic function of running the country, politics is just the process while the government is the actual facility performing the tasks. 2. What is anarchy? Can anarchy ever a viable alternative to government, in your opinion? Why or why not? · Anarchy is living in a state of lawlessness. I believe it cannot, because humans do not function correctly without some type of structure. Without structure there will be total chaos. Murders and other unmentionable crimes will occur with no repercussions being put into place. 3. What...
Words: 3272 - Pages: 14
...Annotated Bibliography: The Link between Religion and Democracy The topic of religion and democracy is an especially complex one. Current literature expresses different opinions regarding religion and democratic values. There are contradictory findings on if religion should have a place in political affairs or should be strictly kept separately that shows up in the current literature as well. The sources used for this annotated bibliography all came from the Ryerson University Library and Archives that was searched online. All four of the sources are peer-reviewed and scholarly journal articles. The question of if religion and democracy are somehow intertwined and compatible will be answered in this paper. The relationship between traditional cultural values and democracy will be examined as well. This paper will also contain an overview of the link between...
Words: 973 - Pages: 4
