Government and order is what separates us from savages which is if we are going to pick a form of government we should choose one that benefits many and is representative of the population. Direct democracy is where the people directly vote on policy initiatives meanwhile representative government is where we elect people to represent us in government and they vote based on our interest. I believe that representative government is the best form of government because people choose the people in power and are represented adequately most of the time. Direct democracy can only work in small states in my opinion and representative’s government could be used in small, medium or large states due to the population being represented regardless of …show more content…
Bernard Manin in his book “The Principles of Representative Government” is defining the key features of modern democratic institutions. He talks about 4 observed principles of representative government in which two I feel resonate more to me are the important are “those who govern are appointed by election at regular intervals” and “those who are governed may give expression to their opinion and political wishes without being subject to control of those who govern” (p.6) The reason representative democracy is so great is because the people elect representatives at certain intervals as well as the people can critique the state of government as they are the ones who government is supposed to benefit. I also like how he says that “decision making of those who govern retain a degree of independence from the wishes of the electorate,” as politicians should have discretion on small matters as they should serve as they feel people would want them to but the issue is that power tend to corrupt people and they could drift away from the electorate. I see this as people understanding politicians will not always do everything we want but we have a mutual agreement that everything is for our best interest. Furthermore, another reason I prefer representative government everywhere regardless of population size is because the decisions of government should be made by elected politicians and intellectuals in order to receive the best results.
Citizens of a free society can expect to be duly represented in governmental decisions. A free society enables individuals to have a voice in the activities of their country. This voice is presented through officials who are elected by the people. The politicians that are elected by the citizens of a free society represent the voices of
Democracy is known as a system of government when all eligible people of a state can voice their own opinions as well as elect representatives. Democracy is not once mentioned in The Declaration of Independence. Pros of a democracy are, its by the people and for the people. Democracy is meant for everybody to be eligible to vote and they are able to vote. The people are also able to participate in what they think, feel , and voice about the political, social, and economic issues that are presented to them. It's in the people's best interest not just the governments. The goal is to find solutions with decision-makers best interest. The main goal is to is find solutions that are best for the people and regulate conflicts between states and government. A democracy imposes equality, the people's votes carry the same weight, which makes all individuals to be heard and make them feel as if their opinion is important. Other than in elections of the state a citizens
In order to correct “factious spirits that have tainted our public administrations”(Madison, 72), the government must control the effects of factions. He argues, “as each representative will be chosen by a greater number of citizens in the large than in the small republic, it will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success... will be more likely to centre in men who possess the most attractive merit and the most diffusive and established characters (Madison, 77).” With this statement by creating an extended republic with more representatives, the tyranny of a majority could be avoided with the addition of more qualified, democratically-elected representatives. As a result, Madison felt that creating an extended republic with more representatives with more people voting would quell the effects of
Indeed, James Madison observed in The Federalist No. 10 that the true test of a representative is his or her ability to make difficult decisions that promote the long-term best interests of the people back home. “A representative government”, he wrote, “ought to refine and enlarge the public views by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens whose wisdom may best discern the
The idea of representative government is deeply rooted in America's history and tradition. It began as far back as the voyage of the Mayflower. The spirit of freedom, self-reliance, the common law, and an understanding of representation, were brought by the settlers from their home. Though many of our ideas about representative government developed from the English model of Parliament, the American tradition of representative government actually began in Jamestown with the “great charter of 1618”and the First Representative Assembly of 1619 and continued on with the Virginia House of
In a democracy the citizens have the right to choose who represents them in government by having elections. This is what the government use to let the citizens make a decision on the individual or group that are going to represent them in Parliament, the citizens make their vote by choosing from a variety of potential candidates and they will vote for the candidate that they believe will
Two different forms of democracy are representative democracy and direct democracy. Representative democracy is where a set of officials are elected to represent a group of people. In the United States an elected representative would represent a state such as South Dakota. In a direct democracy, there is no middle man but the people represent themselves. Plato possibly the greatest western philosopher took a very interesting take on democracy government. In short he says
The existence of political parties has led to a situation in the United States that is inconsistent with the intentions of a representational style of government that the country was formed on. The existence of these political parties has taken much of the power and ability to control the government away from the citizens. (Hargrave) The United States government is set up in a way that allows the people to elect individuals that they see best fit for serving their needs and desires. This is evident in the House of Representatives. In the House of Representatives, each representative is elected by the people of his district. The citizens of each district vote on the candidate that will best serve their needs once in Washington D.C. (Davidson) Although the representatives are elected based on their promises to their constituencies, they face a great challenge once in office, and that is the political party to which they belong. While serving in the House of Representatives, the individual congressmen that are elected by the citizens of their districts are expected to comply with the beliefs of the political party that they belong to. By having to vote on issues based on the
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.
The best government is a Republic government. A Republic government is also known as a direct democracy. It is very effective and works smoothly. The people are big part of the government, because they vote on a leader to represent them and make decisions for them. This way of democracy is amazing because of how the people are such a big part of it. Another interesting fact is that the first Republic was the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was an impressive system that lasted for 500 years. It was impressive because it had three branches, the Magistrates, the Senate, and the Assemblies and Tribunes. The Magistrates were elected officials who enforced laws and judged cases. The Senate are wealthy citizens who helped pass laws and controlled
America is synonymous with the word freedom, even being dubbed “the land of the free” by its own national anthem. But, what makes America so much more “free” than other countries? Some would argue that it’s America’s system of democracy, despite the fact that democratic governments are now the most common form of rule found in countries around the world. American democracy, although effective, is not the best democracy style for all nations; because, like many other countries, its government contains many flaws, including: its low voter turnout, two-party political parties creating division and deadlock in congress, and government positions of power being bankrolled and controlled by the rich.
It has also been suggested that a basic feature of democracy is the capacity of eligible voters to participate freely and fully in the life of their society.[14] With its emphasis on notions of social contract and the collective will of the eligible voters, democracy can also be characterized as a form of political collectivism because it is defined as a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.[15]
In “Political Representation,” Shapiro et al. (2009) say that “political representation lies at the core of modern politics.” Representation is usually linked to the concept of democracy (Shapiro et al. 2009). The concept of representation is explicitly mentioned in the U.S. Constitution (U.S. Const. art. I, § 1, 2). However, the meaning and appropriate form of “representation” have been debated by political theorists and philosophers for centuries. The definition of representation one chooses to use is influenced by the form of representation one finds most appropriate. Given the different forms of representation, legislators can be responsive in different ways. Representation also operates at two different levels – the national and local
Some of the major features in a direct democracy are that the people get to directly elect things such as the president or for laws to be passed or not. The big advantages of a direct democracy are that voting takes much less time as it is just a vote among all the citizens, people see the the changes they voted for take effect faster, and people feel like their vote is valued and powerful. The downsides to a direct democracy are that sometimes the popular vote isn't always the right vote and people realize that after it's too late to change what they did. Around the time of the American Revolution the majority of people were considered, “too uneducated to govern themselves” (Schmidt, et al, 5). When our constitution was being written many of the founding fathers did not believe that the common people were ready to govern themselves, so they set up a representative democracy instead of a direct democracy. James Madison thought that if we did implement a direct democracy it would, “deteriorate into mob rule” (Schmidt,et al, 5).
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