To what extent does political participation reflect a bias in favor of the privileged - Essay Example

This is particularly reflected in political participation. Inherent Inequality Ideally, political exercise is open to all. The constitution and the collective laws of any democratic government ensure this. Here, most people are eligible to seek public office or be involved in electing people to public positions. For some communities, even those who do not know how to read and right are not excluded to participate. Unfortunately, the electoral process in democracies today is characterized by competition, wherein political participation is “circumscribed by unequal access to both resources and the decision-making process.

”1 Equality would have been easier to practice in the brand of direct democracy adopted in Greece, wherein all citizens are entitled a voice in policymaking. But the circumstance today – one about political participation through representation – is radically different. The rules and dynamics of choosing representatives are no longer as straightforward as those in the past. Resources are needed in order to get represented and this aspect tilts the balance to those who have more than others.

This is highlighted by the predomination of individuals and private enterprises in political exercises with their capability to influence all policy networks. Elitism In the United States, political representation is especially biased towards the elite. The manner in which individuals are elected, demonstrates a process wherein the privileged enjoy extreme advantage. For example, there are no laws that regulate private expenditures for partisan political purposes. The system currently treats private funding in the American elections as part of the egalitarian value of freedom to support the candidate of one’s choice.

The argument is that when one restricts the use of money, it is tantamount to restricting the rights to liberty and free speech. This is demonstrated in the way candidates in the US can buy advertising airtime in the media. Private money in this instance is translated into a very important political resource, severely disadvantaging those individuals and parties that do not have the means or cannot raise them in time. Chapman classified the privileged between the socio-economic elite and the political elite.

She explained that the latter tend be dominated by the former and that in most likelihood property, income, occupation and education are those that would render people from this class more likely to enter politics.2 Another variable that underscore the bias of the current democratic political participation in the US is the conservative view on politics. This is manifested best by the American Electoral College system, wherein popular vote is disregarded in favor of certain groups and individuals.

The Founding Fathers of the American Constitution were known to have noted the fickleness and selfishness of the masses and, hence, entrusted the power to elect the American President in the hands of the learned and the capable. This is rationalized, wrote Sullivan, Piereson and Marcus, by the idea that universal transformation of human nature is too much to expect and that political representation should be given only to the virtuous or the “more highly educated and more responsible segments of the public.

”3 And so when Al Gore won the popular election, George W. Bush was elected