Republican and Democratic Parties - Research Paper Example

? Republican and Democratic Parties Republican and Democratic Parties The two primary political parties functioning in the United States for over centuries now are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Democratic Party is the oldest as well as currently, the largest political party of the United States. It was founded in 1792 through the combined efforts of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison on the basis of anti-federalist policies. Its ideology revolves around the principles of Liberalism. The Republican Party which is also referred to as the Grand Old Party (GOP) was formed in 1954 on the grounds of anti-slavery. It is the second oldest party of the country with ideology based on Conservatism. The party came into limelight when Abraham Lincoln overwhelmingly won the elections of 1860, to become the first Republican President of the United States of America. Currently it is the second largest party of the United States. Though other political parties such as Green Party and Constitution Party are trivially represented at the state and federal ranks, the political party system of the United States largely remains a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Consequently, the two main political parties utilized in the US government system are the Republican and the Democratic parties (Vile, 2007). With Democratic Party being a firm believer in Liberalism and Republican Party considering Conservatism to be its core value, differences are bound to be present between the two parties in most of the spheres. One such major difference exists with regard to the manner in which the two parties view the roles of the government and the people. The Democratic Party believes in a big national level government which looks after the overall welfare of the people, regardless of personal interests. One of the core values underlying this belief of the Democratic Party is equality. Democrats place huge emphasis on maintaining equality among people under the umbrella of the Federal government. They consider, guiding the masses in the appropriate direction, as the chief responsibility of the government. Democrats deem Federal government to be the absolute authority from which ideas and values spring up. Another similar view of the Democrats in this regard is that people need protection, guidance and support from the government. In their view, people cannot look after themselves and thus, it becomes binding on the government to sustain welfare in the country by establishing support programs in the areas of education, medicine and commerce. On the other hand, the Republicans strictly believe in smaller governments based on state level rather than large federal level governments. The Republicans do not place much importance on the principles of equality and general welfare; instead, they consider economic equity to be the pillar of a strong nation. While strongly rejecting the notion of government interference in the affairs of the people, they consider people to be the ultimate source of ideas. The Republicans advocate in favour of property rights than welfare rights, regarding people to be strong enough to look after themselves (Fried, 2008). The Amendment II of the United States Constitution upholds the right of the individuals to possess weapons for their self-defence. Democrats have never been in favour of the Second Amendment, viewing it as an offensive tool of aggression. Their policy has always been stricter gun control. In the view of the Democrats, Amendment II has proliferated gun culture in the United States over the years, causing a very unpleasant impact on the social conditions of the country, promoting street crimes, robberies and murders. They advocate that legislations should be passed restricting the rights of the individuals to keep arms. The justification behind their vision is that it is the duty of the armed forces of the country to shield the lives and belongings of the society. In contrast, the Republicans are staunch supporters of the Second Amendment, opposing gun control at every level. The Republicans argue that it is the right of the individual to protect his own life and the lives of his family members. They say that gun control measures drastically reduce the security level of the individuals and in an era such as that of today, where crime has pervaded in all areas of life, gun control only makes a common man vulnerable to such crimes (Dueck, 2010). The issue of Abortion, which is very controversial in the contemporary world, is another bone of contention between the two parties. The Democrats’ view in this aspect is pro-choice. According to them, woman has the absolute authority to make a decision with regard to how many children she wants to have. Subsequently, interference from government in this matter is not required at all. The Democrats consider this right of the woman to be one of the most fundamental ones which depicts equality. Conversely, the Republicans have a pro-life mind-set. In their opinion, all people are permitted to live and enjoy liberty. Hence, purposely taking away the life of an underdeveloped but living being is against all the laws of humanity. They state that such an act should only be allowed if the mother’s life is in danger. Apart from such emergencies, extensive measures should be taken to lessen abortions throughout the country. With regard to taxes, the Democrats support a progressive tax structure, which calls for more taxes on the wealthier people in contrast to the needy people. The Democrats view such type of a tax system as the most just system, believing that those who are able to save more should contribute more towards national wealth. The money obtained from the more affluent group of the society could then be channelized to design support and welfare mechanisms for the inferior class of the society. In this manner, they aim at enhancing the living standards of the deprived and thereby creating equality in the society. On the other hand, the Republicans demand that everyone should be taxed equally, irrespective of their wealth or ability to save money. Republicans argue that since people earn their money, therefore they should have the right to control it and develop the tax structure. In their opinion, higher taxes on wealthier people shrink their motivation to perform, consequently, upsetting the entire economy. As an alternate, they suggest that if government spending is brought under control, then there would be no need for such progressive taxes (Fried, 2008). On the issue of immigration, the Democrats are very broad-minded in their stance and candidly support open borders. They believe in providing the needed assistance to the immigrants who arrive in the United States looking for a peaceful environment and better job prospects. They also advocate endowing legal identification and documents to the immigrants. However, the Republicans call for developing border fences and adopting stricter policies with respect to immigrants, citing drug-trafficking and terrorism as major reasons for their approach. As far as business is concerned, the Democrats consider people cannot operate the economy alone as it is far too intricate for them. As a result, it becomes the responsibility of the government officials to direct the people in connection with their business decisions. Alternatively, the Republicans believe in free enterprise based on capitalism and free market economy. They stoutly argue that it is through the innovations and individual talents of the people that economy progresses, consequently, striving for greater freedom in business. One more point of difference between the two parties is related to death penalty. While the Democrats go up against death penalty, calling it as an unjust measure; the Republicans support it as a fair form of sentence. With reference to defence, the Democrats are clear about the fact that real security is only attained through affable relations and tactful dialogues with other countries. In their opinion, it is only through discourses and consultations with foreign nations that the security of the United States can be ensured. Hence, they do not call for heavy expenditures with respect to military forces and national defence. Conversely, the Republicans believe in spending profoundly on military affairs in order to build a sovereign and powerful force which can tackle any threat with ease without the need for negotiations with other countries (Dueck, 2010). Though numerous core differences exist between the two parties, a few basic similarities are found too. One such elementary similarity is that both the parties aim at developing United States into a more prosperous and sovereign superpower. A few other similarities are related to enhanced security of the country, greater human rights and development of resources (Vile, 2007). After comparing and analysing the policies and ideologies of both the parties, it is evident that the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are the two foremost parties in the United States of America. While there exist ideological differences of Liberalism and Conservatism between the two parties, which are also reflected in their policies pertaining to governance, Amendment II, abortion, taxation, government spending, immigration, business, death penalty and security; at the same time, a few pleasant and crucial similarities also subsist. Understanding the points of view of both the parties will assist in making the interested entities comprehend the nature of policies of the two mainstream parties. References Dueck, C. (2010). Hard line: The Republican Party and U.S. foreign policy since World War II. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. Fried, J. (2008). Democrats and Republicans--rhetoric and reality: Comparing the voters in statistics and anecdotes. New York: Algora Pub. Vile, M. J. C. (2007). Politics in the USA. London: Routledge Read More