Politics, Democracy and the American People - Research Paper Example

Politics, Democracy and the American People The world today comprises of many independent nations that claim to be sovereign or independent. They claim to have their own set of rules or constitutions that determine how they operate in today’s dynamic world. Frequently, in the print or Television news there is news about elections or peace meetings. For many people, ‘politics’ sounds like a household name. Many say it is a game for some powerful people in the society. Or it is what they see in the news. But they do not know if that is that the absolute truth. Similarly, ‘democracy’ will sound as a familiar vocabulary to many people. Leaders use it to prove to the world that they are doing the right thing for their citizenry or nations. Do today’s governments embody the dictums that define democracy? This piece of work is written to explain the meaning of politics and democracy, as well as the roles they play in the present day society. The author has examined how the two, politics and democracy, present themselves in the U.S, and how they have shaped the country from as far as 200 years ago. Politics and Democracy of the American People The word politics comes from two Greek words; ‘polis,’ and ‘politikos.’ Polis means a self-governing city or state, while politikos means relating to people. Cities of ancient Greece are believed to be the origin of present day politics. They are the first points where noticeable governance structures can be established. For these reason, ideologies of most governments today borrow heavily from the cultural practices of the old Greek people. The Greek civilization dates back to over 4000 years (Marshall, 2011). According to one English philosopher; Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), in one of his works, the Leviathan (1651), life before civilization is believed to have been harsh, brutal and selfish. This is attributed to lack of laws to govern the code of conduct of people. As a result, people were only driven by their own selfish desires. Definition of Politics Various individuals have strived to come up with definitions for politics. Due to its broad nature and ambiguity, it is hard to capture all that it entails in just one definition. Some of the most visible philosophers who endeavoured into defining politics include; Aristotle, Plato, Machiavelli, and Harold Lasswell. Politics is the ‘philosophy of human affairs.’ This is the view held by Aristotle (384-322 BCE) in his Nicomachean Ethics (350 BCE). Aristotle claims that man is naturally a political animal, because politics is what brings happiness to man and to the community. In his definition, he draws the relationship between politics and ethics, and the similarity between the family and the state. Aristotle claims that ethics transforms into politics. He also opinionated that a family teaches man virtues which he transfers to the village. The village is an appendage of the state; therefore, it transfers those virtues of man to the state. Referring to the governance structures of ancient Greek cities, Aristotle claimed that politics was rule of many, for the interests of all. Plato (428-348 BCE) is another Greek philosopher who explains the link between ethics and politics. In his writing, the Republic (360 BCE), he says that the greatest goal of any community is to teach its citizens good behaviour. Accordingly, it means that good behaviour or ethics is the greatest goal of any society. Therefore ethics is politics. Harold Lasswell (1902-1978) defined politics as, ‘who gets what, when and how.’ Politics helps societies decide on how to share the scarce resources available to them amicably. It also determines who should be in power and who are the governed. In a society, friction may arise over how to share common utilities. According to Harold, politics helps purge such problems (Harold, 1936). Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) is commonly referred to as the father of modern politics. In his work, On Principalities (1512); his views contradict those of many other philosophers who held that politics in a society should be guided by divine or religious powers. He insinuates that politics is the real truth put into action, and it should not be guided by some hidden forces. For Machiavelli, use of force to rule is acceptable. He gives an example that a prince should prefer being feared over being loved. Definition of Democracy Democracy is a form of governance where the people decide for themselves how they should be governed. The word Democracy is derived from two Greek words; ‘demos,’ meaning people, and ‘kratos,’ meaning power. Cities in ancient Greece are believed to be the first democratic societies in the world. After a long archaic period being ruled by tyrants, the people of Greek slowly united to oust the tyrants. Athens is popular for its group of aristocrats who were industrious for ousting Hippias, a tyrant who ruled them for seventeen years. Cleisthenes took the advantage of Hippias’s fall to form the first democracy in Athens (Marshall, 2011). He made the hoi polloi equals with those in power. Members of villages could assemble in meetings and make decisions on matters that troubled them. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1869), a former president of the U.S (1860-1865), described democracy as ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people.’ He was of the opinion that a good government is the one where the people to be governed are given a chance to choose their own leaders. The leaders chosen are bestowed with the duty of serving the interests of those who elect them. To understand the concept of democracy, intellectuals draw its interrelationship with another concept; power. Power means the ability to influence people to behave in a particular way. In a democracy, real power belongs to people. The present world comprises of a conundrum of democracies, but the mainstream of their mode of operation is just the same. An ideal democracy embraces and practices certain key principles or ideologies. These ideologies are the ones that distinguish it from other forms of governments. Below are the core characteristics of a democracy. Characteristics of a Democracy All democracies conduct regular, free and fair elections. Leaders in democracies are chosen through the popular vote open to citizens who have attained the mandatory voting age of usually eighteen years. The elections must be overseen by a credible and independent institution. In a democracy, absolute power is exercised by citizens directly, or they delegate that duty to their representatives. Power exercised by leaders in democracies is legitimised by the consent of the people who elect them. Democracies believe in the ideology of majority rule. In democracies, power is not bestowed in one organ or individual only. Democrats believe in the words of Lord Acton (1834-1902) that, ‘power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ Acton spoke these words in 1887. For this reason, decentralization of power from the central government to local or municipal governments is highly regarded. Democracies believe in the principle of inalienable rights such as; right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of religion. These are those rights that every citizen is entitled to; hence, it is the duty of the government to protect those rights. Good democracies embrace the virtues of tolerance, sharing, diplomacy, integrity, respect, and compromise. In a democracy, despite majority having their opinion given priority, those with a dissenting opinion are treated equally and their views are listened to as well. In the words of Lincoln Lewis, ‘majority should have its way, but the minority should not be disrespected.’ All members of the society in a democratic state have equal rights to participate in the activities of the government. For example, a disgruntled citizen can sue the government in a court of law over a matter the individual deems is a legality, or it violates basic rights. Regardless of the above principal ideologies being manifest in all democracies, there exists many forms of democracies. Every society has adopted a specific form which it deems is best suited for it. The most distinct types are; direct and indirect democracies, or pure presidential and pure parliamentary democracy. Direct versus Indirect Democracy A direct democracy is where citizens personally select those policies that they think best fits them (Ian, 2005). It is regarded as the most ideal form of democracy because it involves direct participation of all eligible responsible citizens. On the other hand, an indirect democracy is where citizens elect representatives who will represent them in decision making. This form of democracy seems to have triumphed over direct democracy. This is because most democracies today have embraced representative democracy. However, a number of scholars are sceptical of representation. They allude to biasness and autonomy as reasons that might make some representatives fail in their role. In between elections, representatives have the power to choose bills they want, but which the citizens do not want (Ian, 2005). Pure Presidential versus Pure Parliamentary Democracy A pure presidential system is a type of democracy where the president elected has the final power to determine the nature of laws that are passed in a country or state. In such a system, presidents have veto and decree powers; for example, the president of the U.S.A. A pure parliamentary system is where the majority wing of elected representatives makes the government. It is the rule of majority. A good example is the Great Britain. Politics and Democracy of the U.S.A A brief history of the U.S.A indicates that its origin is closely linked to some of Europe’s powerhouses, namely; England, Spain, Dutch, and France. The four scrambled to gain control of North America. In that sampling Britain overcame them and controlled a huge part of present day North America, including the U.S.A. Britain undertook ambitious commercial development during its reign as the colonialist. These colonies of North America gained independence in 1776. Each decided to be independent at that point. However, due to the desire to defend themselves against future attack, they came together in 1786 to form the United States of America (U.S.A). Another purpose for their union was to build a common currency that would be used for commercial purposes. They made the decision not to kill the autonomy of those independent states (Vile, 2007). Federalism As of today, the U.S comprises of fifty autonomous states. These states are ruled by governors, and they exercise legal authority which they share with the central government (Vile, 2007). These states perform roles that in other countries are only designated to the central government. However, they are not sovereign. Politics and the Constitution The U.S. Constitution is anchored on the doctrine of separation of powers. Due to turbulent period of colonization, the American people were of the opinion that no individual or group of persons should possess absolute power. For this reason, they decided that power should be shared by creating different arms of government. These could act as check and balance for each other’s performance. The three arms of governance are; the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature (Richard & Oonagh, 2011). In the U.S, the constitution is the compass for politics. It defines the code of conduct for every member of the society in a bid to foster law and order. The custodians of the constitution are the three arms of government. They collectively ensure that behaviour exhibited by all members of the society conforms to its requirements. One of the important players in American politics is the civil society. The major goals of the civil society have always been to increase accountability by the government, and to foster public participation in the government’s decision making (Danielle & Patrice, 2013). The civil society also, in special cases, offers critical advice to the government. Democratization The U.S has been a democracy for over two-hundred years. During that period, it has grown to become an epitome of present-day democracy. A pure presidential system has been its preferred form of democracy. The president is the head of state as well as the executive. Power to veto or decree is one of the critical roles of the president. A key chapter in the constitution of the U.S relating to democracy is the Bill of Rights. In this chapter, all the basic freedoms of all citizens are protected. The first elements of key freedoms were anchored in the 1791 constitution. The founders of the nation back then were also motivated by the desire to protect the basic rights of the people. Conclusion From this paper, it is evident that politics is a broad subject that has a bearing in the life of every individual in the society. The way people relate with each other while in pursuit of individual goals is dictated by politics. It is a means of realization of happiness in the society. If politics was to lack from a society, the author is of the opinion that the society will sink into anarchy. This is because there will be no values to guide behaviour in the society. On the other hand, democracy is based on ideologies that respect the will of the people. It is the reason why most governments are embracing it. 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