Citizenship Concept - Essay Example

Democracy, Citizenship and Power Paper

Regarding citizens and the concept of citizenship, I initially defined a good citizen as one who conducts himself or herself according to the duties, privileges, and rights of the inhabitant nation. Relating this to the class readings, the definition of citizenship is quite similar. According to "Democracy and Citizenship," a citizen is an individual owing adherence and loyalty of a state or a nation entitled by either naturalization or birth to benefit the state or nation. On the other hand, citizenship is defined as a mutual duty between a person and the community. Citizens possess a relationship with power because they play the B part in the power relationship.

This implies that a state should exercise their power with various means. For example, democracy; a state in which “qualified citizens” elect in regular intervals choosing from alternatives for the individuals who will possess the power to enact the state's policies. Its legitimacy is proved by the term 'government of the people.' My initial perception about the legitimacy of a government was that a legitimate government is one that is recognized and accepted by the citizens and is acknowledged to control a nation and deserves a formal recognition. This means that a citizen has a right to vote and also enjoy other privileges of that nation. According to the article "Another Theory of Democracy," in a democracy, there is a competition for political leadership (pluralism).

The advantages of this other theory of democracy include significant treatment of group membership; the theory also has the importance of the social concept, groups, and membership to democracy, according to Putman Bowling Alone (Schumpeter, 1954). According to this article, "the people" hold a reasonable and definite opinion about every personal question and give impact to this opinion-in a democracy-by selecting "representatives." They will make sure that the opinion is manipulated. Who is representation? According to the class readings on “Representation,” it is the political process of an individual or small group of individuals holding power to act on behalf of the community in a way that legally connects the second group. According to the course readings, representation could be grouped either by symbolic, non-democratic, or democratic representation.

This reading helped me to understand different concepts of representation. There are different types of representatives, including delegate, trustee, and politico. This is one who feels obligated to seek and follow instructions even when they conflict with their principles or judgments. This is a model of representation pioneered by John Stuart Mill. Stuart Mill argued that active citizenship participation would increase sentiments of efficacy and knowledge.

On the other hand, Joseph Schumpeter pioneered the trustee model; implies that the representative views themselves free to utilize their best principles in matters before the legislature. He argued that voters should not choose the policy when they are not interested enough or informed. The model advocates for retrospective voting; It refers to voting performed after considering aspects like the political party performance, the administration performance, and/or an officeholder performance.

Lastly, it's the politico model of representation by David Wayhew, where the agent who alternates between both orientations. From the readings on representation, I would enforce my answer for question 4. Initially, it is stated that the elected representatives should vote the way the people want because their main aim is to pursue the public interest. Thus they should employ the delegate approach of representation. A delegate is an agent who perceives himself as a reflection of the people's wishes regardless of their judgment. The article by Hanna Fenichel Pitkin, "The Concept of Representation," offers a wide variety of information about the topic (Pitkin, 1967). For example, it asserts that representation is a human idea, and it may be approved or assumed by some and individuals and questionable by others.

Moving to the 5th and 6th questions, I argued that elites control America, and ordinary Americans have virtually no effect whatsoever on establishing nation policies. According to the reading on elitism, it is the model that the ruling agents utilize power to keep and perpetuate its authority. The article “The Power Elite” by Wright Mills explains the various concepts of the power elites. Mills laments that the world sees the United States-a conservative nation without any conservative ideology as a naked and arbitrary authority. In the concept of realism, the men who hold decisions (elites) enforce their opinions upon the reality of the world (Mills, 1956). This should not be the case, and ordinary people need to reclaim American democracy.

The question that I would start by making alterations is the 11th. Initially, I asserted that the status quo is generally up to the standards; everything has its challenges; addressing them would be good rather than opting for change. According to Alinsky, the radical rules were authored for have-nots. The radical rule views establishing a mass organization to seize power and offer it to the individuals; to recognize the democratic dream of peace, justice, cooperation, equality, and educational opportunities. All these provisions to the have-nots would give them a chance to live by values that depict life's meaning. After Alinsky’s explanation that radical rule would favor the have-nots, I would alter my response that change is necessary for justice.

A topic of importance to look into widely would be a democracy. The course material, "Democracy and Citizenship" would aid in introducing the topic (Lukes, 2004). The material asserts that democracy is a state where qualified citizens vote in year intervals to elect among different choices of individuals who will be in charge of enacting the state’s policies for the people. Democratic norms that approve its legitimacy are that citizens have rights to citizenship and equity. Another norm is that there are freedoms like on expression and association. Lastly, democracy allows candidates and parties to compete for leadership.

Modern democracy is rooted in language and religious connections. The form of advocating interests is usually uncomfortable when balancing acts amongst the public and private interests. The power and interest of people are interconnected. Power is where party A exercises power over party B when A impacts B in a way opposite B's interests. The article “Power: A Radical View” is essential in explaining the concepts of power and the dimensions of power relating to the interests of the party A and B. the article explains that if something is in someone’s interests, it indicates that they have a “Prima Facie” claim to it and if policy y is in A’s interests, this constructs a “Prima Facie” justification for that certain policy.

This article explains the three views of power, namely, one-dimension, two-dimension, and three-dimensional view. In the “Power and Authority” material would be of help in terms of explaining the system of power and legitimacy of democracy (Gaventa, 1982). For example, the readings assert that in system power, citizens in a democracy act via representatives who are voted officials or state officials who are somehow held responsible to the citizens' needs. Authority is the accepted use of power, legitimacy in other words. In the United States, democratic citizens should have the following qualities tolerance, state support, informed citizenry, and active participation. This is contrary to the United States as they do not uphold democracy.

Elites control America, and ordinary Americans have virtually no effect whatsoever on establishing nation policies. This is according to my initial thoughts on the fifth question. The article by Wright Mills (1956) explains that the power of an ordinary man is circumscribed by the everyday worlds they inhabit. One of the ways the government of the United States has failed in a democracy is the Civil Service Reform (Riordon, 1905). The article "Plunkitt of Tammany Hall” recorded by William L. Riordon depicts that the Civil Service is the biggest fraud of the United States democratic government.

Relating to power in the article by Peter Diegeser explains about the “The Subject of Power,” Peter says that when moving from the first to the third face of power the stress of study broadens from the action concern and inaction of representatives to the establishing of desires that violate objective interests (Digeser, 1992). The third face or the radical conception “power” is deployed to demonstrate not only actions but norms. On the other hand, Diegeser adds that the 4th face of power takes this situation one more step further and composes the challenge of recognizing when authority is present. However, this progress also suggests a rejection of the central characteristic shared by the other three faces.

In summary, the initial thoughts and readings have expounded my perception of democracy, power, and citizenship. For example, in the article "From More than Money," Richard Skinner asserts that interest groups play a vital role in the United States of America (Skinner, 2007). Skinner offers some great background for comprehending the world of interest groups. He describes groups' knowledge about their particular issues, their capability to find voters who believe a specific to be significant, and their expertise in aiding to run political campaigns. The issue of power and democracy is one of the significant political issues in America. The debate by different authors about power reflects more on the initial thoughts such as elitism in America.

The material by Joseph Schumpeter about "Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy" describes the various form of democracy, including pluralism. He advocates the concept of competition in democratic leadership. The advantages of this other theory of democracy include significant treatment of group membership; the theory also has the importance of the social concept, groups, and membership to democracy; this is according to Putman Bowling Alone. Citizens in a democracy act via representatives who are voted officials or state officials who are somehow held responsible for the needs of the citizens.