Exploratory_Paper

Dustin McClung Professor Lakenhia Gould English 112 Exploratory Paper October 1, 2012 Democracy Consider this question: What is democracy' It seems like it would be a simple question. However, in reality, there are so many different forms of it that nowadays many individuals have misconceptions of what democracy truly is. To start off, the word itself comes from two Greek words. “Demos,” meaning “the people” and “kratein,” which means “to rule.” “Compared to dictatorships, oligarchies, monarchies and aristocracies, in which the people have little or no say in who is elected and how the government is run, a democracy is often said to be the most challenging form of government, as input from those representing citizens determines the direction of the country” (Zimmermann 1). The three types of democracies chosen for this essay are Direct Democracy, Representative Democracy, and Parliamentary Democracy. The original form of democracy is called Direct Democracy. It is also referred to as “Athenian Democracy” because the Athenians were the first to use it. It is in every sense of the phrase by the people, and also for the people (Parker 1). Direct Democracy does not have any sole leader, voted for or otherwise. “Pure Democracy,” as it is also called, is used in America on the state level in some states. The main feature that separates Direct Democracy from other forms is that the people choose as a whole, rather than voting for a representative or representatives. This makes it so that there is not as much corruption in polls on issues. However, this only works in smaller areas with little population. “Such smaller areas might have populations that are small enough to allow for direct drafting of bills and voting on such measures by the populace” (Wiesen 1) “Representative democracy is a type of democracy in which the citizens delegate authority to elected representatives” (Aun 1). This is the type of Democracy that the United States uses. It is characterized by the fact that people as a whole do not have to directly participate in government issues such as lawmaking. Representative Democracy is mainly used in places with very large populations because it is less complicated for one person to hear the people out and make a decision based off of their opinions. It is also believed, though, that some individuals only seek to be that representative so that they can corrupt the system as a whole in attempt to get themselves and/or friends by in life. This is put in check by the fact that the leader only stays in the seat of power for a set amount of time. Another popular form of democracy is Parliamentary Democracy. This is the system that the British use for government. The political party or group of parties with the largest amount of members makes the leader of that party the leader of the country. That leader is called the “Prime Minister” or “Chancellor.” The party then is allowed to draft laws and debate them for passing or rejection. The party in minority, while less powerful, can regularly challenge the decisions made by the leading party. The main disadvantage of this form of government is that the power can shift from one party to the next in no time at all. As soon as the minority party has one member more than the majority party, all of a sudden there is a new prime minister and the power shifts to that side. The fact that the power can shift on a moments notice makes Parliamentary Democracy known to be very unstable. Reviewing all of those facts, the best choice overall is Representative Democracy. It allows the people to choose a well-educated person to run the country. There is a place to look to for accountability when things go wrong, to a certain extent. This means people can look to the leader and ask why something is wrong and try to come up with a plan to fix it. In the case of the leader being extremely incompetent or corruptive, he or she can be removed from office before his or her term is up. On the contrary, if a majority of people like that person enough, they can vote to put the same person in office for a second term and enjoy another term of less stress under the leadership of the same individual. This form of government also makes it easy for people to keep up with the everyday tasks in their lives because they do not have to directly be involved in decision making. That means they can put more of their mental capacity towards working and striving to keep the economy going. Works Cited Aun, Sam. "Types of Democracy". 1 January 2011. 27 September 2012 http://samaunvong.hubpages.com/hub/Types-of-Democracy Parker, Bran. "Direct Democracy". [Date unavailable]. 27 September 2012 http://direct-democracy.co.uk/ Zimmermann, Kim Ann. "What is Democracy' Definition, Types, and History". 12 June 2012. 27 September 2012 http://www.livescience.com/20919-democracy.html