ipl-logo

Comparing Aristotle's Notion Of Confidence To Modern Liberal Democracy

1682 Words7 Pages

Aristotle in Politics, argues that a consitutional government, or Polity, functions as greater than just a fusion of the wealth of the rich and the freedom of the poor, it holds all future leadership and policy to the utmost standards of freedom, equality and virtue . In modern day, liberal democracies are prefaced on the same ancient principles – freedom and equality. And, it is within the internalization of these principles that true citizenship is born. An ideal liberal democratic citizen is unique in his/her commitments to his/her nation, fellow citizens and him/herself. Ultimately, these commitments are grounded in the concept of morality that, in turn, give sway to the development of an emotional disposition centered around positive emotions. …show more content…

Through comparing Aristotle’s notion of confidence to modern liberal democracies, it is important for an individual in these regimes to have an emotional disposition that includes confidence. This differs from the mainstream definition of confidence that focuses on the self as it is not conducive to social cohesion and good morality. Rather, a confident disposition is necessary to uphold the principles laid out in any bill of rights or constitution. This is due to the fact that one’s confidence is relative to good government and the principles of liberty and equality that are characteristic of liberal democracies. Moreover, when analyzing leaders of liberal democracies, one can draw a stark duality between that of former American President Obama and current President, Donald Trump. The leadership in a liberal democratic nation, although citizens as well, are looked upon to uphold the principles of fairness and equality, and maintain the safety of his/her citizens. Furthermore, this duality presents itself when viewing the approval ratings of both presidents at the beginning of their terms: Obama had an approval rating of 67% on January 21, 2009 compared to Trump at 45% . Through this distinction, it can be argued that Aristotle’s conception of confidence – dreadful things being far off – is more synonymous with Obama than Trump. Conversely, the American populace’s historically low approval rating of President Trump demonstrates their confidence in the liberal democratic values of equality and protection for all. In situations where the majority of the populace has confidence in the nation’s actions and intentions, approval ratings increase. For example, after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden – the leader of terrorist group Al Qaeda – Obama’s approval ratings jumped from 44% on May 1,

Show More
Related
869 Words | 4 Pages

Otis contrasts two types of power structure: Oligarchies and aristocracies, where only a select few posses a large amount of power, and democracies, where power is distributed amongst the people. Most successful countries and empires throughout history structure their government to one of the two extremes, leading to corruption, in the case of an oligarchy or aristocracy, or poor decision making, in the case of a complete democracy. From his analysis of these systems of government, Otis proposes “to have those several power properly combined,” calling for the integration of both political systems in American society instead of only following one to an extreme. (Otis 105) The idea of a balance between authoritarianism and republicanism is virtually unprecedented in history; the only civilization resembling Otis’ idea was ancient Rome, but it failed to accurately reflect his vision as there was an inability to maintain balance between the Senate and the Roman people.

Read More
1892 Words | 8 Pages

A solution to the issue would be to take ideas from both and combine them. A reformation in education which both promotes active participation in government paired with concepts that weaken the barrier between demographics of people would be the ultimate solution. If political education addresses these exclusionary practices and promotes a more inclusive and democratic vision of citizenship both authors' desires would be answered. This critique of the current system of citizenship is an important addition to Allen's argument, as it highlights the need to address the structural inequalities that

Read More
1405 Words | 6 Pages

The fundamental roles of the individual citizen were to exercise these rights such as expressing their opinion in both speaking in public (freedom of speech, 11) and in deciding on things such as taxes (speaking to a representative,14). 3. How does the document define political sovereignty, and how is this definition related to the deputies’ collective sense of identity and

Read More
1917 Words | 8 Pages

Since then, his approval rating has dropped by 12%, and currently, only 33% of American approve of his job performance. 54% say they are embarrassed to have him as president; 26% say they are proud. 60% say Trump believes his is "above the law," and 57% say he is abusing the powers of his office. 71% say he is not level-headed. Pundits agree that it is nearly impossible to get re-elected with only a 33% approving rating.

Read More
1227 Words | 5 Pages

Within all democracies, a government’s power and sovereignty lie with its citizens. Undoubtedly, there lies an importance with the virtue and character of the citizenry, as they are inherently responsible for dictating the direction of a government’s policy and laws. Over the course of American history, many politicians and scholars have come to similar conclusions regarding the importance of moral citizens. However, statesmen have shared varying levels of concern for government’s role in developing such citizens. Some of the first groups to debate this were the Antifederalists and Federalists.

Read More
477 Words | 2 Pages

In the United States government, public opinion is crucial due to majoritarian rule and the notion of “consent of the governed”. A president’s power resides in the people; therefore, the president may enjoy persuasive power if deemed legitimate. The general trend for presidents is to begin their terms with high levels of support. However, this trend is short lived as the public approval usually declines.

Read More
551 Words | 3 Pages

I clutched onto his cold body, hugging him to my chest. His face was pale and bloody, but I could still see the guy I had fallen in love with. His plump pink lips loosing their color a little to fast for comfort. I laid my head on his chest last was still struggling to keep going. His heart was slow and it only kept getting slower and slower.

Read More
2047 Words | 9 Pages

In my paper, I will analyse Donald Trump’s political activities before and after the election to get an objective viewpoint of America’s President. We’ll start off with the history of Trump, both personal and political, to see whether there was some sort of significant development over the years indicating a tendency towards ‘good or evil’. Next, we will take a look at what Donald Trump promised to do – the wall, lowering taxes and repealing Obamacare to name a few – and evaluate if he managed to keep his election pledges. This success rate is a major factor in definitively assessing Trump’s influence on America.

Read More
683 Words | 3 Pages

Where there is a higher good, there is a government striving to achieve those ambitions. Furthermore, the extent to which Aristotle 's nativity can be applied when analysing the above statement is not relevant. Although, governments do have internal issues they still make actions that strive for morality. This being in regards to not only what is the highest good, but also to protect the people. Therefore, Aristotle’s thoughts on the matter are rightfully just and full of good judgement.

Read More
894 Words | 4 Pages

From Athens to America, democracy has seldom altered. Throughout centuries, Democratic practice may have slightly varied between leaders, but ideologies have remained unscathed. But why do democratic leaders feel compelled to ceremonially emphasize their form of government? When leaders emphasize their form of government and give praise to it with the full attention of their citizens, it strengthens the bond between citizen and leader. When this bond is intensified, trust is built, and Democracy is about nothing if not trust.

Read More
1604 Words | 7 Pages

Essay 1 Aristotle and John Locke both believe humans were not created to live alone but instead among other people of the same community. Humans are not independent beings, and those who live in isolation lack the purpose of life: becoming a citizen and exercising one 's full potential of human flourishing. According to Aristotle, the collective community or multitude of citizens coexisting with one another is happiness, whereas Locke believes that the collective community is protecting autonomy and property. Both philosophers believe that to become a citizen, one must contribute to politics with the intent of creating a better society for all. Aristotle and Locke however, have differing views on how a person accomplishes this.

Read More
1275 Words | 6 Pages

Of all modern democracies, the United States, Great Britain, and France are among the most exemplary illustrations of liberal democracy. Although these three nations share the characteristics of liberal democracies, they differ greatly in multiple facets of their respective political cultures. Both the similarities and differences among these nations can be attributed to each country’s history, more specifically because of their revolutionary paths to liberation into modernity. The diversity of each country’s political practices, from political participation to governmental structure, while varying between them, still uphold the values of liberal democracy that allow these nations to succeed today. In this paper, I will be focusing on the divergence

Read More
1212 Words | 5 Pages

1 INTRODUCTION Power and authority are the most important aspects of politics as such way of thinking comes a long way from the earliest thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle to mention few. They are the fundamental features of state in politics, focusing on who should have the power and authority over the people and who should rule them. During the time prior and after the birth of states, political authority has always been a major concern with regards to who should rule and how and who shouldn’t. Therefore this issues need to be addressed in a way that will at the end benefit the society. Plato is the thinker or theorist who came with addressing who should rule in a political environment in what Plato outlined that only Philosophers should rule.

Read More
1750 Words | 7 Pages

Upon evaluating Aristotle’s ideals of citizenship, one finds a world wherein citizenship and freedom are one in the same – active participation in debate and deliberation in the political community through the exclusively human use of reason and speech capacities. Given this ideal of citizenship, it becomes the case that the ideas for human flourishing and thus the good life follow suit. For Aristotle, human flourishing comes from the cultivation of virtue that is a result of continued participation in the political community, or, continued intentional citizenship. For the good life, it is important to note that it is the continued practice of virtuous activity, rather than the obtaining, that is required. For, “…possession of virtue seems actually compatible with being asleep, or with lifelong inactivity, and, further, with the greatest sufferings and misfortunes; but a man who was living so no one would call happy…”

Read More
1253 Words | 6 Pages

Many scholars studied political trust but still the debate remains that what actually being measured. Many controversies surrounding this concept and most prominent are; it is a measure of diffuse support for the political system (Miller 1974), specific support for the incumbents (Citrin 1974), or is the measurement of, How people are satisfied with the performance of incumbents (Citrin and Green 1986)? Trust in authorities(specific support) and trust in regime(diffuse support) are the two types of support first discovered by David Easton(1965,1975) and specific support means support for the officials and diffuse support means support for the form and structure of the government. Following the definition of Easton Us National Election study

Read More

More about Comparing Aristotle's Notion Of Confidence To Modern Liberal Democracy

Related Topics

Open Document