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.
In a genuine democracy, a minority group gives limited risk since it can be effortlessly outvoted and abolished. A larger greater number of faction, as Madison states, “the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens.” (James Madison. Federalist No.10 1787.)
minority rights in this essay. He countered that it was exactly the great number of factions and diversity that would avoid tyranny. Groups would be forced to negotiate and compromise among themselves, arriving at solutions that would respect the rights of minorities. Further, he argued that the large size of the country would actually make it more difficult for factions to gain control over others. “The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States.”
The Primary objective of all leaders should be to control citizens. A society that allows authority to be challenged will never succeed. This source depicts an authoritarian or totalitarian view of what a governing body should look like. The author suggests that the primary objective of government should be the “control of the citizens”, and therefore that the individuals should entirely obey said government.
My thesis is that although both pluralism and two-tiered pluralism models’ strength is their ability to illustrate relationships between the majority and the
People are still active in political affairs and their opinions are heard by elected representatives in their local, state, and national government, but their power is checked through a system of checks and balances which prevents any one person from having access to too much power. This form of government allows more individual interests to be heard and taken into consideration, in contrast to an absolute monarchy where the people's interests are not taken into consideration at
Political discourse is an oftentimes contentious topic of conversation. What one person may consider to be the only right way of doing things, another may consider to be a deeply immoral and immensely flawed system of beliefs. Throughout history, a variety of political models, both extremist and moderate, have been put in to practice to varying degrees of effectiveness. However, three common themes have persisted in every government: suffering, hypocrisy, and failure. Under any system in which an upper class is present, the majority will always face persecution.
A majority, held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it, does, of necessity, fly to anarchy or to despotism” (Basler,
There will always be different views and opinions when it comes to government politics. One interesting view is whether or not our nation is led by an Elite or Popular Democracy. A democracy is a form of government that is run by elected officials that are voted into public office by the people for representation. There are different perspectives on how a democratic system should work.
When a government does not reflect the will of the people, it will create an illiberal nation. Therefore, the government should be removed from power as it rejects the principles of liberalism. Illiberalism stands opposed to the classic liberal notions of individual rights protected equally by government and the law, and it is hostile to freedom of conscience and expression. In an illiberal nation, the government denies people the right of free expression and equality before the law, furthermore, it is about controlling how people think and behave. It is seen as a threat to both the democratic system of government and to the liberal political culture.
In an ideal government that favors the sovereign and the people, the ability for the people to have a voice is crucial. However, an absolute monarchy strips people away from those rights completely. The presence of an absolute monarchy not only withdraws the power of the people, but it puts the stake of the entire country in the hands of one individual. When one figure in government has all the power, this means nothing but chaos in a society. Absolutism is one of the worst, if not the worst, form of government there is due to the fact that people aren’t allowed to choose their ruler, the simple fact that the people are stripped of their rights, and that the decision one person makes without the consultation of others may affect them tremendously,
The totalitarian governments succeeded at discouraging opposition, but now this is down in different ways by establishing a
They add that its thoughts of loyalty and propriety are believed to make it impossible for people to express their views in the process of policymaking and justify their government policy. There is also no mechanism for government to strike the balance between two parties, leading to biased decisions and unfair policies which could undermine social harmony and stability. In fact, democracy includes decisions made by majority which is also compatible with the Doctrine of Mean in Confucianism (Xu, 2006). By general consent, a consensus can be reached and a relatively acceptable decision can be made after a series of discussion. The decision made through a democratic process by majority is often regarded as an eclectic decision which aims at making compromise between two extreme political parties.
In order to compare and contrast varying types of government within two or more countries, one must have a clear definition of Government and know the purposes it serves. Therefore, I did some research and I have established that Government is a group that exercises dominant power over a nation, state, society or other body of people. Governments are commonly responsible for constructing and implementing laws, handling money, and defending the general population from external threats, and may have other obligations or privileges. All over the world, there are many different types of government within countries. Each kind has its advantages as well as disadvantages regarding the general well-being of its peoples and economy.
Conclusion: Page 6 6. Bibliography: Page 6 Introduction: This an age old argument on whether the people should be ruled by one single all powerful leader who isn’t challenged or a leader who is democratically elected into power. In this academic piece I will be looking at the benefits and pitfalls of each form of government as well as give a few examples of each and decide if they were successful.
