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Behind any word there is a meaning. However, meaning is not a “transparent” representation for a definition. Meaning varies from culture to culture and differs between individuals. It is constructed and is interpreted by many contrasting views. What one chooses as a definition of democracy can cause a discrepancy for another with a conflicting point of view.
In the article How Democratic is America? Howard Zinn defines democracy by a set of criteria. The list of ten requirements that are used to construct a “democratic” political institution vary from participation in decisions to opportunity to protest. Using the criteria, Zinn measures American “democracy” by evaluating how well the criteria is fulfilled. Does everyone have access to the same resources? Is there the same opportunity for two kids of different financial status to receive the same education and quality of government resources? With these questions in mind, doubt may arise as to whether the level of democracy for “all” is equally distributed.
Another system of measurement Zinn encompasses is comparing our democracy with other nations. By comparing the availability of resources and opportunities in comparison with another country. Lastly, Zinn concluded that we could measure our democracy against the standard or ideal that is most desirable for a society. Using the methods of measuring American democracy, Zinn made the conclusion that we fall short of fulfilling each ten requirements of a democracy.
The second article is a response by Sidney Hook in reference to Howard Zinn’s How Democratic is America? Hook disagrees with Zinn’s ideals for a democracy. He asserts that the
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definition of democracy should not be described by the criteria given in the first article. The ten
criteria mentioned were not required or needed in defining what democracy is. Considering there are countries that are not democratic and have the access to the same freedoms....