This form of democracy ensures that each person of the country is conscious and acknowledges the government’s decisions, as well as being part of the decision-making. The quote strongly opposes the ideology of democratic liberalism, but identifies with classical conservatism as well as elitism. Therefore, the concept of elitism contrasts the ideology of democratic liberalism. The second source addresses a neutral comparison of democratic liberalism and classical conservatism. The author of the quote, Louis Brandeis, states that by both ideologies cannot coexist in the same society.
But the basics of their philosophies were the same. The Jacksonian Democracy during 1820s to the 1840s was the way America was ran by President Thomas Jefferson. Being a former common man, Jefferson gave more power to those in his former position and limited the power of the aristocracies which created a balance. Jackson believed in the power of the president and the constitution that gives him the presidential power. This power caused principles in Jacksonian Democracy including Manifest Destiny.
Article III of the US Constitution establishes the judiciary branch - the Supreme Court. Although the US Constitution includes democratic principles such as checks and balances and the separation of powers to ensure the equal balance of power amongst the government branches, the legislative branch was designed to be most powerful. The organization and qualifications of Congress also contribute to the democratic shortcomings of the US Constitution. One of the biggest of these government decisions is electing the president, for which the system of the electoral college is in place. The US Constitution did not abolish slavery, and an interesting guarantee regarding slavery was included in Article IV of the Constitution.
'The separation of powers in a presidential democracy ensures better government than parliamentary democracies' fusion of power.' Discuss. Presidential democracies possess a separation of powers in that the executive and the legislature exist independently and hence 'the government does not depend on a legislative majority to exist' (Clark, Golder and Golder, 2009). This is in contrast to the fusion of powers in parliamentary democracies, which is a government 'directly controlled by the legislature' (Clark et al, 2009) and hence dependent on a legislative majority in a way presidential democracies are not. The statement alludes to the 'mutual independence' and 'mutual dependence' (Stepan and Skach, 1993) that characterises presidential democracy and parliamentary democracy respectively to suggest the former creates better government.
This independence derives from the constitution as the founding fathers suggested Congress was to be “the central element of the new political system” allowing Congress to perform checks and balances on a powerful executive. Congress is the branch of government closest to the people and the framers of the Constitution intended it to be the most powerful. Although, in the nineteenth and twentieth century, Congress has decreased in importance as the powers of the presidency expanded. Constitutionally it was given three main powers, all of which remain important today. First, all legislative power is vested in the house of reps and the senate, and within this broad function, Congress is given special powers to appropriate monies, raise armies and regulate interstate commerce.
Majoritarian democracy is a democracy based upon majority rule of a society's citizens. Countries such as the UK, USA and Canada operate on the basis of representative democracy where the people vote for representatives who then decide policy initiatives. Other countries such as Uruguay, Switzerland and Latin America operate on the basis of direct democracy where people decide upon policy initiatives directly. Source A suggests that the people (voters) are sovereign and what that they have the final say whereas Source B suggests the opposite in that the people feel “politicians are failing and disconnected from the British people”. Democracy means “power to the people” and Source A suggests that this is what is happening and the people are happy with the voting system.
Scalia is currently seen as the most conservative on the court. The Presidential nomination can be seen as politically controversial mainly due to the fact that the supreme court is supposed to be ‘the adjudicator’ rather than a political body, however justices are mainly chosen on political beliefs, not judicial qualifications. The Senate judiciary committee then holds hearings where it will question the nominee and hold a non-binding vote on whether to recommend the nominee to the Senate. The SJC was created in the 1980’s to question candidates and to discover their judicial beliefs and philosophies. However, Clarence Thomas, who went through the Senate hearings in October 1991 described them as a ‘high-tech lynching’.
Hence, most people believe that the two parties are similar enough that they are practically the same. Upon closer examination into the history of the Democratic and the Republican parties, we are able to determine that the political philosophies from which they originate have completely opposing ideologies. The ideologies of the Democratic Party derive from the ideology of the classical liberalism philosophy. The most prevailing idea of classical liberalism is that the government's role is to guard the individual's natural rights because individuals are the primary unit of society (Franks 27). According to John Locke, a philosopher who contributed to classical liberalism's vitality, the protection of individuals' "life, liberty, and property" is their natural rights (Jones 227).
The first enumerated power is the president’s ability to receive ambassadors and emissaries from foreign nations. In effect, this provides the president the power to recognize the legitimate governments of foreign nations. The second enumerated power allows the president to make treaties with foreign nations, subject to the consent of the Senate. However, the president can circumvent Senate approval through the use of executive agreements which are similar to treaties the only difference is that they are less formal and do not require Senate approval. The major power of the presidency in foreign affairs is the wartime powers.
The Greatest Debate of American history concerns the mysterious, and least understood branch of the United States government: The Supreme Court. The differences between those who favor activism and those who favor restraint are all apart of the biggest riff in our justice system since the beginning of the nation. Conservatives, or those who favor Judicial Restraint, believe the original intent of the founding fathers is (written in stone and it is not our responsibility to change such a great document) suitable for all generations, past, present, and future. These people believe that they have the power to interpret the founding fathers, so they have the power to manipulate the law, and power such as that should only rest in the hands of the executive and legislative branches. On the other hand, the liberals, or Judicial Activists, believe that the founding fathers recognized that standards of their time wouldn’t apply to the future, so therefore left the constitution broadly based and available for contemporary interpretation.