1.0 INTRODUCTION The word democracy comes from the Latin word demos which means people and (krátos) which means rule. Several well-known personalities and the government has given the sense of purpose and definition of democracy. Among them, former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln who said that democracy is a democracy that works for citizens. James Bryces also said that it is a pattern of government. From this definition, there are a number of conclusions about the meaning of the definition of democracy.
Answer: A dictatorship and democracy are quite different, but they can also be similar. In a dictatorship the common people have no say in the on goings of government or the treatment of the governed. In a democracy the people DO have a say in what goes on, and they vote to make decisions. Both can be good in bad in their own ways. Some say a dictatorship is better because the people don’t know what is and isn’t good for them.
For the likes of Lincoln, Pericles and Thomas Paine it is a denial of the democratic ideal to assert that democracy should centre around the activity of political leaders and that, once elected, such leaders should be left alone to take the important decisions on our behalf. Proponents of this aggregative model of democracy, such as Max Weber, argue that, ‘Democracy means the people electing a leader and then that leader telling the people to shut up’. Aggregative democracy treats citizens largely as voters whose preferences are already given and merely need to be aggregated through the mechanisms of electoral representation. Indeed there are currently many citizens of the Banbridge District Council area who believe that their local Councillors have adopted Weber’s view to democracy as little or no public deliberation takes place on important Council issues in between elections. This essay argues that the decision by the Council to unilaterally reduce the collection of ‘Black bins’ from once a fortnight to once a month without any public deliberation is a very localised example of Weber’s view of democracy.
Do you believe you can change the government for the better? Just wait until the next elections in the United States. There are political parties with ideas, who believe they can. Political parties are defined as an organized group of people with the same political aims and opinions, who seeks to change the public policy by having their candidates elected to the public office.The media ,Political Parties, Voters, and the Electoral Process are all connected, the next president of the United States will face a more difficult economic and fiscal situation than any President in recent memory. While some citizens would prefer that governmental leaders implement spending cuts while others would favor an increase in revenue, as a practical matter the country’s precarious financial situation cannot be addressed exclusively by just one of these options.
BENTHAM developed the notion of democracy as a form protection for the individual into a case for universal suffrage. Utilitarian’s have argued that individuals will vote so as to advance or defend their interest. Bentham believed that universal suffrage is the only way of promoting the greatest happiness for the greatest number. However, liberals also have an ambivalent view of democracy. Liberalism places great stress on the protection of individual’s rights while democracy emphasise on collective control.
Why and how do US Pressure Groups attempt to influence election results? US pressure groups attempt to influence election results to get sympathisers into power and monitor how these individuals use the power. William Storey sums up the reason why Pressure groups try and get influence an election into two goals, the first is to help sympathetic people win elections. The second is to make sure those elected help use their power to advance the agenda of the group that helped them win. It is clear that pressure groups do gain influence over election results as there are concerns that pressure groups play a too significant role in elections, potentially making politicians more responsive to their agenda than to the concerns of the voters.
However the other two will check the one wanting to exceed thus, balancing out the power and securing citizens from a dictatorship type of government. Another reason would simply be when he states, “If men were angles, no government would be necessary.” In other words since we are not angles but are men if we had power in our hands we would abuse it. Then he continues that even though the powers are shared and are equal the government should still be able to control not only the people but, themselves. This will only help protect the people’s individual rights including the minority. In the end he says that in order to have a balanced government the majority must agree on justice.
3. Asses how does the electoral system influence the relationship between politicians and their party leaders in Malaysia. Some electoral systems encourage the evolution of political parties more than others. Also, the type of party system that evolves is greatly influenced by the electoral system in place. The FPTP (First-Past-the Post) system, as the simplest example of Plurality/Majority systems, generally provides voters in a district a clear choice between two parties, often gravitating towards a party on the left and one on the right, alternating in power.
In what ways do pressure groups enhance democracy? For some, pressure groups are a fundamental part of democracy. To others, pressure groups undermine the whole principle of democracy. Democracy is a system of government where decisions are arrived at by majoritarian principles with representatives elected at periodic elections where political equality and political freedom allow the voter an effective choice between competing candidates in a secret ballot. Pressure groups are a product of freedom of association, which is a fundamental principle of liberal democracy.
The Greeks combined the words demos (people) and krates (rule) which meant in practice that the state belonged to the people, they were those who had the power and those who were sovereign. The people appointed someone who would represent them, in the modern times it is the government which represents the will, wishes or at least the consent of the people. However, it had been a long run in the history to include all adult citizens to participate in the political life and to approach a bit the inspirable idea of democracy. The ideal rule by the people is not so easy to carry out in practice. Direct democracy could only work for a small state with a few