True democracy essays

True democracy essays Complete and true democracy is almost impossible to achieve, and has been the primary goal of many nations, beginning from ancient civilizations of Greece and Roman Empire, all the way to the government of the United States today. In any system, which claims to be democratic, a question of its legitimacy remains. A truly democratic political system has certain characteristics, which prove its legitimacy with their existence. One essential characteristic of a legitimate democracy is that it allows people to freely make choices without government intervention. Another necessary characteristic that legitimates government is that every vote must count equally: one vote for every person. For this equality to occur, all people must be subject to the same laws, have equal civil rights, and have to be allowed to freely express their ideas. Democracies fall into two basic categories, direct and representative. Modern society, with its size and complexity, offers few opportunities for direct democracy and today in America, the most common form of democracy, is representative democracy, in which citizens elect officials to make political decisions, formulate laws, and administer programs for the public good. In the name of the people, such officials can deliberate on complex public issues in a thoughtful and systematic manner that requires an investment of time and energy that is often impractical for the vast majority of private citizens. Public officials in today's representative democracy hold office in the name of the people and remain accountable to the people for their actions. Considering the achievement of complete democracy is most likely impossible, the political system of American government is democratic, but its democratic legitimacy is clearly limited. Although in theory the American system calls for one vote per person, the low rate of turnout results in the upper and middle classes ultimately choosing candidates for the ...