The term ‘democracy’ derives from the Greek word ‘Demokratia’, which is a compound word made by the Greek historian Herodotus when he combined the lexicons “demos” (common people) and ‘krátos’ (rule of strength). The term ‘Demokratia’ connotes two meanings: first, the people possess the authority. Second, the people exert the power. Etymologically considered, the democracy embraces both the political principle and form; it can be defined as the concept of the power of the people and of the public government. Lastly, the monarchy, aristocracy, and oligarchy reckon the concept confrontations with the democracy. The political liberty for the whole population gives both the positive and negative aspects of the democracy. With the development of …show more content…
This statement needs to be deliberated because people may make decisions against national interests when they pursue private interests rather than public interests. From this point of view, the democracy has a limit. Under the democratic system, no system is prepared to prevent people from making an erroneous decision. Since the democracy is so called “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”, the government will not be able to stop people even if they become imbeciles. The Greek philosopher Plato suggested ‘the principle of specialization’: he believed people should do what their natures best suit for them. He asserted that the philosophers must rule because they possess wisdom, which he defined as an outstanding counsel. The example of this belief can be seen on page 45, where Plato (1992: 45) says “The result, then, is that more plentiful and better-quality goods are more easily produced if each person does one thing for which he is naturally suited, does it at the right time, and is released from having to do any of the others.” to justify his statement: normal citizens are ignorant to rule. Thus, the philosophers must be in charge of a …show more content…
Then, he introduced not only the concept of ‘general will’: the will of people as a whole but also his idea of education. The example of his view on ‘general will’ can be found on pages 315~316, where Kain (1990: 315~316) states “The ‘general will’ is simply defined as that which tends to right or common good. When it does not, it simply is not called general will. It follows from this, for many, that there is not independent and reliable way of actually telling what ‘general will’ is or whether it has been realized. This view also involves a fundamental misunderstanding of general will. I shall argue that Rousseau gives us a clear mechanism – a set of institutions and procedures—which if carried out (and we can tell whether or not they have been carried out) will actually produce general will which will be right and tend to common good.” to advocate the Rousseau’s opinion on the sovereignty of the people. The idea of the ‘popular sovereignty’ gets along with the democracy since all citizens are expected and obligated to participate in politics. The example of his perspective on education can be seen on page 32, where Priest puts “One of the central convictions which Rousseau reveals in the Emile is that the function of education is the freeing of man from prejudice by making him reasonable.” to account for the suspicion that common people lead the state
Was ancient Athens truly democratic? Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state. I do not believe that in the 4th to 5th century BCE ancient Athen were democratic for many reasons.
This ideology is counter to that of liberalism as it infringes on the natural rights of its citizens, and it is undemocratic as this society would not have the consent of the governed as a whole. Furthermore, counters the rule of law because the author believes the authority should never be challenged, and therefore the author suggests that the authority is exempt of these laws. A thinker such as Hobbes would agree with the author of this source as he believed that without a strong government it would lead to nation wide chaos, such as that that the author describes through the use of the phrase, “A society that allows authority to be challenged will never succeed.”. Additionally, Locke would disagree with all parts of this source, as he believed that individuals know for themselves what is best and therefore should have the freedom to make their own decisions. For the second sentence of this source Locke and Rousseau would both disagree as they believed that consent of the governed was vital to society, which directly contradicts the authors issues with the challenging
In theory, people are meant to kept in check by a paramount authority for their best interest. In an excerpt from the Leviathan, Hobbes states, “...that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called Warre…” Government is a unifying power, an external force that placates human nature with a sense of security. Similarly, in Common Sense by Paine, “Here then is the origin and rise of government; namely, a mode rendered necessary by the inability of moral virtue to govern the world; here too is the design and end of government. Freedom and security.” Regarding the structure of government, specifically separation of powers, the Second Treatise Concerning Government, the concept of judicial, executive, and legislative branches is further explained, “First, There wants an establish’d, settled, known Law, received and allowed by common Consent to the Standard of Right and Wrong (...)
The term democracy is a contested concept with many classifications. A government made up of the people for the people is the easiest definition to focus on. A democracy needs have these key elements of a political system for choosing the
Democracy is a form of government in which power lies with the people. This means that the people of the said community can either rule directly or indirectly by electing officials to make decisions for the betterment of the people. Democracy is an aspect that can be included in many different governments including, republics, monarchies, and theocracies. In America today, democracy is something we take pride in. This form of government had to start somewhere, however, and ideas of democracy can be shown in many early documents written by some of the first peoples to colonize the Americas.
Democracy, a form of government, allows the people in their own nationality to vote for people in order for them to become representatives as a result to vote on new laws that would affect their own nationality. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not inclusive, other than male citizens, to gain authority in ancient Athens, ¨Demokratia was ruled by male citizens only, excluding women, free foreigners(Metics) and slaves.¨(Document D), therefore ruling Athens was only accessible to male citizen since since women, free foreigners(Metics), and slaves were not allowed to rule as a result of not being male citizens. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens, was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not even using the essentials of democracy that is used today, “Thus, by our standards, it was oligarchy, not democracy.¨(Document D), therefore ancient Athens was not using democracy as their form of government, they were using oligarchy,another form of government in which a small group of people has power and control, as their form of government instead of democracy.
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” (Jefferson, 1776/2014, para. 2). Authority should not reside over individuals, but with them. A heart cannot run a body alone. Likewise, a government does not operate a nation by itself. Individuals help maintain the justice of authority.
In the beginning of book VI, Socrates makes a point by saying that philosophers have always been able to see things as they are versus people who see things as they vary and so he asks, who should rule? (484b) Socrates then launches into how philosophers are the ones who love the truth and want nothing and will not stand for anything, but the truth. (485c) It is because of that they should rule and so Socrates is asking for a philosopher-king who will seek nothing but the truth through knowledge and wisdom. This is the most important and boldest claim Plato makes in the defense of philosophy.
If examine this statement closer, one could find the core values of Rousseau’s utopian version of the General Will. The first core value of the General Will Rousseau had suggested was that it was a collective will from everyone. Indeed, Rousseau believed that “Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will” (Rousseau 8). In other words, the General Will Rousseau was advocating was the will that “both come from all and apply to all.” Correspondingly, Sieyes applied this idea and indicated that the law was at the center of the nation and the will of the Nation is the result of individual will (Lualdi 116), which both suggested that the General Will should come from all.
The term, Democracy, stems from the Greek word ‘demokratia’ which means rule by the people and it wasn’t until around 500 BCE in Athens where the first examples of democracy originated. While Athens is widely regarded as the first historical example of a democratic system, some scholars believe that the Roman Empire’s republic system was more democratic than that of the Greek. As I will come to
It also represents the control of an organization or group by the majority of its members. Democracy did not originate with the founding of the United States. The term "democracy" comes from two Greek words: "demos" meaning the people and "kratia" meaning power or authority. It is defined as being a government by
And it can be attained only by reaching the general will which is expressed by the sovereign that is owned by any particular individual which later will create the form of law. Moreover, he also stated that there is the difference between the general will and the “ will of all ”.The “ will of all ” is only the accumulation of every thing that the individual want. But the the general will aim at the common good which achieve what is best for all which is the way of making the decision that he suggests.
This ideology will be addressed in the essay with substantiated reasons on why Plato thought that philosophers should rule. 1.1 DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS 2 PLATO BIOGRAPHY Plato was born around the year 428 BCE in Athens. Plato 's birth name was Aristocles, and he gained the nickname Platon, meaning broad, because of his broad build. His family had a history in politics, and Plato was destined to a life in keeping with this history. He studied at a gymnasium owned by Dionysios, and at the palaistra of Ariston of Argos.
First of all, it is important to know the definition of democracy and its aspects. According to Peter Joyce (2005), the democratic government was initiated in the Greek city state of Athens in the fifth century B.C., so as a consequence, the word ‘democracy’ derived from two Greek words, demos (meaning ‘people’) and kratos (meaning ‘power’) , which means ‘government by the people’. Secondly, Giovanni Sartori (1997), a Political Science Researcher states that ‘democracy’ is an abbreviation that means Liberal Democracy. He distinguishes three aspects: democracy as a principle of legitimacy (power not derives
In an ideal democracy, voters will vote for the politicians and policies that can bring the most benefit to themselves, while the rules of the society cares about how to maximize the social welfare as a whole. However, in reality, people find