The general idea of a deliberative decision-making process is that issues are discussed thoroughly and many points of views are being used in the arguments during the discussion. The decision is made after the discussion, favorably by consent. If consent is not attainable, decision is made by a majoritarian decision. This theory works with an idea that opinions are endogenous to the political processes – i.e. that politicians have an influence on shaping the opinion of the public during the political process (Hansen, 2007, p.
Democracy can simultaneously be seen as one of humanity’s finest creations, and also a natural result of the individual’s innate right to equality. As a political system that is shaped by the desires and opinions of the population, the actions and effects of its implementation become a tangible part of the lives of each and every member within the system’s jurisdiction. It is unique in that, when properly executed, the wishes of a collective population directly influence the direction of a governing body. Such responsibility, therefore, must not be taken for granted and it is thus the obligation of every citizen to partake in and engage with their democracy in at least some way. The democratic political system, and the significant change it
The important debates now are not about policy. They are about the basic values and structures of our social order. Nonetheless, he is wrong. Liberal democracy has had a pretty good run for 300 years. If the problem were really in the roots, wouldn’t it have shown up before now?
If not, individuals may be deprived easily by the government and nobody has the power to change it easily once an autocracy is formed. For electing our own government, a democratic government should be formed and universal suffrage is an element of liberal society. In my opinion, individual independence and freedom is the core belief of liberalism and liberalism should be dominant as it represents and guaranteed the interest of every single one of us. References Locke, J. (1960).
As William Ury states in his book, The Third Side: Why We Fight And How We Can Stop, “human beings have a host of emotional needs - for love and recognition, belonging and identity, for purpose and meaning to lives. If these are subsumed into one word, it might be respect.” Respect is an integral part of human nature. This is also proved by many philosophers. The first Western philosopher to acknowledge respect, Immanuel Kant, argued that respect for persons is the most important element of moral theory. His ethical theory states “all persons are owed respect just because they are persons, that is, free rational beings.” He emphasizes that humans are “ends in themselves” with an absolute dignity who must be respected.
In ‘low’ politics, social movements can more easily make their voice heard, and realign the balance of power– meaning that policy making can indeed become more inclusive and deliberative. On the contrary, in ‘high’ politics, the imbalance of power is so great that it seems almost impossible to bend the powerful – in that case, inclusion and deliberation act as a veil behind which real power is exercised. Second, the case studies have shown the importance of values, meaning that policy making cannot be summarised to a sole rational process. Values can refer to social norms and standards – as equality in areas like gender and race, but also ideological frameworks to approach economy – as the supposed benefit of liberalization (Prokhovnik, 2005, pp. 158, 162).
These elections must be held on the basis of universal, equal and secret suffrage so that all voters can choose their representatives in conditions of equality, openness and transparency that stimulate political competition” (Inter-Parliamentary Council 1997). Therefore the first element of the political structure one must examine when seeking to determine to what extent the Roman Republic was a democracy is the voting system and how it was implemented both in theory and in practice. If a voting system was not utilised there would be no argument, but as it stands, the mere presence of a voting procedure is not quite sufficient evidence of true democracy. To ascertain the full extent of Rome’s democratic tendencies one must examine the voting system in somewhat greater
Because of British traditions in government, and the distance between the thirteen colonies and Great Britain the colonies started developing democratic features in their government. Some features like equality, voting, and human rights were adopted. The colonial America’s democratic government had some undemocratic features so democracy was a work in progress. Some examples of democratic features, works in progress, and undemocratic things are representative government, unfair voting, and selective human rights. An example of a democratic feature in the government at the time is that they held elections for the representatives in the House of Burgesses.
Their decisions on foreign policy and internal disputes helped guide the decisions made by the future leaders. Their constant debate on where most of the power should be concentrated and how the representation should be made helped define the way our government runs even to this day. They two party system though divisive and sometimes destructive was absolutely necessary for this government to run. The republican views seemed to lean more toward the common people which may have been the reason it survived through the Jeffersonian Era of our
However, this is limited, narrow understanding of democracy is at best applicable to its political dimension, it is regarded as the optimal form of organization and functioning of all human life. Forms and manifestations of power are many - from the power of nature, parental authority, the power of knowledge and authority, power and strength so on. The universality of democracy is that the public has full control over the executive; the political system is balanced by all branches of government. We believe that wherever there is power, there are also subjects of this power, the ways and methods of its implementation, pursued certain goals. In a democracy, power and power relations are always and everywhere should be designed and implemented correctly as possible, on the basis of equality and benefits to all sides of the relationship, be subordinated to the common good and the gradual improvement of public relations, lead to increased harmony in society and their progress (Sen,