Introduction
According to the South African Concise Oxford Dictionary (2002:308) democracy is seen as a form of government in which the people of a state have a right to raise their voices through the exercise of power by electing representatives for the state government which will introduce a democratic system and control the state according to the principles of the system. the concept of democracy will be discussed in this essay by viewing how nelson Mandela is the influenced south Africa in becoming a democratic state, the constitution of the republic of south Africa, 1996 chapter 2 bill of rights influenced the road to democracy 1994 and regulations of democratic legitimacy in a state after the apartheid era. Two rival perspectives on democracy: Elitism and the “New Right” will also be discussed on their unique characteristics and their strengths and weaknesses.
The background of democracy
In Soweto, 1990 nelson Mandela quoted ‘if you are not prepared to compromise, then you must not enter into, or think about the process of negotiation at all’ this
…show more content…
This concept can also be seen as a belief in practice of rule by a minority. Elitism is also seen as having different classes the normative, modern and classical elitism these influenced the challenges of promoting a democracy. Normative elitism suggests that political powers should be in the hands of the wise. Classical elitism is claimed to be empirical, unchangeable fact of social existence. Modern elitism is also empirical but is more critical and discriminating about the causes of elite rule. Vilfredo Pareto, Robert Michel’s and Gaetano Musca are seen to have argued that the managerial class dominates the industrial society (Jasper passion on
“We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights”(17). Dr.King explains why African Americans have the right to be impatient. He wants his white readers to understand why being given equal rights is such a important matter. The writer,a civil rights leader and pastor, is Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.
Since the ancient times the research of a ‘Just’ society has always been linked with the Natural Law, a corpus of eternal, universal, and immutable rules, as the Nature, valid for everyone. The precursor of the Human Rights can be located in the Natural Rights theorized during the Renaissance humanism. Even if some rights had already been recognized, or affirmed in ancient and previous times, they were strongly connected to some divine power or religion. Nonetheless there are some precedent examples of interest. The Magna Charta signed in 1215 by that King John of England, who committed himself to respect, contained among others in its list , the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property, to be protected from excessive taxes,
"It always seems impossible until it 's done," this seemed to be the case of Nelson Mandela. Mandela fought against apartheid, or a policy of system of segregation on grounds of race, that took place in South Africa. One of these regulations that took place was the "Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949. " This act outlawed marriages between white people and other races; the Act effected the people who loved someone from a different race. Yes, racism was probably still around in those parts of the world and the time period, but it 's possible that it wasn 't as harsh as the United States was; this stopped the non-racist people from marrying who they want to.
The upper classes are more conservative and the lower classes are more radical on economic, political and social issues as these terms are normally defined. The greater the wealth and the higher, the social standing, the stronger, the desire to present change. The occupational progression from conservative to radical is large business, small business, professional, white collar, skilled manual, semi-skilled manual, an unskilled manual. This attachment of the upper and middle classes to the status quo indicates a general satisfaction with existing political and legal processes for gaining desired ends. Lack of such attachment on the part of lower class is an equally clear indication of doubts about the effectiveness of the processes of their own purposes.
Through the early nineteenth-century reform movements for abolition and women 's rights,such as The Seneca Falls convention and the famous African American abolitionists,there is an exposure of the strengths and weaknesses of the founding ideal of democracy: The right of the people to voice their opinions through elected representatives, in the society of the nineteenth century in its strength of allowing such reform groups to speak up for others and themselves, yet without any civil rights, which is its weakness;And even today when such groups have protected civil rights,there is this same exposure to the strengths and weaknesses of democracy in today 's society through the movements happening in our
African Americans received no respect for decades and decades. No matter if you were old or young, man or a woman. Martin Luther King Jr. was an inspirational speaker sticking up for what was right. While dealing with the same disrespect all Negroes were receiving. King spoke out his hopes and wishes for the world, hoping to change the ways of many.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.
On April 4th, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is shot and killed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was there in Memphis on the behalf of sanitation strikers as well as a peace march. There were many witnesses who account their version of the situation. One thing that is certain, they say it came from the some feet away. Police chased after car believed to be the culprit but it turned out not to be him.
All of these aspects of the living conditions faced by the working-class further strengthens the class divide. Fernando Garrido’s views on communism in Spain clarifies how these divulging lifestyles resulted from the Industrial Revolution: “What is said...about property: however sacred this right may be, when only a small number of privileged people can use it - and generally to the detriment of the greatest number who own nothing - is it not normal for the greatest number to view it as an enemy of their
Nelson Mandela 1. The speech is in the plural ‘We’ and not in the first person. This maybe because both he and De Klerk both won the prize or because he accepted on behalf of the nation as De Klerk had his own speech.
Capitalism is understood to be the “economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.” In modern society, capitalism has become the dominant economic system and has become so integrated that it has resulted in a change in the relationships individuals have with other members of society and the materials within society. As a society, we have become alienated from other members of society and the materials that have become necessary to regulate ourselves within it, often materials that we ourselves, play a role in producing. Capitalism has resulted in a re-organization of societies, a more specialized and highly segmented division of labour one which maintains the status quo in society by alienating the individual. Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim theorize on how power is embodied within society and how it affects the individuals of society.
Throughout time, the concept of “democracy” has been misunderstood and misused by the majority of governments around the world. In the Ecuadorian case, despite suffering innumerable dictatorships in command of several presidents such as José Maria Velasco Ibarra or Guillermo Rodríguez Lara, democratic ideas have prevailed and continue to evolve through the history and through the time. In fact, nowadays democracy is the principal political system in this country, in which the notion of popular sovereignty can be recognized. However, it is not clear what kind of democracy the Republic of Ecuador has. So, in order to clarify what was said before, it will be taken into consideration: (1) the definition of democracy according to three important authors, (2) the principal characteristics of a democracy and the two main types of democracy: (3) direct and (4) representative.
The law remained in South Africa for more than 50 years. In 1991, the government of President F.W. de Klerk ended apartheid. While apartheid was ruling in South Africa, A South African activist named Nelson Mandela fight for the rights of the nonwhites. In this essay I will talk about why Apartheid emerged in South Africa, how Apartheid can develop and was accept in South Africa, The tragedy that was caused by Apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s role on ending apartheid. Introduction Apartheid is a popular government system in South Africa from 1948 to 1944.
The survey states that four out of every ten South Africans believe that apartheid was not wrong in its oppressive actions, as well as one third of white South Africans believing that poverty in South Africa in the present day is not a result of apartheid (Wadvalla, 2013). Seeing that this data was gathered twenty years apart the first democratic election in South Africa,
Democracy is commonly defined as by Abraham Lincoln “A Government of the people, by the people and for the people”. In today’s society, liberation and democracy walk hand in hand. Democracy, in my view, is only capable of exsisting with a