Since the birth of many nations, including the United States, the idea of democracy has instilled their core governmental systems. Numerous philosophers and writers such as Aristotle and De Tocqueville focused their works on defining what a democracy is and identifying the main struggles in such a way of governance. These men also spoke freely of what makes democracies triumphant and how they differ from other governing structures. Although democracy can at times produce detrimental results, it would not be worth turning to other alternatives while scrapping the democratic process in order to guarantee social progress.
Democracy is defined as: “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections (“Democracy,” 2018).” Modern democracies, such as the United States, were built on democratic principles first establish in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. In Aristotle’s series “Politics,” the main question posed was “what precisely are the conditions that promote, sustain, and threaten democracy as a form of government? (“The Making and Unmaking of Democracy, 2003).” Throughout his adult life, Aristotle lived in democratic Athens. Despite his familiarity with democracy, Aristotle viewed it as inferior compared to three ideal-world “correct” governmental regimes: polity, aristocracy, and monarchy. Aristotle believed that in democracy, rule is by and for the needy. In contrast, he believed that aristocracies had rulers with the best interests for their country (“Aristotle on Democracy and Government,” 2017).
During the presidential elections in the United States, the Electoral College truly decides the outcome of the elections. If Floridian voters vote mainly for the Democratic candidate, the number of electoral votes allocated to the state, which is the number of representatives and senators combined, will more than likely go to that candidate. These votes are based on the population of each state; Florida has 29 (“Distribution of Electoral Votes,” 2010). The nationwide popular vote is not taken into consideration. The founding fathers, like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, believed that the entire population was not well minded or intelligent enough to make crucial decisions, such as picking the president of the country. The framework of the nation was set up so that a group of elite white men, at the time, would vote according to the population’s needs, but would go against the people if need be. Now, representatives and senators can be either male or female or of different races. Ultimately, it is still a group of elite people who control the results of the elections. In 2016, only 61.4% of the citizen voting age population reported voting for the elections (“Voting In America: A Look at the 2016 Presidential Elections,” 2016). Meaning only a little over half of citizens able to vote, actually vote. This supports the founding fathers’ idea of the population not being able to handle choosing a proper president alone, thus the necessity of the Electoral College is crucial. For the first time, the United States has been demoted from a full democracy to a flawed democracy, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (“U.S. Is No Longer a Full Democracy,” 2017). The EIU scores nations on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation, and political culture. The United States’ score fell from 8.05 to 7.98, which is the same score as Italy. Italy is known for political scandal. The EIU describes a flawed democracy as one with free elections, but weighed down by weak governance, low levels of political participation, and an underdeveloped political culture.
The United States heavily relies on a democratic network to maintain its government efficient, as well as allowing citizens to freely express what they demand from the government. Throughout history, the United States has been a model country to promote social and economic equality. Alexis de Tocqueville’s native country, France, did not consist of democratic governance. In 1831, he sought to study democratic systems and migrated to the United States of America. There, he observed the government structure of the contrast and realized that it had the most advanced democratic system for the time being. In 1835, Tocqueville published “Democracy in America,” he illustrated his admiration for equality, which he believed was a great political and social concept in his time. When Tocqueville spoke of the great strives in the United States for equality, he meant social and political equality for those mentioned in the “We the People” clause of the Constitution – the white race. Although Tocqueville was astonished by the advanced levels of equality, some inequality is needed for a democracy to thrive. Specifically, the United States prides itself on being a democratic, capitalistic country. Income inequality allows for people in distinct economic spheres to take on different jobs. A lower income individual, that received a limited education, may work as a janitor. In contrast, a masters graduate and higher income individual, may work as a CEO of a multinational corporation. Inequality must be capped at a certain level though. Income inequality is skyrocketing in the United States. The country has never seen such a gap between the rich and the poor. The top one percent of wealthiest citizens pocket over twenty percent of the nation’s total income (“The Merits of Income Inequality,” 2014). This dismantles the democratic ideology of equality – making individuals unable to contribute to society.
Throughout history, the idea of democracy has impacted the course of a myriad of nations. Although a flawed system, producing detrimental results such as inequality and a ruling elite class, it is not worth looking towards other alternatives. Democracies allow for citizens of a nation to be heard in some way or another. The United States allows various freedoms such as freedom of speech and the right to hold elections for numerous public office positions that are unique from other non-democratic nations. The democratic system has been imposed for over 300 years and has proved effective for the advancement of the nation.