Harnessing Freedom: Exploring the Dynamics and Principles of Democracy

 

The term democracy refers to power by the people. It is a system of government associated with the people having control over leadership and governance. In this system of governance, the supreme power of the nation is vested by the people. This power can be expressed directly by the people especially if they are small in number in the other case they can choose individuals that can represent them. Democracy is a system that goes hand in hand with freedom. It is associated with terms and principles associated with freedom, and as a result, it has become the most popular system of governance in the world. The [principles and systems of freedom established within democracies are credited to long histories of turmoil and chaos and these experience have been used to form principles of freedom that are the building blocks of most democracies. In simple terms, the term democracy can be defined as the institutionalization of freedom. From this definition, it is, therefore, clear that in countries with democratic systems of government, it is the people themselves that have control over their freedom. Democracy is more than an institution and entails aspects of value, practices as well as attitudes that are associated with the need to uphold peace and freedom. Democracies are usually described as the rule controlled by the majority, and the majority, in this case, is the general public or the citizens of the nation. Democracy can sometimes be considered as a process of management of conflicts whereby the outcomes of the process itself depends on all the participants, and no individual or group may influence the outcome. Democracy is, therefore, a system of governance that is in contrast with other forms of government associated with the consolidation of power among a few individuals (Kotler, 2017).

The theory of democracy has undergone great changes since the time of ancient Greek. Direct democracy has also been practiced in many societies due to the small number of people that make up an assembly. However, the i8th century saw great advancement in a representative democracy especially associated with the establishment of counties, nations or states. Greeks have been credited by many as the people who first practiced democracy. Evidence shows the existence of a democratic government established by the Greeks at around the year 500 BCE. It is considered as a system that established naturally especially in a small group of people. It is because of this reason that it is believed that despite evidence of democracy in Greek, it also existed in other parts of the world. Democracy developed from primitive forms and became advanced. However, the most critical developments of democracy occurred in the nations of Rome and Greece (Acemoglu, 2012).

There have been many forms of government tried in many parts of the world. However, the modern world is very much complicated, and there are very many aspects that need to have proper interactions for a state to be efficient and without conflict. A proper system, of government, has to ensure that social, technological, economic, political and military aspects within a country interact well enough with one another. What democracy offers is the chance for the entire population to be able to exercise their power and take part in their government (Acemoglu, 2012).

Democracies have certain characteristics that set it apart from the rest of forms of governance. The first characteristic is that as explained above, this form of government spreads power over the people is a responsibility of representatives who have to be freely elected. This means that the people bear the civic duties and responsibilities of governance. However, when the nation is large, free and fair elections have to be conducted, and representatives were chosen. The representative thus has to use the power given to them by the public to ensure that they meet their needs of the people that elected them into power (Kotler, 2017).

Another characteristic is that democracies operate based on the principles of rule by the majority. This means that the people hold power. In most cases, countries that are democratic oppose the aspects of centralization of power. They do so by encouraging the spread of power to local levels in the society. This allows for the breakdown of power and spread it to the people. This based on the need to increase accessibility to the people to aspects of the movement and make sure the state is as responsive to the people as possible.

Another characteristic of this form of government is its focus on individual rights and functions to ensure that basic human rights such as the right to freedom, religion, and expression are held in very high regard. The people jolt the power, and thus their rights have to be protected and respected by the state. Another important characteristic is regular elections that take place after a specific period. These elections are usually open to all citizens but when they have attained a particular age. The elections are carried about for choosing a representative who would hold power for the people. They take up positions in government and simply run the country (Iversen,2011).

Democracy has two basic categories that include representative and direct. The direct category is the most practical form of democracy. This is because every person gets the responsibility of making decisions. However, the most common form of democracy is the representative and involves choosing officials who would be mandated in making political decisions on behalf of the entire society.

Pluralism is also a great aspect of a democratic way of governance. Pluralism is associated with the fact that apart from the government, there are many institutions in place that have influences in the lives of citizens. They are institutions which are both private and public and their diversity create the aspect of pluralism. In such a pluralistic society, the different institutions operate independently from the government despite their great influence in the social political and economic aspects of the society. These institutions are very significant because they are associated with roles not part of the government but have the capacity of influencing the society.

This greatly differs in other forms of government such as an authoritarian whereby the government exerts control over all the institutions. In this sense, the democratic form of governance is associated with systems of government that follow defined laws which are in fact very limited. These institutions operate freely and independent of the government. The limits given to the government by the law allows people to have their freedoms without the fear of any influence by the government (Iversen,2011).

Because of the spread of power to all citizens, it is an expectation of every individual within a democratic government to take part in participation in political and civic responsibility. Rights are, therefore, understood and considered as the citizen’s private possession and ownership and they own up to it through their participation and exercise of power. The success of a democracy greatly depends on the individual contributions of individual citizens. They all have to be active in matters of politics and governance. The people freely exercise their different basic rights. However, this does not operate in isolation with the contribution of the people to their governance.

Rights and the responsibility of the people are highly connected because of the rights have to apply by a framework of the society. One of the sole purposes of a democratic government is to offer protection to the rights of the citizens, and it does so to ensure that they are fully capable of undertaking the civic responsibilities as a society. It is, therefore, very essential for citizens within a democracy to put a little effort in aspects of their governance. This can be in the form of learning their civic responsibilities and having a better understanding of the way the system is run to enable them to make proper decision such as to vote for the right individual. In these aspects, democracy transcends into a way of living for people in the society and requires great levels of cooperation and tolerance. The aspect of freedom, therefore, means that citizens ought to be responsible for their governance (Acemoglu, 2012).

Despite the great benefits of the individual citizen's associated democracy, there are other forms of government that offer great. Democratic governments do not necessarily mean that they have better forms of government. One of the most lasting notions in the aspects of governance is that democracies are expected to be superior to other forms of government because of its ability to spread power and uphold freedom and equal rights. However, in some cases, it is conceivable to find democracies that are unsuccessful and at the same time find dictatorships that are successful.

There are great differences between dictatorships and democracies, and the differences have for long been associated with the level of influence the current government has over the next government. Perfect democracies ought to not influence the next government while at the same time dictatorships with absolute power are expected to have full control on the formation of the next government. However, in most cases, democracies are considered better because they are credited with bringing out the best in people. In a dictatorship, the chances of success depend on the ability to choose the next leaders who are more proficient and capable than the current ones otherwise, the governance would stagnate, and the country would not be able to move forward. In a dictatorship, the risk of choosing bad leaders is very high because there is more incentive associated with choosing bad leaders. In such cases, the possibility of development of bad governments is very high. However, in perfect democracies, there is always an incentive to choose the best leaders (Acemoglu, 2012).

There is also the aspect of capitalism and democracy. Capitalism is an economic system associated with having the industry as well as the system of trade controlled by the public. Capitalism is associated with private ownership of the production and trade in a country. Capitalism thrives in democracies because institutions are usually independent of the government. The government has little influence on the economy and corporations have their freedom of operation.

Economic systems of capitalism are associated with high levels of control in the hands of the people that own factors of production and prices are controlled and determined by competition within the market. In most cases, it is viewed that democracies and capitalism have a perfect relationship. However, this is not always the case. The evolution of democratic capitalism is always characterized with a more inclination towards the wealthy. One of the greatest social problems of such a system is the development of corruption within the system. Capitalism empowers corporations who will always look after their interest. Corporations and the wealthy, therefore, endorse political leaders who will ensure their interests are not ignored, and thus the actual concept of democracy is eroded.

An example is whereby, political leaders have to seek support from the public to get votes. They get sponsors who back them facially. However, this is usually at the cost of political favors while in power. In this case, political leaders fail to look after the interests of the voters and focus on the interests of the sponsors. Corruption can also prevail as a result of more influence from the corporate world. Capitalism can erode the principles and values established by a democratic government (Kotler, 2017).

As expounded above it is imperative to note that, democracies can bring out the best in people. Democratic governments are not flexible because there is always the need to change for the bests. There is always the incentive to choose better leaders. Democracies allow for a high level of accountability which is important. This is because such a governmental system is mandated to taking care of the interests of the people. The people who are in power is a very important for any government.

Democracies give the opportunity of choosing these leaders to the general public. People have the right to choose their leaders based on their ability to offer the best services. Democracies have a capacity for change which is beneficial for the improvement of the lives of the citizens. Such states always expect change. The ability to vote offers the citizens the chance of being represented in aspects of government.

However, a democratic government expects all citizens to be responsible regarding taking part in civic and political duties. Democracies guarantee the protection of freedom and basic rights. However, this cannot be possible unless the people themselves take responsibility and be active in the civic and political aspects of the society. Democracies, therefore, offer the best systems of government because of their ability to spread power to the people. But this can only be possible and feasible if it is a perfect or near-perfect democracy. Sometimes democracies fail because of lack of consideration of their fundamental principles that make up democracy. However, perfect democracies, promises great opportunities for its citizens. It evolves and becomes a way of living associated with freedom and basic rights to all citizens (Kotler, 2017).

 

Works Cited

Acemoglu, Daron. Democracies may not outlast dictatorships, but they adapt better. 2012. https://sinsight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/which_government_is_best.

Iversen, Torben. Capitalism and Democracy. 2011. http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199604456.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199604456-e-040.

Kotler, Philip. Are Capitalism and Democracy Compatible? n.d. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/are-capitalism-and-democracy-compatible_us_580db2eae4b099c4343198fa. 2017.