weaknesses of democracy
Weaknesses of modern democracy
Political science 202
01/01/2013
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried from time to time.” These are the words used by Sir Winston Churchill while he was expressing his resolve with democracy. Democracy is the dominant form of government in the world with the exception of a few countries. In Sir Winston’s statement, the phrase, “except all those others that have been tried from time to time” however, shows that despite being a weak form of government, it’s relatively the best form of governance in history1. Weaknesses of modern democracy span from the fundamental to contemporary ones as this paper illustrates. The biggest problem with modern democratically elected governments is the sluggish manner in which they conduct their business2. This is detrimental to any government’s role in deliberating on key policies. Any policy making exercise by any government should be marked by strong decisiveness. Modern democratic governments have adopted compromise in the place of decisiveness2. In circumstances where long term solutions are needed, short term solutions are made leaving problems unsolved and very sensitive to future discussions. On part of the governed, unfulfilled promises lead to disillusionment eventually resulting to numerous and sporadic government changes thus overhauls and patching of critical government programs and key policies1. A good example of sluggishness in government policing is the destitute nature of the United States economy2. Slowness in dealing with the huge public debt and recession, have drastically reduced the strength of the economy. With the congress locked in ideological partisan politics, important decisions on the economy have been unforthcoming. On the other hand, China (without democracy and very decisive) has a strong economy growing with an above average growth rate2. The original definition of democracy
Political science 202
01/01/2013
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried from time to time.” These are the words used by Sir Winston Churchill while he was expressing his resolve with democracy. Democracy is the dominant form of government in the world with the exception of a few countries. In Sir Winston’s statement, the phrase, “except all those others that have been tried from time to time” however, shows that despite being a weak form of government, it’s relatively the best form of governance in history1. Weaknesses of modern democracy span from the fundamental to contemporary ones as this paper illustrates. The biggest problem with modern democratically elected governments is the sluggish manner in which they conduct their business2. This is detrimental to any government’s role in deliberating on key policies. Any policy making exercise by any government should be marked by strong decisiveness. Modern democratic governments have adopted compromise in the place of decisiveness2. In circumstances where long term solutions are needed, short term solutions are made leaving problems unsolved and very sensitive to future discussions. On part of the governed, unfulfilled promises lead to disillusionment eventually resulting to numerous and sporadic government changes thus overhauls and patching of critical government programs and key policies1. A good example of sluggishness in government policing is the destitute nature of the United States economy2. Slowness in dealing with the huge public debt and recession, have drastically reduced the strength of the economy. With the congress locked in ideological partisan politics, important decisions on the economy have been unforthcoming. On the other hand, China (without democracy and very decisive) has a strong economy growing with an above average growth rate2. The original definition of democracy
Bibliography: 1. Gupta, Tusha. “What are the advantages and disadvantages of democracy?” Preserve articles, May 16, 2012, http://www.preservearticles.com/2012051632245/what-are-the- advantages-and-disadvantages-of-democracy.html. 2. Hearnes, James. “The weaknesses of Democracy” Wordpress, July 18, 2012, http://jameshearne.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/the-weaknesses-of-democracy/