Zinn Essay

In the article How Democratic Is America?, Howard Zinn, an idealist and liberal, spars against Sidney Hook, a pragmatic conservative about the current system of democracy set up in the United States. From the first concept of standards for America’s democracy, Zinn and Hook hold conflicting viewpoints. While Zinn believes that we should “measure our democracy against an ideal (if admittedly unachievable) standard”, Hook believes that “the only sensible procedure in determining the absence or presence of equality from a democratic perspective is comparative). Even though I agree with Zinn’s views on the participation in decisions, access to education and the lacking spirit of cooperation in America, Hook is correct in stating that for one to ignore improvements made from the past is unreasonable. The intricate system of democracy in the United States is all based on this idea of representation. We vote for a representative in congress, who then votes by how he/she believes the people want her to vote. What? Where is the voice of the people? Zinn perfectly states that “no representative can adequately represent another’s needs; the representative tends to become a member of special elite; the elected official develops an expertise which tends toward its own perpetuation.” Hook then counters Zinn’s argument by stating that then no society is democratic, “not even the direct democracies or assemblies of Athens or the New England town meetings.” And indeed, that is the point! There is truly no way to perfectly adhere to the voices of the people; Zinn understands this, but at the same time, he doesn’t want us to settle for one system. Zinn needs the current system of democracy to continue to evolve. One of the most obvious flaws of the current system of representation is the fact that “the two major parties have am monopoly of presidential power, taking turns in the White House.” Even though most Americans do not identify themselves with either party, because the