Principles of Liberal Democracy - Assignment Example

Political Parties Question One A political party is an association or group of people sharing the same ideology ofgovernance in a country. These individuals in the group work in coordination to alter old laws and introduce new ones. The main field of interest for political parties is to influence the activities taking place in the parliament by securing majority seats by having a majority of the members of the parliament under the party’s affiliation (Mintz, Close & Croci 51). All political parties have their own distinct set of policies, encompassing all the major concerns of daily life like education and employment. Under normal circumstances, a political party has to spread their idea to all members of the parliament when they want to introduce a new law or change an old one. What then follows is a vote on the proposed changes, and if majority of the members of parliament are in agreement with the changes, the law or regulation amendment takes place. Following a general election, the political party with the most members of parliament forms the government, with the party that follows it becoming the official opposition, with a leader and a ‘shadow cabinet’. In many countries, only two political parties dominate the politics and governance of the country, an example being the United States of America. The two political groups in the US are two, democrats and republicans. Nonetheless, there is the ever-growing popularity of third parties like the Independent. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti slavery activists and was at one time known as the Grand Old Party (GOP). The party has the second largest number of registered, which enabled it to take over the House of Representatives in 2010. On the other hand, the Democratic Party follows its roots on the anti federalists in 1790s, championing for anti war and abortion pro choice, under the name democratic-republican, which split after the Civil War. The party has progressive platforms and is socially liberal. Most political parties are different but all have one objective: to influence the policies of the government in parliament. Political parties receive funding from members of the party, organizations, and individuals who share the same political ideologies, or from those entities that stand to benefit from the activities of the party or governmental funding (Mintz, Close & Croci 78). Individuals follow a given political party depending on the party platforms or the policies of the party. In the US for instance, a person who believes that women have the right to choice in abortion would probably affiliate themselves with the republicans, while another that believes that there should be war to protect the interest of the country would follow the democrats. The functions of political parties are often subject to varying political perspectives, including elite pluralism, classical pluralism, Marxism, and elite theory. One definition of democracy is that it is a bundle of dynamic self-government processes, whose nature is both official and social. These processes are visible as participation in public life like voting, advocacy, and assembly, and in the form of state, social, and political institutions like the constitution, credible rights, judicial and electoral processes, free press, and social organizations (Mintz, Close & Croci 123). The balance and link between participation and institutions is essential, as participation without institutions is usually ineffective, chaotic, and subjective in that it is highly probable to serve the interests of few at the expense of many others. On the other hand, an institution without participation is an empty exercise, or more precisely a tool of control. People are likely to engage politically in sustained, vigorous ways if they have a stake in the outcome. Interestingly, democracy is a public good but self-interest is very necessary for its growth and establishment. Competitive, fair, and open participation within an environment of credible and legitimate institutions will allow the citizens to act on issues that concern them, enhance decision-making accountability, and defend their interests (Mintz, Close & Croci 231). Institutions, especially those that incorporate contention within rooted social interests will earn legitimacy, moderate conflict, and aggregate demands on issues concerning public policy and a working consensus. Political parties are the most essential institutions in the processes. Political parties embody both institutions and participation, and are an essential balance element between the two. Despite their different forms and policies and their universal duty of contesting for elections, the parties also mobilize and organize social forces that enhance democracy on a consistent basis. In essence, even the most determined democrats need a lasting pool of adequate resources, legal standing, and organizational structure in the political process. The conceptual role of political parties is to connect leaders and their followers while at the same time simplifying their political choices by framing their policies in terms of the citizens’ interests. As evidenced in many societies, political parties avail a variety of non-political advantages like social activities, status, and efficacy, sense of security, and recognition of groups and people, a prime example being the old ethnic “ticket balance”. Parties also engage in critical commitment and moderation functions identified long ago by E. E. Schattschneider. In simple form, parties are very strong, and interest groups need them more than these parties need the interest groups. Nonetheless, parties do not prohibit individuals from seeking power through bribery, arms, ability of charismatic leaders, or mob bias, and they often experience abuses themselves (Mintz, Close & Croci 351). However, the absence of the parties will only limit the number of genuine democratic alternatives for the citizens and society in general. From the above discussion on the roles of political parties, it is conclusive that they facilitate democracy in society. Question Two A liberal democracy is one of the forms of representative democracy in which the elected members holding the decision-making power follow the constitutional guidelines that emphasize on protection of individual rights and liberties of the minority groups in society. Such rights and liberties include freedom of religion, freedom of speech and assembly, equal laws, due process, and many others (Brown). These constitutional rights, or liberal rights, are overseen by various statutory laws and controlled institutions. In addition, the constitution of many liberal democracies safeguards the rights of minorities and individuals, thus prohibiting the will of the majority. The majority rule is not applicable, only in instances where the individuals vote for their representatives. Liberal democracy has several pillars, including human reason and rationality, personal liberty, human rights, and check and balances. Liberal democracy is a product of many different theories, though the most significant is that of Locke. Locke was of great assistance in creating greater respect for human reason, and the idea that beliefs should be backed by rational discussion and evidence rather than censorship, uncritical acceptance by traditions, and dogma (Brown). This idea and belief of open argument and human rationality was the beginning of modern science and current democracy. This idea has also been associated with the toleration of different philosophical, religious, and political beliefs, with such concerns treated as issues of personal conscience and preference rather than government’s concern. This is the basic principle of liberal democracy. As such, toleration is currently considered as one of the legally enforceable rights by the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention. The second principle of Locke’s theory is his emphasis on personal liberty, and particularly its development to a system that safeguards against arbitrary arrests and its provision of fair trials for all the individuals accused of criminal activities. Philosopher John Stuart Mill initially introduced the idea in his essay On Liberty in mid 19th century. Mill, who is referred to as the father of liberal democracy by some, enlightened the society on the dangers of popular totalitarianism (‘tyranny of majority’) occurrence were the voting rights delegated to the majority without corresponding recognition of the importance of protecting individual rights and freedoms from intervention by the state. Mill also noted the importance of having a highly educated electorate body, arguing that with such a qualified body in position, the degeneration of democracy into despotism will be completely contained. Nonetheless, the concept of individual liberty was initially a safeguard against tyrannical leadership (Brown). Mill and other scholars of the same perspective thinking on the issue emphasized the importance of this principle in establishing and maintaining variety and richness into the life of societies. Most liberal democracies embrace diversity. The third principle is the limitation of the power of the government by checks and balances. The main purpose of these checks and balances are to ensure that a government that not become a dictatorship. The concept of separation of the powers of judiciary, executives, and legislators is among the most essential influence of the development of liberal democracies (Brown). This format of a government, though not perfectly implemented, is in such a way that the people who make laws are not the same people responsible for enforcing them nor for judging individuals who break them. The independence of each wing of the government prevents abuse of power. An example with a relatively good liberal democracy is the United States of America, which has the Supreme Court responsible for constitutional rules decisions infringed by the government. Judicial review in Britain is a process where senior judges criticize or evaluate the decisions of members of the executive (ministers). The fourth principle is that of the human rights concept. According to this principle, the state must respect and uphold the human rights of individual living in that society. The idea of this principle is that people have rights independent and personal from the state, thus the citizens have a contractual relationship with the state, which can be breached. According to Locke, governments rule through the consent of the people and as such, must organize a re-election if majority of the electorates wishes (Brown). However, Locke was ideally considering the majority to be those who owned property, but the idea has been expanded to incorporate all competent citizens in a modern liberal democracy. There are numerous rights observed under the Human Right Act of 1998, including education, religious, legal, marriage, and many others. Analyzing the four principles of liberal democracies, one cannot confidently argue that one principle is more important than the other is. As earlier defined, liberal democracy is a combination of many different theoretical approaches to state governance and leadership. It is from this point of argument that we may conclusively state that all the principles of liberal democracies are equally important. Question Three The Tea Party Movement in the US will be the central point of discussion. The Tea Party Movement is a contemporary American political populist movement, widely recognized as libertarian and conservative (Huebrt 5). The movement has sponsored several protests and political candidates since 2009. The main issues that the movement endorses are opposition to tax rates (to a certain degree), adherence to original interpretation of the constitution of the state, and reduction of the federal budget deficit and national debt. In accordance with the movement’s tax ideology, it is humorously referred to as the “Taxed Enough Already”. The group borrows its name from the Boston Tea Party, which was a protest against British tax in 1773 where British tea was dumped into the harbor. Some of the notable political figures include republican Ron Paul, Rand Paul (his son), Dick Armey, Michelle Bachmann, and Sarah Palin among others. According to some analysts, Ron Paul is the brain behind the movement. However, the Tea Party Movement is not a political party to some degree. Some of the members consider themselves as Republicans, with another piece of evidence of the same from the support that the movement offers for Republican candidates. The main issue that the movement raises is the opposition of taxes. Considering the weight of the issue, it would probably be at the best interest of both the state and the movement to run things in a democratic manner. However, the fact that the movement may not have much influence on the matter despite its enormous following leaves a reasonable amount of other alternatives like protests. Apparently, the Tea Party commands a relatively large following, close to that of the Republican (Huebrt 5). The nature of the party is also a bit tricky. It is said to be non-political, yet has very strong connections to political parties and politics in general. Considering the issue at hand, the best way for the movement to champion on its issue will be organizing political parties. This has proved to work in the previous protests held, like in January 24, 2009 against the proposed 18% taxation on non-diet drinks, in November 5, 2009 to protest against the health reform bill, and in March 14 through to 21 2010 in protesting against the Patient protection and Affordable Care Act (Huebrt 5). In fact, most of the protests have been corresponding to President Barrack Obama administration efforts to pass reforms in health care delivery and health insurance. Because of their organizational structure, the Tea Party Movement may only utilize political protests to ensure that the issues that they raise are considered. However, the movement has been accused of violation of some human rights like racism, anti-Semitism, and other abusive behaviors. Works Cited Brown, Ken. Basic Principles of Liberal Democracy. Web 20 December, 2011. (http://www.ken-brown.net/ext_course_content/mpi/week11/page_04.htm) Huebert, Jacob. The Tea Party Movement. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2011. Print. Mintz, Eric, Close, David and Croci, Osvaldo. Politics, Power and the Common Good: An Introduction to Political Science, 3rd ed. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Education, 2011. Print. Read More