Democracy as the Best Form of Governance - Essay Example

Democracy as the Best Form of Governance Democracy as the best form of governance Introduction Higley & Burton(2006) explain that it has proved to be a hard nut to crack for individuals or groups of persons to come up with an amicable ideal way of organizing the society. Perhaps this is due to humans being imperfect or their inability to innovatively devise a system lacks flaws. According to Chan (2002), from time immemorial various governments have been culprits of accusations of either violating or infringing human rights. Due to such situations and with the preamble knowledge that human being play crucial role in building the society, it can be argued whether liberal democracy is the best form of governance. Bell (2006) extrapolates that, theoretically, one system can be perceived to be better than the other but in an ideal setting, and this may be otherwise. Deutsch & Soffer (1987) argue that this is because it is subjective to describe or define something to be the best as it depends on the modalities employed in the evaluation. North Korea Republic can be used as a case study since some may perceive its tyrant military to be oppressive and as the worst system of governance which suppresses the private sector and infringes the fundamental rights of its citizens (Eagles, Johnston & Holoman, 2004). Background of liberal democracy According to Deutsch & Soffer (1987), liberal democracy can be described as a form or type of governances where principles related to liberalism are upheld and valued. The main principle of liberalism is the provision of protection rights of persons. In addition, these principles are usually embedded in the laws of nations that practice this form of government. On the other hand, Eagles, Johnston & Holoman (2004) illuminate that the features of liberal democratic countries are the existence of elections that are deemed free, fair and competitive among different existing political parties; separations of power between the various facets of government; and the application of rules of law in daily activities. The rights of the civilians, and humans, as well as freedom are not only highly embraced and protected. Bell (2006) point out that countries that practice this form of government usually have a constitution that stipulates the way in which its citizens are governed. Chan (2004) explains that the constitution can either be in written form or unwritten form. There are various constitutional forms of liberal democracies. For instance, some countries practice the republican constitutional forms of governance such as the US while others practice the constitutional monarch such as the United Kingdom. Eagles, Johnston & Holoman (2004) vindicate that democracies that are deemed liberal usually practice a universal suffrage system which allows citizens of legal adult age to participation in the voting process irrespective of one’s race, religion, and gender among other dynamics. However, Chan (2004) illuminate that history reveals that some countries that practice liberal democracies don not incorporate the use of secret ballots. In some scenarios, voters register before being given the go ahead to vote. The decisions are made by the citizens who have participated in the voting process (Deutsch & Soffer, 1987). The constitutions of liberal democratic states are often perceived to provide boundaries within which government can oversight its authority. As mentioned earlier, emphases are laid on separation of powers where the judicial system or body is in independent and there are oversight bodies that provide checks and balances within the various branches or facets of the government. Origin and History of liberal Democracy As per the convictions of Deutsch & Soffer (1987), the origin of this type of governance is associated with the Europeans during the 18th century. The systems of governance before liberal democracy in these European countries were either the aristocratic system or the monarchial systems. Chan (2006) narrated that the politics and theory of democracy had not been clearly well thought of and when it began surfacing it encountered several challenges. Some of the challenges were that a democratic form of governance was perceived to be tantamount to instability, as well as chaotic policies due to the dynamic of humans in life. Furthermore, there were convictions across Europe that human beings were inherently evil in an open system and that strong leadership had the potential of limiting them from their destructive nature (Bell, 2004). Intellectuals, however, challenged this notion by arguing that there was the need to incorporate rational reasoning in the affairs of human being, as well as liberty principles which advocated for equality (Eagles, Johnston & Holoman, 2004). Liberal principles dictate that all individuals are equal and certain privileges in the society should not provide platforms for with other individuals perceive themselves superior to others. Towards the end of the century, philosophers at the fore front in the aggravation for liberal democracy had tirelessly published their works whose wings had fledged and reached the entire European continent and even beyond. Additionally, both French and the American Revolutions are usually attributed the above phenomenon. Even though this form of governance began taking roots in France, it was not as intensive as it is today since some inhuman acts such as discrimination and slavery among others were not stumped out. In the mid 19th century, the British Empire became the control experiment for the liberal ideologies. Reforms coupled with revolutions have played a significant role in elevating the level of practice for the principles of liberalism (Deutsch & Soffer, 1987). The opinions that were against liberal democracy steadily faded as the system begun infiltrating its roots firmly into the political arena. By the end of the 19th century, its support had immensely expanded or grown and was widely and wildly accepted across the entire world. However, it is prudent to know that reaching the consensus about liberalism and democracy has stagnated for quite some time. Liberalism appear to be relatively individualistic aimed at limiting state powers while democracy on the other hand appear to be collective as it empowers large (mass) group of people. Deutsch & Soffer (1987) highlight that in liberal democracy there are provisions that protect the minority in that the majority can not violate right of the minority in the society. The UK system ca vividly elaborate that since the system of the above named is so distinct. Moreover, both Legislative and Executive branches in UK system of governance help in keeping in check the powers of the prime minister. It is made possible since the House of Commons have the powers to pass a vote of no confidence against the prime minister and the house of the lords can delay the passage of laws for a period of a year. Despite these checks and balances, many countries that practice liberal form of governments have never been immune to vices such as corruption (Bell, 2006). On the economic aspects, Higley & Burton (2006) argue that there is a relationship between economic growth and democracy in that these two aspects tent to correlate. Countries such a Cube are preempted to grow democratically due to the influence of economic growth which has the potential of empowering its citizens (Chan, 2002). Interestingly, studies show that there is no direct influence of democracy on economic growth. However, its indirect implications usually influence growth (Eagles, Johnston & Holoman, 2004). Advantages and disadvantages of liberal democracy There are benefits and limitations of liberal democracies. One of the limitations is that liberal democracy gives too much power to individuals and people are prone to influence form their surrounding such as the media (Chan, 2006). In addition to that, in liberal democratic society, the majority tend to rule as there are no boundaries to which it can be exercised for the purpose encompassing the minority as well (Bell, 2004). This leaves more questions than answers as it tends to alienate the principles that liberalism carries alongside it. However, through liberal democratic processes, several countries have witnessed peaceful transfer of power form one political party to the other (Eagles, Johnston & Holoman, 2004). This is unlike in the early stages of practice of democratic forms of governance where transition of government from one party to the other was usually characterized by violence. Through liberalism, numerous countries have entrenched in there constitutions the ammunitions that help in protecting rights that are inherently human, civil liberty, and religious liberty among others (Higley & Burton, 2006). Conclusion Liberal democracy is a form of governance that attempts to solve problems related to humanity and equality. The inception of the ideologies behind liberalism encountered several challenges especially from the individuals that apparently had benefited from the systems that not only gave them powers over others but also gave them authority to carry out their activities without checks and balances. Several countries practice liberal democratic form of governance in different forms. For instance, some have written constitutions that provide guideline that are adhered to while others have unwritten constitutions that help in promoting liberalism. However, there are discussions that tend to distinguish between democracy and liberalism though they are usually practiced in unison. Reference List: Bell, D. (2006). Beyond liberal democracy: Political thinking for an East Asian context. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. Higley, J., & Burton, M. G. (2006). Elite foundations of liberal democracy. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Chan, S. (2002). Liberalism, democracy, and development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Deutsch, K. L., & Soffer, W. (1987). The Crisis of liberal democracy: A Straussian perspective. Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press. Eagles, M., Johnston, L., & Holoman, C. (2004). The institutions of liberal democratic states. 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