United States versus democracy

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

10 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

01/09/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

Political science

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Summary :

Introduction.
1. The term democracy today.
A more accurate approach to defining democracy.
1. The principle of popular control.
2. The principle of political equality.
3. Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism by Cornel West.
Purpose and arguments.
1. West's purpose for writing Democracy Matters.
2. West's argument on the different forms of dogmas and nihilisms currently present in the US today.
Three antidemocratic dogmas.
Free market fundamentalism.
1. Resentment between the different classes.
2. Reference to free market fundamentalism as neoliberalism.
Aggressive militarism.
Escalating authoritarianism.
Antidemocratic Political Nihilisms.
Traditions that fuel democratic energies.
Implications.
Conclusion.

Abstract

Throughout history individuals have discussed the term democracy, which has its origins in ancient Greece, and is derived from the words demos and kratos. The literal definition of this term is "rule by the people." However, this definition is ambiguous and has allowed scholars to interpret it in a variety of ways. In order to assess the threats to democracy, we must understand what the term actually means. Today, the term democracy has many definitions, which, in turn, cloud the fight for true democracy. This situation is due to the fact that scholars have not been able to agree on how to define the term. Some believe that certain definitions might themselves be a threat to democracy (Touraine, 1994/1997). The problem with this development, however, is that it makes democracy subjective and open to manipulation and abuse, enabling those in power to use the term to their benefit. Others have used different approaches to defining democracy, including looking at characteristics of countries that are typically called democracies (Lijphart, 1984). The problem with this definitional fallacy is that it would not be logical to define the term by looking at countries considered democracies when we have no criteria for defining or measuring democracy (Beetham, 1994). Even a study of ancient Greece illustrates that not all people were able to rule. Out of 250,000 individuals who lived in ancient Greece, approximately 30,000 were allowed to be citizens, as women, slaves, and metics were not allowed to be citizens.