Essay On The Role Of Democracy In America

America is a land of opportunity, social and economic mobility, equality, and continual progress toward its ideals of liberty and justice. Everyone can achieve socioeconomic advancement through hard work and everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. According to this view, the colonists in North America had abundant opportunities for success because of cheap and widely available land, and they eventually threw off the yoke of the British constitutional monarchy. Driven by their hatred of tyranny and love of freedom, the Founding Fathers established the Constitution, which cemented the principles of democracy and laid the foundation for a prosperous and fair society. Since the founding of the Republic, Americans have overcome injustice, such as the enslavement of African Americans and the relegation of women to the status of second-class citizens, and built an economy that has dominated global markets, which provides the means to have a high quality of life. In addition, this view of American history holds that the U.S. has been a force for good in the world in terms of its involvement in international affairs, whether it be winning WWII or ending communism's reign in Eastern Europe, thus creating a brighter future for humanity.
As commonly taught in elementary school, this traditional view of American history asserts that a democratic system of government exists in this country and guarantees all citizens an equal presence in politics.
Democracy means “rule by the people” and originated in Athens, Greece. In this political system, citizens directly influence the government's decisions or elect leaders through free and fair elections. Regardless, laws are created to protect natural rights that are applicable to all people, who in turn are expected to actively participate in civic life. The will of the majority holds sway in a democracy, but the rights of the minority are not
violated.
However, there are far less idealized ways to analyze American history, which propose other theories of American government, mainly pluralism, hyper-pluralism, and elite class theory. According to pluralism, many groups compete against each other for control over public policy. Each group is comprised of citizens and represents certain interests. These groups function as centers of influence that vie for power and control. In addition, policies are the outcomes of shifting alliances, bargaining, compromise, and trading. In a pluralist system, no elite group has a monopoly on political resources such as money, prestige, and media access because they are not disproportionally distributed but are rather widely scattered throughout American society. Due to the many government institutions in the American political system, no single group could dominate the political process, even if it controlled many political resources.
As the name suggests, hyper-pluralism involves too many groups competing for power in the political system. The fierce competition generated by these groups hinders the government's ability to carry out its functions properly as constant gridlock between competing forces occurs frequently. Consequently, fragmentation occurs and destroys the government's effectiveness to develop policy and enact legislation, thus preventing government overseeing the nation’s problems and providing timely solutions.
According to elite class theory, all societies are composed of different socioeconomic classes. At the top of the pyramid of economic and political power is the upper class. This small minority controls vast amounts of power and dominates politics, government, and society. Conversely, the people individually have almost no presence in government functions and have insignificant overall influence. They are subservient to the elite class, which is made up of high-ranking government officials, corporate leaders, and top military officers, thus wielding great wealth, status, and organizational position. The people in their struggle against individuals who seek to hoard power, exert control over the masses, and violate constitutional liberties and human rights. This small, powerful group has ruled this country since the establishment of the United States in 1776. According to Zinn (2003):
It is pretended that, as in the Preamble to the Constitution, it is "we the people" who wrote that document, rather than fifty-five privileged white males whose class interest required a strong central government. That use of government for class purposes, to serve the needs of the wealthy and powerful, has continued throughout American history, down to the present day. It is disguised by language that suggests all of us- rich and poor and middle class- have a common interest.
Instead of being a representative democracy, the American government fits the elite class theory. Political power is concentrated in the hands of a concentrated group, and the people of this country have little real control over the government's decisions and the path that America is taking. The presence of an elite class is evident through an examination of the Constitution itself as it established numerous undemocratic institutions whose focus is to limit the supposedly “radical” change that the public is prone to support. Additionally, the United States’ immigration policy and presidential election process further support an elite class interpretation. The presidential election in particular appears to be founded on the citizenry’s participation, yet there lies a far less democratic reality behind it. Beside the widespread use of money to affect political decisions, the functions of superdelegates in the Democratic Party’s primary system and how the overarching Electoral College determines the next president serve to suppress the peoples’ power to enact change and distances them from the political process. Such inequality has been present since the country’s founding and will continue being restrictive so long as the current system remains in place.