Examples Of Absolutism Vs Democracy

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Global Essay
Ms. Rodriguez - Period 1
Absolutism vs. Democracy

Absolutism and democracy are two types of government. An absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government. A democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Democracy is the more effective government system. Various forms of political systems have been used throughout world history. As nation-states were built in Europe, absolute monarchs with vast power and wealth ruled countries such as France and Russia. At the same time in England attempts were made to limit royal power
Many kings also believed in divine right, which is the belief that kings derive their right to rule directly from God and are not accountable to their subjects. In document 7 it states that, “King Louis provided amusements for his nobles, and kept an eye on them too.” This means that he moved nobles into his palace at Versailles to watch over almost every move they made, control them, and probably use them as protection. One example of an absolute ruler was King Louis XIV, who was known as the Sun King, ruled had one of the longest rules in European history. He’s well known for spending most of Frances money on himself and having to ask the bank and wealthy people to keep the country going. Another absolute ruler was Ivan the Terrible. In 1560, he created secret police to murder anyone that went against him. Because of the secret police, thousands of people died. This showed that an absolute monarchy spent money endlessly while a democracy might have different views and
One example of freedom was the freedom of speech. It believes that every vote has equal weight and has elected representatives in office to be as a voice for people. In a democracy, “there can be no liberty where the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are united in one person or body of persons” (Document 6). This means that all three of these powers of the government help control the government to stay in the rule of the people. In document 4 it says that “all ranks of men are equally protected by laws.” This is true because in an absolute monarchy, all the power is taken away from the people and is given to the king because he says he answers to God (divine right). Also in document 5, John Locke states that, “When legislators try to destroy or take away the property of the people, or try to reduce them to slavery, they put themselves into a state of war with people who can refuse to obey the laws.” This is true because the citizens participated in the political decision making ( Beck, 129) and helped put them into motion to protect