‘A fear of democracy runs throughout liberalism’ Discuss. 45 Marks (Jan 2011) Some political thinkers have argued that Liberalism can be defined by its fear of democracy. Democracy is ‘rule by the people’‚ this term suggests that there is popular participation and also public interest within government. While liberals fear democracy they know and see it as the best possible way. As there is a clear fear of it lying underneath the liberal ideology‚ there are obvious arguments for and against this
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Democracy is always named and used in the liberal discursive process. But if we refer to history‚ democracy of these days is not the same as democracy decades ago. Thus‚ it is important that democracy is understood as an evolution and not as a static concept. Similarly it is necessary to understand democracy by its principles and not by its practitioners in power. Liberal democracy can be briefly defined as a system of government in which the people rule themselves‚ either directly or indirectly
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Introduction The birth of democracy in Sparta and Athens was a long‚ painful journey‚ created by wars‚ cruel leaders‚ and heroic figures. Although many of democracy’s ideas came from Athenian government‚ it was very different from the democracy in the United States‚ for example. In general‚ wealthy aristocrats had the most power. But without the ideas that this time period created‚ who knows where we would be now. In this paper‚ I’m going to outline how democracy came to be in early Athenian and
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compatible with democracy. Seemed as a simple question‚ such an inquiry requires an in-depth look at the matter at hand. When one asks whether Islam is compatible with democracy‚ one needs to analyze the definition of democracy. According to Webster’s Dictionary‚ democracy is “a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or their elected agents under a free electoral system.” Such is the definition that mainly pertains to western democracy and western
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LIBERAL DEMOCRACY Liberal democracy is the form of governance that is mostly related with the modern nation state. However‚ it cannot be said that all nation states have liberal democracy‚ like Fascist Italy which was an authoritarian regime. Democratization is the transformation of political‚ economic and social structures from authoritarian or totalitarian rule to liberal democracy. After the transition stage of democratization is completed‚ consolidation stage begins. The consolidation stage
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2. Is there democracy in Singapore? What is Democracy? Singapore has been recognized as a representative democratic state since August 1965. However‚ to examine if Singapore is in fact democratic‚ we need to first define the word “democracy” and its parameters. The word originated from M.Fr democratis in the 1570s‚ with ‘demo’ referring to common people and ‘cratie’ to rule of strength. Therefore‚ by definition‚ Singapore can be classified as a democratic country due to the fair elections which
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On the Change in Democracy and its Evaluation and Analysis The word “democracy” comes from the Greek words demos‚ meaning “the people‚” and kratia‚ meaning “rule.” The word democracy then translates as “the people rule.” However‚ throughout history‚ the idea of democracy has changed. An analysis of the change in the idea of democracy after 1814 reveals that: campaigning and ambition stopped being horrific words‚ property ownership ceased to be a requirement for voting‚ and equality got a new meaning
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Individualism and Democracy Why do we inherently choose to address our differences by either ignoring them or fighting about them? From a young age we are taught to conform to what is normal and reject what is not. In elementary school we learn from our friends to shun and bully kids who are different. We pick on the boy who is short and does not play any sports. We won’t play on the playground with the girl who always dresses in old fashioned clothes. We mock the child who talks with a lisp
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Parliament and Democracy in the 21st Century Preliminary Report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union Convened by the Inter-Parliamentary Union at United Nations headquarters‚ New York‚ 7 to 9 September 2005 -2- Contents FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................4 1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................5 THE PARLIAMENTARY CONTRIBUTION
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Democracy and Industrialization were both key factors in the development of western and non-western civilizations. These two forces of change were equally significant in their impacts on society. By exploring the distinctive characteristics of these two forces‚ it becomes very clear just how important each of them were to our world‚ both yesterday and today. Furthermore‚ after dissecting important information from primary and visual sources‚ I will explain how they illustrate this impact of change
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