Pros and Cons of Democracy
What is Democracy?
Democracy is a very popular, and historically successful, form of government that puts the power in the people’s hands…kind of. The way democracy works is civilians vote in elections to decide who they would like to represent them in different tiers of the government. These elected officials then make vital decisions on the people’s behalf. There are various branches of power within the government, creating a “checks and balances” system where each sector monitors the other. Some of the most successful countries in the world are a democracy. However, it is not without it’s flaws. Let’s take a look at all sides of democracy.
The Pros of Democracy
By The People, For the People
Everyone is allowed to vote and weigh in on what they think about social, political, and economic issues within the country. This ensures that whatever decisions are made are in the interest of the people of the country and not just the government leaders.
Equality
The vote of every person carries the same weight, making democracy a system of government built on equality. This reigns true in all forms of elections, making each and every person feel important and heard.
No One Person Has All The Power
Another large pro of democracy is that the power is spread out. No one person holds all of the power, or even the majority of the power. This prevents, or rather helps to prevent, corruption and the exploitation of the people.
The Cons of Democracy
The Minority Gets The Short End
Since democracy is set up to cater to the majority, the minority groups in these countries are often overlooked, and even exploited. Many laws and policies that favor the majority, are hurtful to the minority. This causes a large divide between the two groups.
Fraud With Numbers
The larger the population of a democracy gets, the harder it is to function efficiently. Voting and vote tallying becomes a seemingly impossible task, which leads to corrupt things like voter fraud.
Free Time Rules
The people that have the most free time to attend meetings and other government related debates have the most influence over decisions being made. People that have full schedules and no time to attend these meetings cannot have the same pull.
Pros and Cons of Dictatorships
Every nation needs a form of government to survive and keep the welfare and interest of its citizens on track. It is also important for leaders and people to know which type will work best. Dictatorship is a form of government of some countries, including North Korea and Cuba. Throughout history, the world has witnessed the rise and fall of dictators like Hitler, Stalin and Saddam Hussein. And although dictatorships have been frowned upon by critics and seen in negative ways, there are also people who find dictatorships to be effective.
What is Dictatorship?
This is a form of government where only one political party, entity or leader is in control of running a nation. It is a type of authoritarianism wherein a person or a political party dictates on the behavior of the citizenry as a whole.
Dictatorships are acquired in four ways, namely: family dictatorship, military dictatorship, constitutional dictatorship and self-coup. Dictators can rise to power by either inheriting the position from family ties, taking over the government through coup d’etat, getting elected brought about by an emergency or doing away democratic mechanisms after being elected constitutionally.
List of Pros of Dictatorships
Dictatorships have the ability to make nations progressive.
Any kind of government can make mistakes and have flaws in the way it handles issues and implement policies. However, it can also make good decisions and have effective laws. But there will be challenges that might cause delay and which may need to be resolved quickly. In this aspect, this is where dictatorships play a big role. Since they can calibrate the legal framework and do not need coalition to implement laws and come up with decisions, matters will be dealt with the soonest time possible. With this ability, dictators can focus more on their goals and vision of running progressive countries. Since they don’t have special interests to protect as opposed to democratic governments, they are more capable to modernize their countries.
Dictatorships result to stable governments.
Supporters of dictatorships are drawn to this form of government because dictators usually stay in power for years, even decades. If a dictator is great and has the heart for the people, he or she will be implementing laws and creating a platform that will bring prosperity and abundance to the country. Dictatorships are ideal if the advocacies of the dictators are pro-people and pro-government. In democratic governments, however, elections are held regularly. This can result to shaky governments since there will be new leaders after several years. Laws and policies will be modified every now and then, which can result to unstable governments. Elections after every few years can also disrupt long term government projects, according to advocates.
Dictatorships lessen crime rates.
Proponents of this type of government assert that most of the countries run by dictators have lesser crimes than those with a democratic form of government. This is because nations under dictatorships have harsh penalties against criminals. These types of leaders also have the power to impose martial law and curfews any time they please. Thus, people are careful not to misbehave or violate the laws for fear of getting punished or imprisoned. With the power of dictators to strict policies, they can enforce discipline and order in society.
List of Cons of Dictatorships
Dictatorships lead to abuse of power.
One of the arguments of opponents of dictatorships is the tendency of dictators to enjoy the power they have which make them more greedy and self-serving. They say that these leaders are surrounded by armies and security personnel complete with heavy armory making it easy for them to do what they please at the expense of the citizens.
Dictatorships lead to mass killings.
Another setback brought about by dictatorships is the rising number of deaths and killings of innocent people. With one leader and a small group having control over a nation, it is possible for people to go against the government overtly or secretly. Dictators are not happy about this. With strict laws and no one to go against their actions, it will be easy to get rid of people they consider as enemies. Critics point out that there are countries under dictatorships where people live in fear because innocent victims who are falsely accused of rebellion are killed and punished.
Dictatorships result to political unrest which is not good for the people in the long run.
Critics contend the views of supporters that dictatorships are good for the economy. For them, it is exactly the opposite. With the absolute power dictators hang on to come harsh laws and penalties as well as self-serving policies and legislations. Sooner or later, the people will not be able to take the situation they are in and can lead to unrest. There will come a time when they would want to overthrow these dictators. If these things happen, there will be chaos and civil war in these countries. And while these things are happening, the economy will be greatly affected. They also say that even if dictatorships end because of people power, it will be hard for these countries to rise and resolve problems of their nations within the next few years.
Pros and Cons of a Unitary Government
What is a Unitary Government?
A unitary form of government is a government that dictates what rights states, municipalities, and citizens have. Usually there is no avenue for the redress of any decision made by a unitary government.
What Are the Pros of a Unitary Government?
They Are Simple
Unitary government is simple. Fewer people are involved in the decision making process so that decisions are made faster and more efficiently.
No Money Go Round
There is no money-go-round. Financial decision making power is held by a small number of people or an individual. The level of corruption can be less because fewer people with self motivated interests have direct access to the decision maker.
Economic Management is Simplified
Economic management is simplified because fewer people are involved in decisions concerning taxation or the spending of taxes. There is a lower potential for payoffs because the judicial and tax branches of the government reside in one person or a small group of people.
4. Instill a High Level of National Pride
Unitary governments often instill a high level of national pride in their citizens. Unitary governments have been shown to have a population that is more willing to fight for their country in wars.
What Are the Cons of a Unitary Government?
Can Become Dictatorships
Unitary governments can often become dictatorships with a single individual attempting to run all phases of the government. Very few individuals are capable of being a wise leader, a strong military strategist, and a financial expert all at the same time.
To Much Bureaucracy
In order to deal with the complexities of running a large state or a state that encompasses vast regions of territory unitary governments often become huge. The bureaucracy can become gargantuan as a few people delegate a limited amount of authority to individuals so that the work of government gets done.
Slow Response to Natural Disasters
Response to natural disasters and local issues is slow. Most unitary governments keep the armed forces and the personnel that deal with natural disasters in a central location or in just a few areas. A response to a natural disaster in a far flung part of the country can take a long time.
Do Not Respond Quickly to Local Issues
Unitary governments do not respond quickly to local issues. The leadership is not familiar with the people involved or the economics of a local situation. Unitary governments can make arbitrary decisions at a local level that only serve to make the original problem much worse.
Little Ability to Address Unitary Government
The average citizen has little ability to address a unitary government or make changes to policy. This often produces a citizenry that is resentful, indolent, and distrustful of their government to the point of open rebellion.
Stifle Efforts to Move Forward
Unitary governments can often stifle the natural urge for people to get ahead in government or any other endeavor. If the rules are dictated by just a few and the advantages are received by only a few even the most gifted people may not see the point in expending the effort to be exceptional because they see no profit in the cost of their time and effort.
Pros and Cons of a Confederate Government
What is Confederate Government?
A confederation is commonly known as a union of political organizations. A confederate government is one where individual nations or states have united to form a confederation.
What Are the Pros of a Confederate Government?
Decentralization of Power
States being the decision makers, this governance is completely contrary to the unitary form of government. Thus, legislation and execution is divided among the provincial and local governments. Local governance minimizes the growth of the center, and reduces the risk of it turning into a dominant union or tyranny.
Cooperation
Every state is an independent and sovereign unit of the federation. Agreement among these equals makes decisions over common issues easier. The flow of power is from the periphery to the center, which ultimately rests on the principle of cooperation among the confederates, at least over common concerns.
What Are the Cons of a Confederate Government?
Financial Powers
A major drawback of the confederate government style is that, the center does not enjoy any power regarding taxation. Levying of or appropriation of taxes in order to regulate the national revenue model is not the function of the central government. Regulation of the monetary system, budgeting, and monitoring the growth of the nation does not follow a uniform policy.
Sustenance
Confederacies are not observed as a popular form of government across the world. One reason being that, this type of government is not a long-lasting one. Though they are seen to be the most decentralized forms, there arises the question of their sustenance. Confederation is also referred to as a transformation period (as countries are seen transforming from a confederation to a federation).
Pros and Cons of a Federal Government
What is Federal Government?
A federal government is one in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.An authority superior to both the central and local governments makes this division of power on a geographic basis.
What Are the Pros of a Federal Government?
1. The power of the executive is greatly restricted compared to other nations, preventing hostile takeovers/unconstitutional actions (remember, Hitler came to power legally by democratic means in Europe).
2. The power of the legislative branch is greatly restricted, as many of its potential powers are reserved for the President.
3. Citizens are able to elect their President directly, instead of indirectly through parliament.
4. By necessity, congress is often forced to compromise on various bills, leading to relatively centrist legislation.
5. Citizens have a single representative who is directly accountable to them.
6. There is a decreased chance of a predicament referred to as "tyranny of the majority", a scenario in which a minority bloc is consistently overruled in congress.
What Are the Cons of a Federal Government?
1. Separate government can easily lead to legislative inaction or "gridlock", especially when two parties hold power.
This inaction leads to two additional downsides:
2. The U.S. is occasionally less able to respond to dramatic crises or other events requiring decisive action than other nations.
3. Voters are constantly dissatisfied with Congress and the legislative process (which may explain low voter turnout and is certainly responsible for congress's consistently abysmal approval ratings).
Additional flaws:
4. Americans have fewer viable candidates and parties to choose from, and many political ideologies (classic liberalism/libertarianism, environmentalism, socialism/social democracy) that are commonplace in European politics are completely ignored.
5. When voters have only one representative, there is a chance that their congressman may not represent their political ideology.
Pros and Cons of a Presidential Government
What is Presidential Government?
Features an elected president who serves as the head of state (the ceremonial “face” a state presents to the world )as well as its Chief Executive (head of the executive branch of government), with a separate and co-equal elected legislature (which actually makes the laws).
List of Pros of Presidential Democracy
1. It has executive and legislative branches are separate but watch over each other.
2. President is more stable than a Prime Minister.
List of Cons of Presidential Democracy
1. It is nearly impossible to remove an unpopular president
2. It is hard to reach an agreement when president and legislature from different parties.
3. Some presidents become all-powerful and authoritarian
Pros and Cons of a Parliamentary Government
What is Parliamentary Government?
n the parliamentary form of government, the coalition or political party with the most number of delegates form the government. The chancellor or prime minister will then be chosen from the leader of the winning party, until the next election.
In a parliamentary democracy, the government is composed of delegates from various parties, so it falls to the minority party to oppose the majority and challenge it. This results in the government being a place that allows for healthy discussions regarding the laws.
List of Pros of Parliamentary Democracy
1. It minimizes political polarization.
For many years now, unprecedented levels of political polarization can be observed in people from either party. The problem with political polarization is that people tend to base their opinions or stance on issues or policies on their political affiliation. Yet a government can only be truly functional if everyone on both ends of the spectrum agrees to work together for the betterment of the nation. With a Parliamentary Democracy, all parties are forced to work harmoniously together and for the majority group to be constantly challenged, not trying to please specific groups to gain support.
2. It allows for a quick and easy passage of legislation.
A parliamentary system can make the passage of legislation faster through the support of a legislative body. This is because the executive is elected into office according to the party’s manifesto. As a result, the will of the people has more power than any political system.