The United States of America was founded on the rights, freedoms, and liberties of its people. The founding Fathers of our country based our government on democratic values, which are transparent in the Constitution of the United States. One of the main founders was James Madison, who was very critical of government and democracy. Madison created a Theory of Democracy based on a solution to solve the defects of political activity in our government. Democratic deficiency is explained in the article Democratic Practice and Democratic Theory by Bernard R. Berelson. Berelson explains how the American citizen is unable to act according to the theory of democracy. Many citizens do not have a social or political foundation to structurally form their
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In Robert A. Dahl’s interpretation of Madison’s theory, he explains Populistic Democracy by referring to the social contract and saying, “this presupposes, indeed, that all the qualities of the general will still reside in the majority; when they cease to do so, whatever side a man may take, liberty is no longer possible.” This power attained by the popular majority can not fulfill the characteristics of Berelson’s idea of the successful operations of democracy. When sovereignty is given to a certain political party or branch of government, the people’s freedoms are being denied. The people are not able to vote because of the limited power they have in regards to certain policies or reforms. When Donald Trump signed the executive order to ban Muslims form entering the United States many people believed that it was a form of Populistic Democracy. In this case, only the Executive branch was able to influence an unwanted immigration reform. Dahl also explains the indifferent individual saying, “the indifferent citizen may properly be ignored and only those with preferences need be considered.” The indifferent citizen only legitimizes the idea of an unsuccessful operation of democracy, which does not fulfill Berelson’s characteristics. In Populistic Democracy there is also a risk of deadlock which, “occurs in a choice between two alternatives that are …show more content…
This political system revolves around the equal balance of power in government. It tries to avoid the concentration of power, also known as Tyranny. Dahl explains that Tyranny is undesirable and “if unrestrained by external checks, any given individual or group of individuals will tyrannize over others.” These external checks are used to ensure the equality of power in our government. No one branch of government can have more power than the other. These branches are headed by the President, Congress, and Supreme Court, which all have separate duties. This system of government adheres to Berelson’s ideas about the motivation and interest the American citizen is required to have. Berelson talks about how the “democratic citizen is expected to be interested and to participate in political affairs.” This political exposure will allow citizens to actively pursue their democratic freedoms. These liberties allow people to identify with a certain political party knowing that their rights will be defended
In Robert A. Dahl’s interpretation of Madison’s theory, he explains Populistic Democracy by referring to the social contract and saying, “this presupposes, indeed, that all the qualities of the general will still reside in the majority; when they cease to do so, whatever side a man may take, liberty is no longer possible.” This power attained by the popular majority can not fulfill the characteristics of Berelson’s idea of the successful operations of democracy. When sovereignty is given to a certain political party or branch of government, the people’s freedoms are being denied. The people are not able to vote because of the limited power they have in regards to certain policies or reforms. When Donald Trump signed the executive order to ban Muslims form entering the United States many people believed that it was a form of Populistic Democracy. In this case, only the Executive branch was able to influence an unwanted immigration reform. Dahl also explains the indifferent individual saying, “the indifferent citizen may properly be ignored and only those with preferences need be considered.” The indifferent citizen only legitimizes the idea of an unsuccessful operation of democracy, which does not fulfill Berelson’s characteristics. In Populistic Democracy there is also a risk of deadlock which, “occurs in a choice between two alternatives that are …show more content…
This political system revolves around the equal balance of power in government. It tries to avoid the concentration of power, also known as Tyranny. Dahl explains that Tyranny is undesirable and “if unrestrained by external checks, any given individual or group of individuals will tyrannize over others.” These external checks are used to ensure the equality of power in our government. No one branch of government can have more power than the other. These branches are headed by the President, Congress, and Supreme Court, which all have separate duties. This system of government adheres to Berelson’s ideas about the motivation and interest the American citizen is required to have. Berelson talks about how the “democratic citizen is expected to be interested and to participate in political affairs.” This political exposure will allow citizens to actively pursue their democratic freedoms. These liberties allow people to identify with a certain political party knowing that their rights will be defended