In Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man, Paine characterizes America as a country with a heterogenous government whose actions result in societal unison. The country is composed of various groups of people, in terms of race, gender, and socioeconomic classes. The wealthy and poor differ from each other, but live in harmony, all due to a “just government” (2). America’s government is based on the fundamental rights of man, which speak to members of all societies. The government is composed of representation of the people; these people are each representative spokespersons for people with likeminded views, and when such people interact with each other, they discuss their quandaries and concerns in a way that is fair and equitable to each representative.
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In Audre Lorde’s “The Fourth of July”, Lorde, an African-American, concludes that in a democracy, the needs of the majority - in her essay, the whites - are prioritized over the needs of the minority, leading to a tyranny of the majority of sorts. Because of this, America’s democracy is not truly representative; the “cordial unison” (2) that Paine perceives is a facade, as it only represents and takes into consideration one part of the population. Such a government cannot have ultimate control over people’s happiness. People tend to make their decisions independently of the government, to some extent, and their happiness is instead influenced by their interactions with their environment, shaped by the government’s role in society. In Paine’s America, the government plays a minimal role in society and instead functions as an invisible hand to restore order. If we believe Paine’s interpretation of America to be accurate, then we are left to wonder about whether government could ever theoretically function as seamlessly as Paine believes. With government comes bureaucracy and disagreements. Politics is another stumbling block when it comes to executing government policies efficiently and effectively. The only way that Paine’s America could exist would be if the government was a monopoly without representation, where people blindly accept government jurisdictions, finding “happiness” through their detachment and ignorance. The inherent flaws of representative government are outlined above, and there are many pitfalls to its success and
In Audre Lorde’s “The Fourth of July”, Lorde, an African-American, concludes that in a democracy, the needs of the majority - in her essay, the whites - are prioritized over the needs of the minority, leading to a tyranny of the majority of sorts. Because of this, America’s democracy is not truly representative; the “cordial unison” (2) that Paine perceives is a facade, as it only represents and takes into consideration one part of the population. Such a government cannot have ultimate control over people’s happiness. People tend to make their decisions independently of the government, to some extent, and their happiness is instead influenced by their interactions with their environment, shaped by the government’s role in society. In Paine’s America, the government plays a minimal role in society and instead functions as an invisible hand to restore order. If we believe Paine’s interpretation of America to be accurate, then we are left to wonder about whether government could ever theoretically function as seamlessly as Paine believes. With government comes bureaucracy and disagreements. Politics is another stumbling block when it comes to executing government policies efficiently and effectively. The only way that Paine’s America could exist would be if the government was a monopoly without representation, where people blindly accept government jurisdictions, finding “happiness” through their detachment and ignorance. The inherent flaws of representative government are outlined above, and there are many pitfalls to its success and