The Pros And Cons Of Representative Democracy

Many Americans believe a representative democracy is unfair. They believe the only truly fair way to voice opinion is through a direct democracy. But, the truth is, American citizens would not be able to function efficiently in a direct democracy because our political culture is far better suited for a representative democracy. Our form of government as a representative democracy works so well because the majority of Americans agree on the same views. Culture in America tends to be more suited for a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy because they are generally uneducated and unwilling to learn on most concerns and are more inclined to put themselves first instead of thinking of the group as a whole. When it comes to voting, citizens are very politically apathetic, which is not the most ideal behavior in a direct democracy, but is more suitable under representative democracy.
According to Alexis de Tocqueville, Americans tend to have the same views that go under representative democracy: liberty, equality, democracy, individualism, the rule of law, nationalism, and capitalism. Americans believe in the right to be free, as long as …show more content…
If US citizens lived in a direct democracy, the people would have to vote on pretty much every issue. The problem with that is that political issues can be exceptionally complicated and would take voters a lot of time and consultation with experts to understand them before they can be informed enough to vote. Educating the entire electorate could be very difficult and time consuming, and if an uninformed electorate were to vote on issues, the results could be incredibly damaging. As harsh as it might sound, the American population is extremely lazy and is unwilling to vote all the time on issues that might not concern