Democracy

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that popular sovereignty, the primary foundation of democracy, has several weaknesses because, although it would be nice to believe that all humans are equally capable and willing to base all political decisions on a careful process of reasoning, this is often the exception to behavior rather than the rule. The author points out that, if apathetic sentiments towards politics begin to run through the population, the results are just as damaging; votes with little thought behind them can create decisions that don't reflect the interests of the majority of the population. The paper relates that, ultimately, the balance of democracy's strengths over its weaknesses in practice is a very precarious one; it is in the hands of the population to safeguard and fortify this structure.

From the Paper:

"The debate that democracies encourage has the potential to backfire if it serves to further wedge the society apart. Under certain conditions, political parties and factions are evidence of this problem. This struggle for influence and power can accelerate conflict within the society. Thomas Hobbes recognized the inherent tendency of man to separate and struggle against each other in a continuous battle for power. Such a state of war can only be avoided through an unquestioned strength of law. The population must therefore "conferre al their power and strength upon one Man...that may reduce all their wills unto one Will" contribute to the disintegration of society into civil war."

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