Democratic Government

Definition

1- a system of government in which everyone can vote to elect its members

2- a country that has a government which has been elected by the people of the country

3- a situation or system in which everyone is equal, has the right to vote and make decisions etc.

(Source: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

Concept

A country under the rule of a democratic government is such that their government is elected either fully or partially by their people with the system varying from country to country. For example, the people may be voting overall to elect the ruler of a country, while the votes in a certain state decides the governor of that state. On the other hand, it might be the whole country voting to elect the ruler, and the ruler himself appoints the whole cabinet, meaning his ministers and governments. Therefore, in such a situation of voting, the people only get to choose who they want to rule the country but not their state if the need arises for the country to have state governments. The concept behind this system is to allow the people to have total freedom to vote who they want, or whom they believe is best to lead the country. It gives the people more power in the sense that they can decide whether to keep or to throw out the government ruling them. Therefore, this system is used to keep the government in check of abusing their power or turning the country towards a downturn. However, in this form of government, all decisions made must be through voting, therefore, things like Bills must be passed before some major change can be decided.

Statue Of Liberty- signifies freedom and democracy, given as a gift to America from France

Brief History

The concept of a democratic government was first introduced a few thousand years ago, in ancient greek, where parliaments and cabinet meetings were formed, and ministers were appointed and these wise men would come together to discuss and implement what they think is best for the country and remove what they think does the country no good. This concept was not widely used until a period in the 18th century till present, where monarchs or dictators are overthrown, due to their incompetence, and for the people, they fear that if the systems of monarchy and dictatorship were to resume, the same situation would occur sooner or later, therefore, the people would nominate people, where all would come together to vote, to decide who shall lead them. As time passes, it is done in a more orderly manner and voting systems are implemented. Terms are given to these rulers, so that the people can decide whether they would want to keep the ruler if he's good or replace him with another who is better for the sake of the country. In the 19th Century, parties and alliances are formed. Therefore, the people no longer rely on one person, but have a much wider choice of choosing the whole group of people to lead them. This results in politics, as seen by the people at first, being good as competition brings out the best of one, therefore, allowing them to choose the best to lead them. Today, the system of a democratic government is implemented in most countries around the globe as it is thought to be the best governmental system with the least flaws.

Past Example United States Of America

Ever since Christopher Colombus discovered the Americas, America became a colony of the English. When George Washington, the 1st President of the United States of America came forward to fight for independence in America, democracy had started in America. It was the first country in the world, known to put the democratic system into place, having a proper cabinet, parliment in the 18th Century. The United States had numerous presidents since then, and from history, it can be observed that the United States had became one of the forerunners in the world's economy ever since industrialisation took place. United States was part of the Western Powers, in fact, was only behind the British in millitary might before World War I. Although it did not establish colonies, it remained a strong country in terms of economic, social and sciences developments. This can be seen in World War II, when the United States shocked the world with its latest development of the atomic bomb, which was dropped onto Hiroshima, Japan. After World War II, the United States economy boomed, and was at the forefront of technology and millitary warfare, which only the then USSR could match. It had also great affect on the world's economy. An example would be the Great Depression during the 1960s, when United States' economy went on a downturn, the world's economy followed suit. Till today, it is one of the leading first world countries in the world.

Present Example Republic of Singapore

Singapore gained its independence in 1965, after seperating from the federation of Malaysia. Democracy immediately came into place when elections were held. A party was chosen from the elections to lead the country, and Singapore had a Prime Minister and President. Singapore, even though a small country, leads the world in many factors including commerce, industry, services and port industry. This is the result of a country, after being under colonial rule for nearly a century, got self-government in a form of democracy, where referendums and votings are held, turned itself from a mere fishing village into a financial hub where the world looks up to. Singapore is more of a modern example of democracy's sucess as Singapore is a young nation of only 36 years. In terms of the well-being of the people, the GDP of the country and affluence spending of the country is one of the highest if not the highest in the world. It also leads in scientific, social and economic development. It has established itself as a globalised developed country. Most of these can be attributed to the democratic nature of the country.

Team Analysis

Democracy has come a long way since the ancient times. The idealogy was not really put into place until colonialisation and monarchy became semi-obsolete. In general, the Team feels that Democracy is an efficient system of government which brings people of different talent contributing in different ways in a country for the good of all the people. The good points of this system is basically, transparency. People get to question the ruling party on what they have done. The rulers has the freedom and trust of the people to do what they think is right and are kept in check by the people through the law and voting system where they can choose to let the same group of people continue in leading them or whether it was time for a change. However, like every system, democracy has its flaws, namely disputes which could arise as many opinions can be made on one decision, and it's sometimes hard to decide which to take or to enforce.

In the Team's opinion, this form of government seems to be the most suitable for small to medium sized countries, where most of the people, if not all are educated, for this governmental system to work. We believe the reason why some countries who have adopted this system have failed is because of the amount of education the people of that country gets. This is backed by the fact that, when the Greeks first proposed this system, most of them were educated, or well-learned. Therefore, the Team feels that, this form of government is most appropriate for an educated and not too-large population.