Roswell Political Theory

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Balanced Government?


Do you think the government we have today is a perfect balance of democracy and oligarchy, as Aristotle prescribes, or do we veer one way or the other? Discuss

posted by Socrates3000 at 10:37 AM

16 Comments:

  • The government today veers more and more towards democracy. The primaries are dominated by extremists on both sides of the political spectrum, the electorate no longer serves as a check on the people but rather a symbolic confirmation of the Presidency and extremist factions are pushing the nation closer to bankruptcy and chaos. To add insult to injury, the people with referendums and initiative available in their respective states are refusing to give up their so called privilege even if their State is in a tumultuous financial situation. We even see it in our home today as there is an initiative soon to be voted on to determine whether or not to implement a tax to raise about $6 billion for public transportation, and the people will likely vote down the tax since no one likes higher taxes. Fortunately, Americans overall are growing more moderate as demonstrated by the Project, Purple America. As a result they may be more likely to carefully consider the full financial, political, and social implications of bills and candidates for office such as the proposed tax here in Georgia and Bachmann's run for the Presidency of the United States. Additionally, the movement to eliminate the electoral college entirely will undoubtedly mark a sharp turn towards democracy for better or worse.

    By Blogger John, at 12:22 PM  

  • I think the government we have today contains aspects of both democracy and oligarchy. However, Aristotle proposed these should be in perfect balance which I don't think they are completely. Certain parts of our government could be considered more democratic and certain parts could be considered more like an oligarchy. In my opinion, i don't think a "perfect balance" among the two exists, or at least it will be very hard to obtain or even measure.

    By Blogger kristinmcfar, at 12:34 PM  

  • I do not think that the government today is a perfect balance of both democracy and oligarchy. Although the United States government is a republic democracy, I tend to believe that it veers towards oligarchies. The small population of the extremely wealthy tend to override a lot of political things. Their money and status gives them power and I think candidates are often elected due to those wealthy few. Therefore, I do not believe that democracy and oligarchy is in total balance.

    By Blogger courtsport007, at 6:11 PM  

  • This country is a republic democracy with a hint of oligarchy and i think it should stay that way. While I like democrocy, I think that a repubic is necessary. As we learned in class, if the people are given too much power, they can ruin the economy. I think the little oligarchy we have is good. With too much oligarchy, our government could take a wrong turn, but with too much democrocy, it could do the same. I think we are in the middle and just fine where we are.

    By Blogger cwatson, at 6:19 PM  

  • I do not believe our government is a perfect balance of a democracy and an oligarchy. Although our population gets to vote for who represents our country, it is not the people who make all final decisions in our government. With this being said, our government seems to be more of an oligarchy than a democracy and it isn't in perfect balance.

    By Blogger jhallowell, at 6:56 PM  

  • Is there ever a truly balanced government? Yes our system has found a rather solid middle ground but as we grow as a country and as a people we are always making changes to our political system. The more direct control from the people appears to have pushed us more towards the democratic side of the spectrum but when compared to early American citizens, the votes of Americans today counts for less. The population is much large than it was in colonial America and despite the growth in members of the House Americans votes no longer count as much. Meaning the men and women of congress have quite a bit more say in the matters of law which is distinctly oligarchical
    The other argument for this would be he have swung it far onto the democratic side with the more extreme emphasis on the popular vote and the obsolescence of our electoral college. But depending on the way you look at the situation this can go either way. The way I view it is from the very top of the order. Who influences and chooses our candidates? The party politicians. Yes people vote for their candidates but we are heavily influenced by propaganda imposed upon us for the sole purpose of swaying our votes. The candidate is inadvertently chosen but a select few which for all intents and purposes is oligarchy at its. finest.

    By Blogger Lauren Telschow, at 4:07 AM  

  • I believe it depends on how a person percieves our government. There may be a moment in time when our government may seem like an oligarchy and another when it seems like a democracy. You would actually have to sit back and observe our government for a period of time to actually be able to attest to this question. If one can give plausible reasons with facts to support if its balanced or not then we can have a valid answer. This in the end usually means we veer one way or the other.

    By Blogger @darien_isaac, at 6:10 AM  

  • Yes, our government is a good balance between an oligarchy and a democracy. With the two houses of congress, one is more democratic while the other is more chy and a democracy. With the two houses of congress, one is more democratic while the other is more elite. Even though the population has increased over the years, and the ratio between the house of reps and the population has dramatically changed, the ability to be able to directly elect the senate has equaled out the inability to be fully represented in congress.

    By Blogger unidentified formulated onoma, at 6:42 AM  

  • I think the US government is actually the closest it could get to a practical mix of democracy and oligarchy. Any more oligarchal and central government would take over and any more democratic and government may crumble. The US also has the secret weapon of checks and balances to keep things running smoothly.

    By Blogger Sean2340, at 7:05 AM  

  • I think the US government is actually the closest it could get to a practical mix of democracy and oligarchy. Any more oligarchal and central government would take over and any more democratic and government may crumble. The US also has the secret weapon of checks and balances to keep things running smoothly.

    By Blogger Sean2340, at 7:05 AM  

  • The government is indeed a healthy balance of oligarchical and democratic values, but it is not quite ideal. Naturally, no government is going to be ideal, but that only supports the argument that the government of America sways one way. It does not however sway exclusively towards one system. Depending on the instance, on school of thought can be represented more than the other. For example, the issue of recalls in California, amongst other issues, is primarily representative of a majorly democratic system. Most executive, judicial and legislative offices operate oligarchically. On the other hand, the power of the oligarchs is abused from time to time. In the end, the U.S. is mainly oligarchical but with strong democratic undertones.

    By Blogger Groovey2Shoes, at 2:43 PM  

  • Our government has both aspects of a democracy and oligarchy , but definitely not in a perfect balance. There are some things that may be more democratic or more oligraich , but like i just said not a perfect balance. But , when you think about it what is perfect ? I think perfect is one of things like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder...

    By Blogger domdotcom, at 6:12 PM  

  • I think the government today tries its best to contain both democracy and oligarchy. But i do not think that it is always able to do this. Aristotle speaks of a perfect balance between the two, but i do not think that it is always possible to have a perfect balance between them. There are certain parts of the government that just need to be ran and operated a certain way and we cannot change that. But i do think that for the most part we are doing as good as we can at trying to form that essential middle ground to running our country.

    By Blogger SNathans93, at 7:48 PM  

  • I think or government today is not a complete balance of oligarchy and democracy, but is more centered around democracy. Aristotle proposed however, that an ideal government would consist of a perfect balance between Oligarchy and Democracy and America is not that.

    By Blogger smayhew93, at 8:42 PM  

  • I think that In our society it would be almost impossible to have a perfect balance of democracy and oligarcy. We definitely have both aspects in our government; however, people are too stubborn about their opinions to have a perfect balance. The rich people in society tend to have more of a voice when it comes to our governmental structure thus I believe we veer more towards oligarchy.

    By Blogger dking2022, at 5:58 AM  

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    By Blogger dking2022, at 5:36 PM  

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