Free Essay Sample on Democracy and Oligarchy

Introduction

Democracy is a kind of government where the people choose their representative to govern and represent them in the government. Democratic countries allow people to vie for various positions and then the people can choose from among them the leaders that they want to manage the affairs of the country. Where the leaders don't represent the aspirations of the people, the people themselves have the opportunity to replace them after the period that they were elected finishes. Aristotle also focused on different forms of governments and how they ruled the people, among the forms of government that Aristotle focused on include Oligarchy and democracy. Aristotle argues that the democracies are not the best form of government, it's a representation of how the people are hence if the people are bad ten their leaders will also be bad, and the country will not grow.

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Democracies allow for the majority of the people to take power in terms of representatives; the minority cannot take leadership positions because leaders are elected and the minority cannot win elections over the majority. Democracy leads to the election of bad leaders because the majority wins the elections because they have the numbers required to win the election. Democracies should lead to the formation of the government where the leaders are elected freely and fairly. Democracies allow people to get services from the government because they represent the wishes of the people.

On the other hand, oligarchies is a structure of government where the wealthy rule the poor, the few elite and rich families rule their countries in the form of monarchies. The rich families do not have a term limit that they follow to rule the people in which later others take over. They continue to rule after which their children inherit the leadership from their fathers. The people in authority benefit because they have control over government resources.

Aristotle argues that democracies benefit certain people in the government and discourages other people in the country where the people that are in power come from (Raaflaub). Aristotle does not support democracy because the few people that are in power and their families. This creates inequality in society. Some areas end up being developed more than others. Some communities end up being empowered more than others, and therefore they don't get the support that they need from their governments.

One of the significant components of democracy is the rule of law where everybody is equal before the law regardless of the status in the society. Aristotle argues that democracy undermines the rule of law because once the people get the power, they look for ways in which they can undermine the law for their benefits. He argues that the majority are above the law because whatever they pass is accepted and should be accepted by all the people. The majority do not get justice because the majority end up getting whatever they like. The majority can decide to discriminate the majority in terms of development, and there is nothing that the minority can do.

Democracies have led to the development of the populist leaders where leaders are elected not because they are good leaders but because they are popular not because they have leadership skills but because they are popular among the people. Aristotle believed that if the right leaders were allowed to lead they would transform the community as a whole. One can become populists regardless of what activities made them popular, and they end up becoming leaders. Such leaders continue with the rogue activities that they used to engage in before getting into power. According to Aristotle, the populists deny the people the opportunity to elect leaders that can develop the country and represent the wishes and hopes of the people.

Aristotle believed that the people who should be educated on the importance of electing capable leaders who can handle challenges that come with leadership (Raaflaub). Electing capable leaders to have the capacity and the goal that the people wants, therefore, they are likely to do development that is meant to make the country grow. Aristotle stated that "citizen whom we are seeking to define is a citizen in the strictest sense, against whom no such exception can be taken, and his special characteristic is that he shares in the administration of justice, and offices. He who has the power to take part in the deliberative or judicial administration of any state is said by us to be a citizen of that state; and, speaking generally, a state is a body of citizens sufficing for life"(Gray).

The thoughts by Aristotle have made me begin thinking and reflecting on how the leaders that we elect don't represent us the way they are supposed. Democracies have allowed rogue populists to be elected because the people do not know the importance of electing the leaders that want to bring change (Gray). The people must know that they elect leaders that represent their characters and therefore they will not get the leaders that they don't deserve. I have changed my mind that I should elect good leaders that have the vision to grow the country. Electing the right leaders should be encouraged among the people by making them understand its benefits; this is done through civic education before the people elect their leaders.

Aristotle also made me understand how the government works and the challenges that people face due to democracy. I know I understand that there are people that are discriminated democracy which include the minority (Winthrop). The minority in the country end up being discriminated because the majority have their way in all the activities and affairs of the country. I have learned about the challenges that the minority face in a country in getting their forces heard and used in the affairs of the country. Countries that use a democratic form of government should come up with a way of ensuring that the ideas of the minority are incorporated in the development and affairs of the country.

When the people elect the right leaders, the minority does not have to worry about being discriminated on the basis that they did not elect the current leaders, the right leaders should know that they are elected by all to serve all the people including the minority (Raaflaub). Good leaders lead to all the people benefiting from the services that they get from the government and what they are supposed to get. Where the people elect bad leaders, they get inadequate services from the government, and in most instances, the government officials become corrupt while doing their mandate.

Modern democracies continue to face challenges as the people try to amend the democracy form of government to suit their needs (Winthrop). People are changing their ideas regarding their governments that are democratically elected. For instances, the minority are declining to be led by the majority because they believe that there is no time that they will ever get the leadership of the country. The minority wants to be given their share in the government to represent their views. This has brought change among the governments and the opinions of the minority to avoid conflicts.

Democracies have led to the division of people along party lines, and in most instances, the party lines are formed to represent ethnic and race interests. The conflict of interest among communities has led to the people considering how they can form governments where the interests of the people are protected (Gray). The new governments that are formed to represent all the people have more positions to incorporate the ideas of all the people and represent them in the decision making of the country as well. The representation of all the people reduces conflicts among the people. The political parties weaken because they don't stand for any ideology.

Oligarchy, on the other hand, leads to the discrimination of the poor and less fortunate in society. The government is formed by the rich in the society; hence the poor have no say in the affairs of the government (Winthrop). The wealthy leaders in the government come up with policies that will benefit them become richer and remain in power. The people don't have an opportunity to change leadership in this kind of government because there is no limit of time that the leaders are supposed to lead their governments. The children of the rich inherit power from their leaders, and therefore the poor will never have an opportunity to take up leadership positions.

Strengths of Majority Rule in a Modern Democracy

The strength of the majority rule is that the views and the aspirations of the majority are considered in the development of a country. The majority have an opportunity for their voices to be heard. People deserve to be heard on the views that they have against various activities that take place in their country. The people also have the opportunity to elect new leaders into office if the previous leaders don't represent them based on their wishes.

Democracy also ensures that there is openness in the activities that the government engages in. People need to know what is happening in their government because the activities of the government will influence their lives (Raaflaub). The people have the opportunity to elect the leaders that share the same vision with them, and therefore the development being done by the leaders should reflect the wishes of the people. The majority enjoy more than minority because the people in authority must consider their views. The minority doesn't have enough people to represent them in government, and therefore they will get the development that they deserve.

Democracy advocates for the culture of the people to be preserved because what the people like is what the leaders give them that they elect. The democracy represents the values that the people have hence the leaders that are elected into power must respect the way of life and protect them. Democracy means that people have the freedom to choose what they like. The people choose their destiny and the goals that they want to achieve over a given period. Democracy allows various sectors to grow because they have freedom. The sectors include political growth where people choose the political party to be affiliated to.

Weaknesses of Majority Rule in a Modern Democracy

Democracy allows for the misuse of authority by the elected leaders because they know that they have the support of the majority (Winthrop). There is corruption among the leaders elected by the majority because they know that their people are the ones who will benefit and elect them again. The leaders also try to do development in a manner to please their people so that they can be elected again. This leads to unequal distribution of resources and the minority end up suffering because the leader knows that they will not get support from the majority.

Democracy also gives room for the wrong choice of leaders because anyone can get elected regardless of their personality and ability to become a leader. Once the bad leaders are elected into office, they have their motives and goals (Raaflaub). Such leaders end up not doing any development to their people. To conclude, Aristotle gave a foundation of democracies are supposed to look like and what democracies represent. People should be careful when choosing leaders and ensure that they are accountable to the people in terms of how they use the resources.

Works Cited

Raaflaub, Kurt A. Aristotle and Xenophon on democracy and oligarchy. Univ of California Press, 2010.

Winthrop, Delba. Aristotle: Democracy and Political Science. University of Chicago Press, 2018.

Gray, Lawana. "Tyranny, Democracy, And The Polity: Aristotle's Politics." Farnam Street. N.p., 2018. Web. 26 Apr. 2019.