-Aristotle Democracy: a form of government that makes political decisions directly exercised by the whole body of citizens, under procedures of majority rule. ... Decisions were made not with the interest of the majority but with the interests of the few. ... This discontent of the majority of the people made way for the form of government called a tyranny. ... Wherever men rule by reason of their wealth, whether they be few or many, that is an oligarchy, and where the poor rule, that is a democracy." ... (Finley, 13) Politics is the act of reaching decisions by public majority. ...

• Word Count: 3536
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Federal Government The Federal Government The three branches of the federal government provide a base for the way we live our lives. The process by which the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branches operate is long, but necessary. Each branch has a duty to watch the others th...

• Word Count: 4055
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Powers granted to Congress under the Constitution include the power to levy taxes, borrow money, regulate interstate commerce, impeach and convict the president, declare war, discipline its own membership, and determine its rules of procedure. ... The parliamentary leaders of the two parties are the majority floor leader and the minority floor leader. ... Among the most important committees are those on Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Rules. The Rules Committee, for example, has significant power to determine which bills will be brought to the floor of the House for consideration and whet...

• Word Count: 3105
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The ongoing debate between the systems of parliamentary supremacy and judicial supremacy holds that judicial review is against the principle of majority rule because the courts are unrepresentative of the people. ... It is the aim of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect the rights of all Canadians equally, majority or minority. Since the courts are not elected by the people, as politicians are, they are minimally coerced or swayed by majority opinion. ... With the power of the notwithstanding clause, legislatures can, against the principles of the Charter of Rights, arbitrarily den...

• Word Count: 3226
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

A central bank controlled by the executive vs central bank independence Source: Lijphart, 1999, pp. 3-4 In essence, majoritarian systems are governed by and act in the interests of a majority, while consensus systems seek to represent as many people as possible (Lijphart, 1999, p.2). ... Becuase there is no objective way of measuring the quality of a democracy, a variety of different indicators have been suggested, such as by David and Morlino (2005), who argue that both procedural indicators, such as the rule of law, participation, competition and accountability, and substantive dimensions, ...

• Word Count: 2678
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate