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Is Democracy the Best Form of Government?


            I have included an advertisement from a magazine for Frangelico liqueur that clearly appeals to the desires and temptations of the people reading it. In Plato's Republic, he argues that politicians in a democracy to the same thing in order to gain votes.
             Democracy is the rule of the people. Many examples of democracies exist in the world today and most people tend to think that a country ruled by a democracy is the most enlightened and good. But how successful are our modern democracies? Not completely is the answer, but is this because they don't actually do what they set out to do or because of inherent flaws in the ideal of democracy? In Plato's Republic Socrates sets out an alternative method of government - the meritocracy. Again this ideal has its practical problems, but how does the ideal compare to democracy?.
             I think that the major problem is that the masses have control without knowledge. This can get very dangerous for society as a whole. Without knowledge, the masses will make decisions based on their individual desires and wants which can eventually harm the whole community. For example, the populace may decide that they want a war. To please them and win votes the politicians increase military funding by taking money away from the health and social welfare budget. The war may well happen, but for the society lack of healthcare will become a pressing problem. .
             People would say that because the masses are by definition the majority of the people, they have the right to vote in their choice of politicians even if they happen to make a bad choice. As the majority if they fulfil their desires, most of society will be happy and therefore productive. The problem with this argument is that in many democracies today, voter apathy is so high that only a proportion of the majority vote and have influence, so the real views of the populace are never heard. The real issue is that having more people on your side doesn't make you right.


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