Elites in Representative Democracy

Elites in Representative Democracy Living Political Ideas Representative democracies will always need elites, Discuss. A Representative democracy is a form of government which is based on the principles of representatives who have been selected by the people; it can be argued that representative democracies will always need elites. This essay will firstly examine the notion of Representative Democracies in order to gain an understanding of its key components using the political ideas of both Edmund Burke and James Madison who were both in favour of Representative democracy. Elitism is a theory which emphasises the importance of a small elite group amongst society, links between Elitism theory and democracy will be analysed using the ideas of various Elite theorists. It can be argued that even though representative democracies aim to take into account the opinions and views of the majority this isn’t necessary the case since only a minority of society choose to participate in the political process. To conclude this essay, theories of populism will be discussed and also the argument that globali sation has aided in creating a greater number of elites in representative democracies. Representative Democracies are ones in which citizens within a country elect representatives to make decisions for them. Elections must be free and fair and the political party which receives the majority of votes forms the government[1]. The political theorist Edmund Burke supported the notion of representative democracy but saw the title ‘representative’ as depending on how much members of the public were able to rely on their representatives[2]. According to Burke, â€Å"your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion†[3]. As with Burke, James Madison gave support towards the rationales of representative democracy. According to Madison public views and opinions can be refined and enlarged when passed through a body of elected citizens. Madison also argued that Representative government forces elections themselves to provide a clarification of public issues, and t hose able to withstand the election process are likely to be able to represent the true interests of all citizens[4]. Elite theorists argue that individuals who are considered objectively superior to others should hold more superior positions within society[5]. Elitists believe that society comprises of three different types of people; firstly there is a supreme all-seeing leader who possesses unrivalled authority and secondly, there is‘warrior’ elite who is distinguished by its capacity for self-sacrifice. Finally, there are the masses that are weak and ignorant, their destiny is simply obedience[6]. According to Elitist theorist Mosca, modern elites have superior organisational skills which were necessary in gaining political power; he also asserted that all forms of social organization would be impossible without a ruling class[7]. Mosca states that: â€Å"Those who hold and exercise State Power are always a minority, and that below them lies a numerous class of people who never participate in real terms in government are subject to the will of the former; we may call them the ruled†[8]. Elite theorist Michel’s goes even through by suggesting the inevitability of elite rule as the â€Å"iron law of oligarchy†. According to this democracy is paradoxical and therefore impossible since democracy cannot exist without organisation and organisation requires elites. The ‘Iron Law of Oligarchy’, asserts that real democracy is unable to exist without becoming an oligarchy, an oligarchy is a form of government in which all power is vested in a few dominant individuals[9]. The two key classical elite theorists Mosca and Pareto differ in their view of which resources elites utilise, but both agree that the state and the civil society are characterised by an inevitable division of power between elites and the masses. Mosca sees elites to possess various organisational skills; elite theorist Pareto is more militant concerning the physical and mental strength which determine their suitability for government[10]. It can be argued that in any Representative Democracy, elites will still be present. The United Kingdom is a Representative Democracy this is because all citizens over the age of 18 are able to vote and the political party which receives the most amounts of votes is elected[11]. Regardless of this though the United Kingdom has extremely low levels of turnout and research has shown that it’s often those with higher levels of education and income are more likely to turnout than there less affluent counterparts. This therefore demonstrates the ideas put forward by Elite theorist since in a Representative Democracy only a small number of the electorate are having their opinions accounted for and those that are participating are likely to be considered members of an affluent elite within society. According to Manin, Elites do still play a role in Representative Democracy. This is because people are selected based upon uncommon characteristics which are valued by voters. Voters select these distinctive qualities that they would like to see in their representatives. These qualities vary from a variety of things for example their uncommon ability to articulate and promote a particular political opinion[12]. Therefore the notion of elites is still evident since these people possess a particular talent or characteristic that most people sharing that opinion do not also possess. Manin also states that even though individuals may recognise the importance of elites they do not necessarily support the theory of Elitism[13] Opposed to Elitism is the theory of Populism; populism emphasis’s the belief that the instincts and wishes of the majority provide the principal legitimate guide to political action. Movements or parties described as populist have been characterized by their claim to support the common people in the face of corrupt economic or political elites[14]. Populism is a democratic system whereby politicians make a direct appeal to the people and will claim to give expression to their deepest hopes and fears and all intermediate institutions are often distrusted[15]. This therefore demonstrating alternative approaches which believe the opinions of the people should be considered before taking any form of political action. It can be argued that within the era of globalisation new elites have become one of the consequences of representative democracy. Globalization has seen the increasing ability of corporations to expand across borders. Globalization is a process which has been engineered by corporate elites; governments have helped this process by taking incremental policy action which was implemented in secret without national debate and discussion. For example, In Europe, polls have shown a persistent majority opposed to the introduction of the Euro, but since powerful elite supports it the plans move forward[16]. According to Herman, â€Å"Globalization has also steadily weakened democracy, partly as a result of unplanned effects, but also because the containment of labour costs and scaling down of the welfare state has required the business minority to establish firm control of the state and remove its capacity to respond to the demands of the majority.† [17]. To conclude, even though the principle aim of Representative Democracy is to ensure the views of the majority are been accounted for it can be argued that Elites are still prevalent. A Representative Democracy is one which is based upon the views and principles of representatives elected by citizens. Elite theorists argue that there is a group of individuals in society whose ideas and preferences are more superior to others, they see democracy as a temporary phenomenon which will morph into an oligarchy since it requires individuals with superior skills. In can be argued that even though Representative Democracies aim to include the opinions of every citizen only a small group of society chooses to participate in the political process and it’s often those from a more elite section of society. Theorists suggest that Elites are a positive aspect of Representative Democracy since citizens elect candidates who possess various characteristics which are appealing to those voting for example the ability to articulate various political principles, and are therefore necessary to a Representative Democracy. Globalisation is a process whereby corporations are able to operate across borders, it can be argued that such a process has harmed democracy since governments often take action without any national debate and discussion and in the process has created a group of Elites whose opinions are considered superior to those of the majority. Bibliography Eagles, M Johnston, L Holoman, C Johnson W L (2003) Politics, Broadview Press, Devon Faulks, K (1999) Political Sociology, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh Held, D (2006) Models of Democracy, Stanford University Press, Stanford Herman, S E (1999) The Threat of Globalisation, New Politics, Vol 7, No 2, Winter 1999, http://www.wpunj.edu/~newpol/issue26/herman26.htm accessed 29th October 2008) Heywood, A (2003) Political Ideologies (3rd Edition) Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire Landermore, H (2008) Is Representative Democracy really Democratic?, Interview of Bernard Manin and Nadia Urbinati, New York, http://www.laviedesidees.fr/Is-representative-democracy-really.html (accessed 29th October 2008) Lynch, D T Dicker, J T (1998) Handbook of Organization Theory and Management, Marcel Dicker, New York http://www.polisci.berkeley.edu/Faculty/bio/permanent/Ansell,C/Encyclopedia/Oligarchy.pdf (accessed 29th October 2008) http://www.becal.net/lc/re_pshe_ce/citizenship/ce_resources/year11democ2.pdf (accessed 29th October 2008) 1 [1] http://www.becal.net/lc/re_pshe_ce/citizenship/ce_resources/year11democ2.pdf [2] Lynch, T D Dicker, J D (1998) p. 191 [3] Burke cited in Eagles, M et al (2003) p. 195 [4] Held, D (2006) p.73 [5] Heywood, A (2003) p. 222 [6] Heywood, A (ibid) [7] Faulks, K (1999) p.39 [8] Faulks, K (ibid) [9] http://www.polisci.berkeley.edu/Faculty/bio/permanent/Ansell,C/Encyclopedia/Oligarchy.pdf [10] Faulks, K (ibid) p.40 [11] http://www.becal.net/lc/re_pshe_ce/citizenship/ce_resources/year11democ2.pdf (ibid) [12] Manin, B (2007) cited in Landermore, H (2008) [13] Manin, B (ibid) [14] Heywood, A (2003) p.301 [15] Heywood, A (ibid) [16] Herman, S (1999) [17] Herman, S (ibid)

Navigation :: Geography History Navigation Essays

Navigation Early Explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Magellan relied on landmarks for early navigation, which could result in serious miscalculations. Later explorers discovered they could use the stars as their primary choice for navigation. As technology increased the compass and sextant were used in navigation purposes. The needle of a compass always pointed north, while the sextant used adjustable mirrors to measure angles of the moon and stars. The sextant could only calculate latitude so a device called the chronometer was later invented by John Harrison to compute longitude. The sextant and chronometer were used together to compute measures of longitude and latitude. In the early 20th century many radio-based navigation systems were developed. However these radio based systems were either accurate or covered a large area of space, but not both. Scientists then decided that the only way to cover the entire world was to put high frequency radio systems in space, hence the id ea of GPS or global positioning systems was born. GPS was funded and founded by the Department of Defense. The Departmemet of Defense also controls GPS. The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978. The first ten satellites were called block I satellites. From 1989 to 1993, 23 production satellites called Block II were launched. The last satellite was launched in 1994 completing the system. From this point on with a GPS receiver costing only a few hundred dollars you could constantly learn your location on the planet. GPS is the only system available today that will tell someone their exact position on Earth at any given time in any type of weather. There are 24 satellites in all, which orbit about 11,000 nautical miles above the earth. The satellites are monitored by ground stations located around the world and can transmit signals that can be detected by anyone with a GPS receiver. Using this receiver you can determine your position on Earth with great accuracy. GPS satellites consist of 3 segments: space, control and user. The space segment consists of the 24 satellites in six orbital planes(four satellites in each plain). Each satellite repeats the same 12-hour orbit, but appears four minutes earlier each day. Each satellite orbits at 55 degrees in respect to the equatorial plane with a 12-hour period to orbit the earth.

Killer of Sheep

The movie entitled â€Å"Killer of Sheep† by Charles Burnett in 1977 made a significant footprint in the movie world. Though it was a low-budgeted movie, it won the first prize at Berlin Festival in 1981. This movie is all about Stan and his family as they struggle their life with financial and emotional problems. Stand works in a slaughterhouse to make his family live. It is a simple yet attackable story because it shows reality in the society. Many of us work hard but less opportunities. The only thing that Stan felt happy is when he dances with his wife and hold his daughter’s hands.There are only six characters and one significant setting in the story, which means that the movie is an independent film. All the characters are connected with one another as they reveal their characterizations in the beginning of the story and donate their thoughts and perception of society as the movie ends. I can say that it is an advocacy film though it has no solution in the end. As it shows the life of many people like Stan and his family, the director depicts that present situation of the society that needs to be taken care of. The movie shows that Stan is already numb with his life as a slaughter because he knows that he could not able to give his family a better life. His wife is also a weak person who used to depend on Stan as the provider of the family, which made the movie more dramatic and realistic.As an audience, it is an eye-opener to the public of the situation and life of people during 1970s. It made me realize that people like Stan tried to be contented with their life as they anesthetized themselves from their situation to make their bodies work and think only for the betterment of their family even with no luxury and lesser necessities.Work CitedBurnett, Charles. Killer of Sheep. 1977.

The Olmec,Maya,&Aztec are dominating societies of mesoameric essays

The Olmec,Maya,&Aztec are dominating societies of mesoameric essays The Olmec, Maya, and Aztec were dominating societies of Mesoamerica, rich in culture, community, and art. While life may not be completely interpretable yet, much in known about how these societies were constructed, and how their religion dominated their lives. Much is generally made of their massive stonework, their ceremonial complexes, and ritual sacrifices, but their small jade, ceramic, and stone sculpture deserves as much attention as the works of much larger size have received. The Olmec were thought to have set many of the patterns seen in later cultures throughout Mesoamerica.1 San Lorenzo, the oldest known Olmec building site, as of the time of the Britannica article, is known for its Colossal Stone Heads, all of which have prominent facial features. Las Bocas was excavated and many small jade figurines of people in the community were found. Some of these appear to have ritualistic purposes, judging by the incising noted on the sculpture. The Olmec culture spread northwest and southeast, and seemingly influenced later cultures in artistic endeavors2. The concept of sacrifice in Olmec art had ties to the belief of renewal; a birth-death scenario, where one is returned to the source - the underworld.3 Similar to monumental figures of men presenting children, wearing jaguar-baby masks, for sacrifice, human figures were sculpted in a much smaller scale, many of which are ceramic or polished jade (fig. 1). The Las Bocas site of the Olmec produced many small figurines that are thought to represent the people who lived there. These objects display Olmec symbols on their hairstyles or bodies, and because they were found at or near grave sites, these pieces are believed to have more purpose than simply the depiction of daily life.4 An example of this type of sculpture is of a man and woman embracing (fig. 2). The Wrestler figure is an example of Olmec sculpture that should be viewed from all ...

Exxon Valdez Essays - Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Oil Pollution Act

Exxon Valdez Essays - Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Oil Pollution Act Exxon Valdez INTRODUCTION On March 24, 1989 at 4 minutes past midnight, the oil tanker ExxonValdez struck a reef in Alaska's breath-taking Prince William Sound. Instantaneously, the quiet waters of the sound became a sea of black. We've fetched up - ah - hard aground north of Goose Island off Bligh Reef, and - ah - evidently leaking some oil, Joseph Hazelwood, captain of the ship, radioed the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office back in Valdez. That some oil turned out to be a total of 11,000,000 gallons of crude oil leaking from the ruptured hull of the ship. By the time a containment effort was put forth, a weather storm had helped to spread the oil as much as three feet thick across 1,400 miles of beaches. A little over ten years have passed since the largest oil spill and the greatest environmental disaster in American history, but the waters and its surroundings are still recovering. At first, many people repeated what was then thought as common knowledge, oil dissipates, nature heals quickly, all will be well in a year or two. This has not been the case with the Exxon Valdez. This massive 987-foot tanker has left a lingering, long-term effect on the natural habitat that surrounds these pristine waters, along with an enormous socio-economic effect that has left many people wondering when and where the next oil spill will be. Many associated with the recovery process, and its more than one hundred projects per year, say it will take longer than a human lifetime to determine if a full recovery is possible (Fine 1999). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Exxon Valdez oil spill was initially thought of as a two to three year clean-up project. As time went ahead, scientists and clean-up crews realized that it would take a longer period of time and require a lot more effort than originally planned. Up to this point, the oil has contaminated a national forest, four wildlife refuges, three national parks, five state parks, four critical habitat areas and a state game sanctuary, which spreads along 1,400 miles of the Alaskan shoreline. Recent scientific studies show that the oil continues to wreak havoc among many spawning salmon, herring, and other species of fish. This is even more devastating when considering that much of the wildlife around the sound is dependant on the high calorie, high fat content of the herring as their prime food source. Among the many casualties were 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbour seals, 250 bald eagles, as many as 22 killer whales, and an estimated quarter-million seabirds. It is unclear how many billions of salmon and herring eggs and intertidal plants succumbed to the oil smothering. Within an ecosystem, each living thing depends on other living things. That means that when the fish died in Prince William Sound, there was less food for the seals that normally eat them. As those seals died, there was less food for the killer whales that eat seals (Knickerbocker 1999). This has led to a domino effect within the food chain, victimizing many of the animals surrounding the area. Intertidal mussel beds are still contaminated to this day. Twenty-three species of wildlife were effected by this oil spill, and only two species, the bald eagle and the river otter, have fully recovered. The species that are well on their way to a comeback include pink salmon, Pacific herring, sea otters, mussels, black oyster catcher, common murre, marbled murrelet, and sockeye salmon. As with any environmental disasters, there are some animals that are showing little or no clear improvement since the spill occurred. This group includes harbour seals, killer whales, harlequin ducks, common loons, cormorants, and the pigeon gullomot. In some areas, that have been hardest hit by the oil spill, many of the species have an elevated level of mortality. Even though the Exxon Valdez is the most-studied oil spill in world history, it is also a particularly difficult one to research because of the lack of baseline data on the ecology of Prince William Sound (Birkland 1998). Among all the animal casualties, there is another victim, people. Thousands have been forced to bare the consequences of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Throughout the years, the waters of Alaska have

The Lost Generation essays

The Lost Generation essays During World War I, many of the men who fought were only about nineteen years young. These men experienced horrors beyond belief in a matter of years, which is ten times worse than a normal man experiences his whole life. This generation of men, from 1914-1918, who fought in a great war and lived in constant fear of their last breathe, while we enjoy parties, the freedom of being a teenager, and able just to kick back and enjoy life at its prime. This is the lost generation. As tensions grew in Europe during the early twentieth century young teenagers throughout were going to grade school and enjoying life to its fullest. Little do these children know that in a matter of years they will be fighting in one of the most gruesome wars in history. While they were in school the leaders of Europe were contemplating the thought of war and forming alliances. Many people thought that if they went to war, it would be over and done with before they knew it. The people who said this were the lucky ones; they didn't have to fight in it. The kids who did fight in it didn't know what to expect. They were taken from their sheltered homes and thrown into unimaginable chaos. World War I should never have been fought. It was because of a royal family feud that caused millions of deaths. How would one feel if one saw their best friend blown up right before their very own eyes? These kids saw their comrades choke to death because of the fatal mustard gas. They saw friends get shot in the stomach and die slowly of excruciating pain. The dead bodies were innumerable and they had to face their enemy eye to eye and then kill them. These men starved and had to fight off giant rats. Most of these men died of a cause they did not know. If you look at The Gulf War back in 1991, any intelligent person would say how easily we won. We decimated Iraq in a few weeks for two reasons; because of top grade equipment and becaus ...

Emerging Standards of Care Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Emerging Standards of Care Paper - Essay Example The organization is committed to associate effective research in order to render beneficial healthcare services to the people as well as to keep them more informed regarding the quality of the organization’s healthcare services (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2012). The organization is further well-known for its holistic role in the healthcare service through providing an effective healthcare support to people in various categories including culturally, linguistically diverse groups of people as well as the people with limited English proficiency (LEP) across various regions of the world (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2012). The paper intends to define appropriate culturally competent care of AHRQ and identify the issue or vulnerability with regard to providing healthcare services for culturally diverse people. Furthermore, it will focus on identifying the affects towards delivery of nursing care in places where standards are being met and places whe re neglected. Culturally Competent Healthcare Service Culturally competent care can be recognized as an ability that the members of the organizations should have in terms of providing healthcare services to people from various cultures. ... healthcare services, AHRQ is considered as one of the major and leading healthcare organizations, which facilitates a range of healthcare plans for multi-ethnic members as well as develops the services for culturally and linguistically diverse people (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2012). In the context of enhancing healthcare services, the organization is significantly involving its medical specialties according to the age group and culturally diversified patients. Moreover, AHRQ is further committed to develop its cultural sensitivity in order to refine the services according to the cultural trends. The cultural competence aspect of any healthcare institution may not involve the same process of treatment with which the organization treats its patients in very basic and typical ways. It is significantly focused on delivering higher customer value and understanding the various ways of satisfying a patient within the clinic, communicating with the clients in order to ensu re the best potential outcome of the organization. With the huge and rapid growth related to diversification in the US, communities considerably compel the organizations to identify the increasing opportunities that are available in the country. Therefore, the caregivers of the organizations are highly focused and dedicated on the culture and linguistic behaviors of the communities in terms of providing healthcare facilities. The utmost effort and effective healthcare services of the members are significantly enhancing the culturally competent care of AHRQ in the growing market of the US healthcare industry (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2012). Served Population and Issues in the AHRQ AHRQ can also be considered as one of the three major organizations in terms of its position