How Democratic is the American Constitution?
What does the author mean by “How Democratic is the American Constitution?”
What are major themes to understanding Democracy, American politics and elections?
Do think differently about the Constitution, the U.S. Senate or the effectiveness of the electoral college based on Dahl’s analysis?
Sample Solution
The question of “How Democratic is the American Constitution?” has been pondered and debated for centuries, reflecting on lessons from past failures and successes in our nation’s quest for representative government. Major themes to understanding democracy, American politics, and elections include:
1) The structure of the U.S. Government: The United States Constitution outlines a system of federalism which divides power between the national government and state governments while also establishing checks and balances among different branches (Friedman & Jandl 2020). This ensures that no one branch holds too much power while allowing both levels to collaborate on policy issues to better serve their constituents.
2) Popular sovereignty: This concept refers to the idea that it is ultimately up to the people or citizens of a country to make decisions about how they are governed through voting in elections or participating in public discourse (Schudson 2016). This is further reinforced by enshrined rights such as freedom of speech which enables citizens to express their opinion without fear of retribution from those in positions of authority.
3) Representation: A key part of democratic systems is having representatives who accurately reflect the diversity within society while still representing their own interests. This can be achieved through proportional representation electoral systems where seats are allocated based on each party’s share vote (Carrera et al., 2020), rules requiring political parties nominate diverse candidates, or implementing legislative mechanisms such as superdelegates within representative bodies like Congress.
4) Fairness & Equality: It is important for any democracy that all members receive equal treatment regardless if they belong.
