hey essay

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timer Asked: Oct 13th, 2017

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hi good morning you remember that 2 essay you make i just want from you to make it together in one essay and i only want 1 page essay the american and Athens togther

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Surname 1 Name Course Instructor Date This paper seeks to explain democracy in Athens. Athens democracy was the most developed form of democracy at the time. Democracy is one of the most familiar terms in the current systems of governance. Many countries have embraced democracy which seems as an important avenue for equality to its citizens. The study of democracy in the Athens sheds light on the history of democracy. One is able to understand why democracy is one of the most important forms of governance. Democracy in Athens was founded on three institutions. The three pillars of democracy were: the Assembly of the Demos, the Council of 500, and the People’s Court (Cartwright). The Assembly was a very important part of the Athens democracy. The assembly was the sovereign governing body of Athens (Ober 54). This was an important meeting for the male citizens of Athens. It is in the assembly that all important issues affecting the citizens were discussed and resolved. It is in this forum that the male citizens of Athens would express what they think and also vote regarding the policy of the government of the day. This assembly offered equal opportunity to all male citizens of Athens .There was no form of discrimination as to who was to attend and discuss in the assembly. The citizens of Athens however preferred experts to speak majorly on their fields. Decisions made in this assembly were based on simple majority and would not be challenged. Some of the issues discussed include military and financial decisions, organization and planning of the supply of food and other political issues. Surname 2 The Council of 500 was popularly referred to as the Boule. The boule was a group of 500 men, 50 from each of ten Athenian tribes, who served on the Council for one year (Sinclair 139). The decision on which issues to be discussed by the assembly was made by this council. Contrary to the assembly, decisions here were made through a system of chance called the lottery, it was considered to be more democratic since random occurrences could not be influenced. The Boule was majorly tasked with supervision of government workers. They were also in charge of the issues involving ambassadors from the other cities. It is also important to note that the Boule had meetings every day. The last essential part of the Athens democracy was the popular courts called dikasteria. The male citizens who were chosen to be jurors had to be more than 30 years of age (Ostwald 88). The ruling of the jury was based on majority decision. Some Athenian citizens used the court system to embarrass their foes since there were no rules that specified the kind of cases that could stand for prosecution. The payment offered to jurors ensured that anyone could be able to do the job. It can be concluded that the assembly, the Boule, and the popular courts made the Athens democracy more developed. The assembly promoted participation by the Athenian citizens who felt part of the government. The involvement of every citizen irrespective of their location was a plus for a great democracy since decisions made were decisions of the people. The Boule ensured their was accountability by the government workers. This in turn shows the power of the people who deserve better services from their government. Finally the court system was important to bring law and order. It was also open to everyone and the wage payment made prevented it from being a reserve for the rich. All this institutions made the Athens democracy much stronger and developed. Surname 3 Works Cited Cartwright, Mark. Athenian Democracy. 10 October 2014. Cloud. 11 October 2017. Ober, Josiah. The making and unmaking of deomcracy. New York: Routledge, 2003. Sinclair, Robert K. Democracy and participation in Athens. Cambridge University Press, 1991. Ostwald, Martin. From popular sovereignty to the sovereignty of law: law, society, and politics in fifth-century Athens. Univ of California Press, 1987. Surname 1 This paper details the democracy in America. American democracy is getting from good to bad. Over time democracy has become popular in the world with many countries adopting it. Democracy is considered to be a major contributor to the stability and economy of a given country. Looking at the diverse population America, it makes the topic of American democracy even more interesting. American democracy just like any other democracy has been changing over time. It is important to understand the changing democracy so as to be able to establish whether the democracy is getting better or losing its value. The American government was limited in its authority over the people. America has a well-documented constitution which has specified the responsibilities of the government. These responsibilities are set in a manner that the rights of the people are a top priority .The people are the ones who give power to the government and are also able to take the power away. This shows the superiority given to the people by their democracy. In ensuring that the people had the power, this was triggered by the history in Europe where Kings owned all the land and the people who worked on the lands to ensure production of goods got so little in return. They were also not able to give different opinions about the government. The intention was to ensure there is a balance of political and economic power. The current American democracy is however not getting any better. It has become the democracy of the rich. (Dahl). Few people are getting rich and separated from the larger population. The America people have been left out in the political process. Despite the people participating in the vote, this votes have been reduced to a level that they don’t seem to count anymore. The government system has also changed recently and increasing its control over the people. The larger chunk of America’s economy is now under the control of the government. Surname 2 The American election process which is key to democracy has been corrupted. This is majorly attributed to the decision of the Supreme Court not to limit the amount of funds spend in elections. Elections in America has become an expensive venture. A lot of money is spend in the preparation of the elections at the expense of the American people. The 2016 elections for instance cost close to 10 billion dollars (Zimmerman 126). It has also become apparent that normal citizens in America have very minimal chance to getting any political position compared to the rich. The chances of a child of a state governor becoming a governor is 6000 times better than an ordinary citizen, while the chances of a child of a U.S. Senator becoming a Senator is 8500 times better than a common citizen (Gallagher). In conclusion, American democracy is getting from good to bad. The rights and privileges of the people is slowly being taken away. What was initially a democracy where power belonged to the people is now deteriorating to democracy of few rich people. This would negatively impact the economy of America over time as the people become disillusioned with the government. To address the ailing American democracy, the most vital thing is to consider the people. The government should strive to establish a balance and reduce the gap between the rich and the poor which is expanding each day. It is also important to develop policies that would involve the people in all political decisions. If these issues are not addressed then America is heading to the wrong direction. Surname 3 Works cited Key, Valdimar Orlando. "Public opinion and American democracy." (1961). Gallagher, Michael. "Proportionality, disproportionality and electoral systems." Electoral studies 10.1 (1991): 33-51. Dahl, Robert Alan. Who governs?: Democracy and power in an American city. Yale University Press, 2005. Zimmerman, Jerold L. "The municipal accounting maze: An analysis of political incentives." Journal of Accounting Research (1977): 107-144.
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