Tuesday, September 25, 2018

A Pluralist Democracy, what the founding fathers would have wanted

When writing the Constitution, the founding fathers had a certain vision for what American Democracy should look like. The definition of a Pluralist democracy not only represents this vision in a remarkable way, but also represents how our current government is being run right now. Considering the amount on factions in our country, how much of an influence we the people have in the government and the fact that total domination is impossible due to Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances, a Pluralist Democracy is what the founding fathers would want.


A section of the definition of a Pluralist Democracy is, "a model of Democracy in which no single group dominates politics." This line perfectly describes why the fathers included the Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances. One of their greatest fears was that one person or group of people would take complete control, this is why they knew it was crucial to make it impossible for that to happen. If they where aware that since the Constitution was created, tyranny or dictatorship has yet to happen, they would surely be overjoyed. Another line from the definition of a Pluralist Democracy is that, "organized groups compete with each other to influence policy." Factions are a huge part of todays government here and that is exactly what the founding fathers hoped for. In federalist 10, Madison explained that there is no cure for factions, but it is possible to control them. His theory was that if more factions were created they would all fight with each other so that it would be impossible for a majority to take over. Thankfully, his theory was correct and he would be thrilled to hear that. Lastly, unlike a Participatory Democracy, a Pluralist Democracy does not give the people almost all the power, but unlike an Elite Democracy, the government does not have almost all the power either. This is a perfect balance, which was the founding fathers main goal. After the Articles, it was clear that the states could not get all the power without causing chaos, so giving the government more power than the people seemed like the right way to go. Although giving the people no say would lead to destruction as well, so a Pluralist is the perfect in between, which is what the founding fathers reached for when writing the Constitution.

Due to factions, the perfect balance of the states and governments power, and how total domination of a certain person or group of people is impossible, it is clear which model of Democracy would be ideal to the founding fathers. A Pluralist Democracy represents some of the main points presented in the Constitution and to the founding fathers would be a fantastic way to run a country. This is why both Madison and his fellow fathers would agree that out of the three models of Democracy, a Pluralist is whats best for this country.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.