Pluralist Government

It can be tricky to specifically call out what kind of democracy the United States is. However it can be narrowed down to 3 categories, participatory, pluralist, and elite. A Participatory Democracy is one where the people have all the power to make governmental decisions. This kind of government utilizes voting and requires the participation of most of the nations people. A Pluralist Democracy is a democracy that is run by groups, or factions. These different groups will get together to make a compromise on issues that the groups involved can agree on. The last form of democracy is Elite Democracies, this is a democracy with a government made up of the upper level of society. These people are typically wealthy, influential, and have many resources at their disposal. While you can argue a point for any of these democracies, the one that best embodies the government of the United States is Pluralist Democracy. This is because in the government the people tend to organize themselves in groups, rallying around a common belief. This makes them a stronger force than just acting by themselves. I believe this type of democracy is what the founders intended.

One example is Federalist #10, written by James Madison. Madison says, "Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens;" What he is trying to say is that the more diversity in a country, the more factions will be created, this helps combat majority rule, while also helping every groups opinion be heard on matters so a compromise can be reached to benefit all parties involved This is an example of Pluralist Government because it shows how factions make up our government, and we depend on them to keep things running smoothly, and to ensure that no group will go unheard. Another example of a Pluralist Government is when Black leaders decided to challenge the Jim Crow laws. This is an example of a group of people with a common interest, standing up to the government, demanding it be changed. The protests by this groups influence the political decision making about getting rid of the Jim Crow laws. This embodies a Pluralist Government because it is an example of a faction standing up to the government, fighting for the policy they wish to be changed, and finally reaching a compromise.

The United States can be considered to be different types of democracies depending on how you view it. The most similar to the founder's views, and the way the government is currently running, is a Pluralist Democracy. These examples show that our government doesn't take into account individual people's ideas, but rather the ideas of the groups they support. The groups make it easier for there to be compromise, and protesting as part of a faction, as opposed to singularly protesting, yields better results when it comes to getting issues changed.