Briefly describe the two critiques of democracy that you selected.
After my own research, I selected two critiques of democracy including Plato and Thoreau. Plato’s criticizes democracy on grounds that it creates an artificial equality by violating the proper order of society. He notes that each and every individual is entitled to an equal say in political matters of any society. Every person should take part in public society regardless of their condition of mind and ability. He develops numerous ideals on how an individual should behave or act in a given ideal society. A close analysis of his critique shows that he almost disagreed with everything in the world and he believed that people were doing the wrong things in life. He also distrusted democracy because it was run by people who did not know what was just.
On the hand, Thoreau criticizes the nature of politics where individuals engage in war of words and bickering of words among themselves. He calls for morality in the conduct of people to ensure that the individual perceives and performs the right things. He does not support the political obligations imposed by representative democracy. He is deeply concerned with the moral damage caused by democracy. He challenges the viability of democracy by posing the question “Is democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? Is it not possible to take a step further toward recognizing and organizing the rights of man? ” He has noticed flaws in his current democratic government but notes that there is an alternative government (Meltzer, 2006).
Explain why and how the critiques might be valid and constructive.
Plato and Thoreau are valid because they condemn the current state of poor democracy. The current state of democracy is full of flaws such as concentration of power on the minority by ignoring the majority who are being suppressed (Marioti, 2010). Their voices are no longer heard in national issues. Leaders make decisions without consulting their subjects or taking into account their needs. Plato seeks to address this problem by recommending that any democratic government should involve its decision in decision making processes.
In addition, democracy nowadays is characterized by the emptiness of voting, few efforts on social reforms, and politicians mainly concerned with offices and institutions rather than individuals (Kingsbury, 2007). Thoreau warns that such activities do not describe the meaning of democracy. With his politics of withdrawal, Thoreau seeks to push over such practices by enhancing our threatened critical capacity. He advocates that we think against conventions in order to acquire true democracy. He further insists that we can only achieve democracy by thinking for ourselves
Explain why and how the critiques might be invalid and destructive.
The critiques might be invalid and destructive by inciting people against authorities. Plato and Thoreau create ideal ideas that may not occur in real life situation. These ideas may convince subjects to rise against their authority but never to see the ideas actualize. For instance, it is impossible to engage everyone in making decision because there are large numbers of people. In addition, humans are diverse in numerous ways including ability, thinking and behavior. This makes it impossible to determine the perfect way of living. In addition, it is these human differences that make life interesting (Turner, 2009).
Explain how you might rebut or refute the critiques.
I may refute the ideas of the critiques by publishing my critisms on paper. I will also conduct a debate among opponents and proponents of the critiques in order to gather enough points for my arguments. This will ensure that I defend my position in this matter very well. Along with my arguments, I will also draft a memo outlining the errors presented in the works of the critique.
Share insights and/or draw conclusions based on your evaluation of critiques of democracy.
In conclusion, the critiques are more of relevant after analyzing their relevance versus irrelevance. They address real issues that affect the spread of true democracy such as rigging of elections and lack of commitment by leaders in implementing social policies (Clegg, 2006). The critiques offer ideas that put leaders on toes because they expose all the vices in government. However, the critiques present ideas that are ideal and unrealistic to some measures.
References
Clegg, S. (2006). Power and organizations. New York: SAGE.
Kingsbury, D. (2007). Political development. New York: Routledge.
Marioti, S. (2010). Thoreau’s democratic withdrawal: alienation, participation, and modernity.
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.
Meltzer, M. (2006). Henry David Thoreau: a biography. New York: Twenty-First Century Books.
Turner, J. (2009). A political companion to Henry David Thoreau. Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky.
