This documents contain all my essays which were on predicted/debate questions for chapter 1, democracy and participation, of the politics edexcel a level course. The essays aren't marked and so my price is lower but I received A* in all my mocks and in my final A level exam which I sat in 2024. I a...
Evaluate the view that direct democracy is a desirable way of governing a country
(30).
Direct democracy is a democracy where people vote for political decisions directly. In
the UK referendums are usually used as a form of direct democracy. Whether direct
democracy is a desirable way of governing a country is a contentious issues. Some
argue that it is desirable because it is the purest form of democracy and it causes
decisions to have great legitimacy. This essay will argue that direct democracy is not
a desirable way of governing a country because (i) it neglects the view of the
minority, and (ii) it could cause damage to the political system.
Direct democracy is not a desirable way of governing a country because, if adopted,
could cause minorities political voices to be neglected. This is because it would lead
to tyranny of the majority which is where the majority have an absolute power over
the minority. This point can be illustrated by the example of the Brexit referendum in
2016 where 52% of the population voted for triggering Article 50 whereas 48% voted
against this. As this was an example of direct democracy it meant that only the
majorities views were considered and the thus that the minority’s vote was entirely
neglected by the government. In contrast, a representative democracy is more likely
to stimulate compromise. For example, after the Brexit referendum The Prime
Minister at the time Theresa May attempted to push ‘soft brexit’ through parliament in
recognition that compromise was important. It is important that a political system
promotes compromise and consensus because it prevents people feeling as if their
voices have been neglected by the government. As direct democracy doesn’t allow
for consensus because it leads to tyranny of the majority it should not be adopted as
a political system.
On the other hand, it could be argued that direct democracy is desirable because it
would help everyones political voice to be of equal value. This is because in a direct
democracy every person can cast a vote and this vote has an equal influence on the
outcome. In contrast, in a representative democracies the electoral system used can
often cause people’s vote to have different value depending on which constituency
they live in. This is particularly the case in the UK where FPTP (First Past The Post)
leads to disproportionate results. For example, The Electoral Reform Commission
estimates that in 2019 70.8% of votes were wasted in the sense that they did not
change the overall outcome of the election. This is particularly because as a plurality
system FPTP leads to safe seats (seats where the same party retains the seat from
election to election) and so if one votes for a party different to the party which holds
the same seat their vote is essentially wasted. This is an issue because it
undermines a fundamental principle of liberal democracy which is that countries
should have fair elections where everyones vote has equal influence on the
outcome. As direct democracy makes it more likely for this to be achieved it could be
concluded that it is a desirable political system. However, this argument is weak
because it is not an argument in support of direct democracy being adopted but
rather an argument against the FPTP electoral system. It is possible for a
representative democracy to adopt a proportional electoral system which doesn’t
cause wasted votes, even if this is not the case in the UK, and thus the argument
, that representative democracy doesn’t cause fair elections cannot be posited as an
argument in support of direct democracy.
Direct democracy is not a desirable political system because it could cause political
decisions to be made on the basis of emotional appeals. This is an issue because if
decisions are made based on misinformation then it is likely that the decisions could
damage democracy. For example, many assert that in 2016 both sides of the
campaign used false information to entice people to vote for their proposal. For
example, the leave side wrote on busses that the UK sends the EU £350million per
week which has since been proved to be incorrect. This is an issue because it
damages the legitimacy of political decisions as it means that people are making
decisions based on false information or their own prejudices. In contrast, in a
representative democracy where representatives make decisions on your behalf this
issue is bypassed. So, direct democracy is not a desirable political system.
on the other hand, it could be argued that direct democracy is a desirable political
system because it is the purest form of democracy. This means that decisions
usually have great legitimacy (legitimacy can be defined as the rightful exercise of
power). This can then cause a stability within the political system as legitimacy
means that political decisions are less likely to be reversed. For example, Tony Blair
frequently used referendums to confirm whether constitutional proposals should
occur since their decisions would have great legitimacy. This occurred in 1998 when
there were two refrendums on whether devolution should take place in Wales and
Scotland and in 1999 there was a referendum on whether devolution should take
place in Ireland. This means that if political decisions where decided by a pure form
of democracy then it could cause political decisions to be more entrenched which is
beneficial since it brings stability within society. So, some may conclude that this
legitimacy means that a pure democracy is desirable. However, this argument is
weak because it falsely assumes that entrenchment is positive. One function of a
political system is to represent the will of the people and if this cannot be achieved
because the argument is posited that people previously confirmed the policy then it
causes the political system not to be desirable. As this is likely to be the case if direct
democracy was adopted it is clear that direct democracy is not desirable.
35
P- not a desirable way because it leads to tyranny of the majority.
E- Brexit EU referendum 48% of the populations voice was not heard/
neglected. In contrast, within a representative democracy compromises have
to be made. Brexit policies-
E-
A- why its important that people have their voice heard and don’t feel
negelected is because it is a key principle of a liberal democracy. – prevents a
breakdown in communication between the government and the governed.
Direct democracy should be adopted beause it would reinforce the idea of fair
elections. – everyones vote would be of equal value. Something that
representative systems do not have- for example this is notthe cas ein the UK
because of the FPTP electoral system.
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