In present time democracy has evolved form a direct one to an indirect or representative model known as modern democracy. Modern democracy owes its origin to the radical reforms in France known as the French known as modern democracy. Modern democracy owes its origin to in the radical reforms in France known as the French Revolution and has since evolved to become the most dominant political ideology of our time. Francis Fukuyama in his book “the end of history and the last man” depict democracy as the last and most successful political ideas for the world. One therefore stands justified due to the reason that are about to be stated to imply that democracy is the best form of government.
THE DEMOCRATIC VALUE: “Freedom or liberty means the ability to think or act as one wishes” (Andrew Haywood, 2002, 2003) Modern democracy offers as it is basic building blocks the principles of liberty and the right which lays emphasis’s on the individual and the masses. Democracy sees logic in up holding the basic and God given rights which should accorded to every human being and guarded against by the government of every country. John Stuart Mill (180:73) talks about the idea of free dom of the individual should be guaranteed in the state as long dose not harm the individual. This believe which is very much welcomed by the nations of the world and it is government in order to make the world a much safer place with institution like the Untied nations and European Union to see to it that this ideas are realized for the good of humanity by fighting autocracy, aristocracy and many more which invest absolute power in the hand of individual without checks.
Globalization: Globalization defined by Anthony Gidden as the “intensification of the world wide social relations which links distant localities in such away that local happening are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa”. (Gidden 1990, 21). Furthermore Jan Aart Scholte globalization as “De territorial or...the growth of supraterritorial relations between people”. (Scholte 2000, 46). Modern democracy a basic machinery of the most prevalent world order of present times, meaning that any nation which seeks to develop it’s general progress at a fast and steady rate finds democracy as one sure way of doing so. This is evident by the statement describing the result of globalization as “a shift of social organization, the emergence of the world as shared social space, the relative deterritorialization of social, economic and political activity and the relative denationalization of power. (Baylis and Smith, 2001,24).This can to a world where political government and the nations are more at ease with each other internal and external conflict less likely to occur in the realm of international and local politics.
THE ELEMENTS OF GOVERNANCE: Perhaps the most remarkable and vital argument of modern Democracy being described as the best form of government. Modern democracy has been adopted by many governments due to couple of reasons which is stated below.
Representation: The basic difference between ancient democracy and the modern form of it. In his Gettysburg speech delivered during the American civil war Abraham Lincoln (President of United states, 1809-186) explained the virtues of what he called “government of the people, by the people and for the people” (Haywood 2004,221). This explains the point that of high level of public participation in the governance of the state by electing representatives who become accountable to the electorate. This brings to bear a political system the virtues of trusteeship, delegation of power and resemblance to ensure that the elected few will have the will of the masses at heart. Representation is very vital in the sense as Edmund Burke (1729-97 A Dublin born uk statesman and political theorist) state that “You choose a member indeed; but when you have chosen him he is not a member of Bristol, but he a member of parliament.... Your representative owes you, not his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to you opinion (Burke, 1975:157) For Burke the value of representation must serve ones people with exercise of mature judgment and enlightened conscience in which the representative who are educated to help the less fortunate which happens to be one of the motives and modern democracy.
Periodically Elections and Referendums: “Election is a device for filling an office or post through choices made by a designated body: the electorate (Haywood 2002, 229) Furthermore Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950 Moravian born US Economist and Socialist) in his book ‘Capitalism, Socialism and democracy (1942), portrays Modern Democracy as an Institutional Arrangement: as means of fulfilling public office by a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.
In other words Schumpeter was pointing to the fact that ‘the democratic elements in voting is the opportunity of the people to accept or reject the men who rule them just as many thinkers have also portrayed as the very heart of the democratic process. Election stands to be justified as an excellent way of governance through making of government, providing representation, building of legitimacy and checking the powers of the public officials in terms of re-election and vote of no confidence.
Separation of powers checks and balance: Thinkers like James Madison (US States man and political philosopher, 1741-1863) strongly proposed in the US constitution that of separation of power and checks and balances. The principle can be described as the “internal tension within the governmental system that result from institutional fragmentation”( Haywood,2003,315) A distinction between the three arms of governments which is the Judiciary, Executive, and Legislature in such a way as to define liberty and restrict one arm from having absolute rule. With operating modes like delegation of power, representation and scrutiny. These arms of government are restricted having absolute power making modern democracy a very trusted form of government in fighting the problem of autocracy in the world.
Constitutionalism: “A government without a law is like power with rights” (John Pain, rights Of Man 1795). Louis Hartz gives a true model constitutionalism in the American political system when he calls in the “cult of constitutional worship”. (Haywood, 2002, 302). The provision of modern Democracy is relation to constitutionalism is very much evident, for example the political stability, the limitation of government and guaranteed liberties and rights.
Rules of Law: Describe as a core liberal democratic principle. It seeks to create a framework to which all conducts is conformed; the equal application of the law, the supremacy of the law, the observance of the basic human rights and the strengthening of the social contract. An atmosphere of peace is created in a state with the observance of the laws of the state, rapid development of social lives due to the New Delhi agreement on the social amenity provision by the governments to ensure that not political lives of the people are developed but also their economic lives.
To sum up, modern democracy has provided the world with the best form of government in comparison to others like Marxism and monarchical rule. It as on many ways liberated humanity from absolute rule in the occasion of the French, American and English Revolution, where modern democracy has given the less privileged the rights to determine their destinies and lives. It is quiet evident that the basic logic behind all political ideas is to give a sense of justification to exist and to be patronized but in the mist of this, modern democracy has provided the best interpretation and execution of the values of freedom, representation, liberty coupled with virtues of high civic response bility is vital for human existence and development.
BIBLOGARHY
Baylis J and Smith S.2001 the Globalization of world politics
Hobhouse, L T 1977 Liberalism
Haywood, A 2004 Political Theory (An Introduction)
Haywood, A 2002 Politics (2nd Edition)
