Document Type
Poster Session
Department
Sociology
Faculty Mentor
Jono Anzalone
Keywords
Democracy, Politics, Society, Government
Abstract
In order to answer the question “What could and/or should be done to strengthen democracy?” It is necessary to look at the way decisions are made and how power is distributed and held in our government, which currently operates as a representative democracy. Some critics of this representative democracy express that the U.S. government currently works more as a spectacle for officials rather than actually representing what the citizens want and also questions whether our system is still operating as a true democracy, or if it is moving toward authoritarianism. A solution to these issues is moving toward a combination of direct democracy and participatory democratic systems. Participatory democracy involves consensus decision making which allows everyone’s opinions and voices to be heard and taken into account. The idea of consensus decision making incorporates shared leadership, where everyone has leadership power within the group. While participatory democracy wouldn’t be extremely effective on such a large scale as the United States government, incorporating parts of it into the democratic system of the United States would decrease inequalities, increase empowerment and civic engagement, and help remove bureaucratic barriers. Participatory democracy has been connected to better trust within communities, leading to more sustainable solutions due to a variety of perspectives and diverse voices and the lack of fear from the control of “power over” systems. Direct democratic systems are often not utilized by large nations due to the slow, often complicated nature of the decision-making processes, however the way our current government system operates is also very slow and complicated and often doesn’t actually represent the population’s wants and needs. If both systems are complex, time-consuming and difficult to carry out, we could move toward direct democracy which minimizes inequalities and discrimination in our societies. My poster presentation would explain why a change in our government is needed, discuss what these complex systems entail, and provide a new perspective on the efficacy of political participation.
How We Can Make Representative Democracy Actually Representative
In order to answer the question “What could and/or should be done to strengthen democracy?” It is necessary to look at the way decisions are made and how power is distributed and held in our government, which currently operates as a representative democracy. Some critics of this representative democracy express that the U.S. government currently works more as a spectacle for officials rather than actually representing what the citizens want and also questions whether our system is still operating as a true democracy, or if it is moving toward authoritarianism. A solution to these issues is moving toward a combination of direct democracy and participatory democratic systems. Participatory democracy involves consensus decision making which allows everyone’s opinions and voices to be heard and taken into account. The idea of consensus decision making incorporates shared leadership, where everyone has leadership power within the group. While participatory democracy wouldn’t be extremely effective on such a large scale as the United States government, incorporating parts of it into the democratic system of the United States would decrease inequalities, increase empowerment and civic engagement, and help remove bureaucratic barriers. Participatory democracy has been connected to better trust within communities, leading to more sustainable solutions due to a variety of perspectives and diverse voices and the lack of fear from the control of “power over” systems. Direct democratic systems are often not utilized by large nations due to the slow, often complicated nature of the decision-making processes, however the way our current government system operates is also very slow and complicated and often doesn’t actually represent the population’s wants and needs. If both systems are complex, time-consuming and difficult to carry out, we could move toward direct democracy which minimizes inequalities and discrimination in our societies. My poster presentation would explain why a change in our government is needed, discuss what these complex systems entail, and provide a new perspective on the efficacy of political participation.
