A Better System of Government

A detailed Summary of A Better System of Government

The term "democracy" which means, ?rule by the people?, originated from the Greek city-states in the Fifth Century BC. It was designed to allow citizens to have a voice in the making of decisions that would affect everyone. Characterized as government of the people, by the people, for the people, it is illegitimate for a democratic government to serve other than public purposes, for any such activity necessarily serves private purposes. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said that "The true forms of government ... are those in which the one, or the few, or the many govern, with a view to the common interest?" Democratic government is about public purposes wherein the government itself should be the servant of the people, rather than their master for the strength of real democracy depends on certain fundamental rights and freedoms. These rights and freedoms must be protected to make sure that a democracy will succeed

In a Constitutional Democracy the authority of the majority is limited by legal and institutional means so that the rights of individuals and minorities are respected. Most, but not all, democracies are based on a written constitution or a supreme law that serves to guide legislators and the laws they make. Writt

In a Presidential system, the President is the chief executive as well as the symbolic head of government. The president is elected for a specified period directly by the people. He or she is chosen by a separate election from that of the legislature. (Kurian, 1998:60) The chief executive or head of government is not a member of the legislature and serves a term fixed by the constitution. The president can be removed only in strange circumstances such as impeachment and trial proceedings. Since the executive may exercise some power over the legislature, and vice versa, the executive can veto legislation passed by the legislature while the legislature can limit the actions of the executive by cutting off funds for specific executive activities.

By way of their direct election, a president may appear more powerful than a prime minister. The weakness of separately elected presidents and legislatures is potential stalemate. (Riggs, 1996:40) Party discipline, therefore, is considerably weaker than in a parliamentary system. The president cannot, for example, dismiss or discipline rebellious party members as a prime minister usually can. A prime minister with a firm parliamentary majority is assured of passage of the government's legislative program while a president dealing with a congress that is jealous of its own choices will often engage in slow negotiations to ensure a bill's passage.

In Parliamentary Systems, the chief executive, usually called the prime minister, is chosen from among the members of the legislature. He appoints Cabinet Ministers that are typically themselves, legislative members from the ruling party or ruling coalition. (Kurian, 1998:60) Thus, in a parliamentary system, the constituency of the executive and legislature are the same. If the ruling party is voted out of the legislature, the executive also changes. That is why continued cooperation between the executive and legislature is required for the government to survive and to be effective in carrying out its programs. The Prime Minister can be removed from office through a 'no-confidence' motion filed by the opposition or a coalition of opposition parties. (Riggs, 1996:40) This motion calls for a vote in the legislature to show that the legislature no longer has confidence in the Prime Minister and his cabinet. If the vote passes by a majority, the executive, including the Prime Minister, is forced to step down. Since the Prime Minister and his cabinet of

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Approximate Word count = 1652
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics