Industrialized Democracies AP Comparative Government

Democracy Democracy is made up of the following characteristics Rights: In democratic societies, people have the right to freedom of the press, religion, association, and speech. While there are limits to these concepts, it is widely accepted that people are allowed to express their own views

Democracy Competitive Elections: This concept is supported through the idea that people have the right to choose their government through regular, free, and fair elections between two or more candidates and/or political parties Many countries use different electoral systems to determine who their leader will be In single-member districts only one person per district goes to the legislature. In a proportional member district representation is divided based upon the proportion of the voting populous

Democracy Another important concept of Democracy is that people follow the rule of law Following the rule of law means that people are governed by clear and fair rules rather than by the arbitrary, personal exercise of power People can expect to be treated fairly by the government, both in their routine dealings with the state and in the rare occasions when they have to fight against it Civil Society and Civic Culture Successful democracies have a civic culture in which people accept not just the rules of the political process but the elites who lead them Having a civic culture and a civil society binds people in loyalty to the state

Democracy Most democracies run under the precept that there must be private ownership of the means of production within the state Most industrialized democracies are the richest countries in the world and the majority of their people are literate

Democratic Thought While we trace the roots of democracy back to ancient Greek society, modern democracy dates back to the late eighteenth century The rise of democracy was spurred on because of individualism, capitalism, Protestantism, the emergence of the scientific revolution, and the exploration of the New World Thinkers of this time period felt that the natural world was full of danger and that by creating a society in which people could freely and fairly pursue their own interests would benefit all

Theory Thomas Hobbes claimed that if people were left to their own devices, the competition among them would be so intense that it would lead to the “war of all against all” In order to protect against anarchy, people had no choice but to give up some of their freedom (Leviathan)

Theory John Locke share many of the same ideas that Thomas Hobbes expressed in Leviathan Locke believed that the state’s role was to protect the “life, liberty, and property” of it’s people. The theories of Hobbes and Locke were in line with early capitalists Laissez-faire capitalism was taking root in Europe as the main economic system Those who subscribed to the laissez-faire system of economics felt that the state should be limited and that it should only be a referee in the economic world not an entity that prescribes action.

Suffrage Suffrage is the right to vote and was severely limited in most democracies until the early 20th century The concept of democracy is however rooted in the 1700’s, because monarchs were being limited in the power that could be expressed

Meanings of Left and Right Period Left Right Eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Pro-democratic Anticlerical Pro-market Anti-democratic Proclerical Ambivalent on market Industrial era For socialism and/or welfare state More Pro-democratic Usual proclerical Less positive about welfare state, against socialism Postindustrial era Egalitarian, but qualms about welfare state and socialism as we know them Mostly globalist New Social Issues Pro-market capitalism Traditional values More nationalistic

Gap and other factors In most industrialized democracies something known as the gender gap exists Gender Gap is the difference in voting habits in men and women Many women have flocked to progressive parties, while men have gravitated more towards conservative parties In postmaterialist societies there has been a shift in what voters look for These voters worry about “higher order” values, including job security, self- actualization, and international understanding

New Movements Realignment is beginning to take place throughout many political parties The first step, dealignment, is when people begin to view themselves as more independent from the main political parties The second step is that conservatives redefine what they stand fore Interest Groups Interest groups are groups of people with a specific point of view that push to get people into office who support their point of view and will push legislation that will benefit that point of view