Hello, readers! School is almost over, but we can always be learning. Something that I learned this year was how the American government--as well as other governments--functions. In one of my homework assignments, I had to compare three forms of government: Oligarchy, Autocracy, and Democracy. I found the assignment very interesting, and I think I learned a lot from doing the research. I put my essay below.
The first form of government that I wish to address is oligarchy. Oligarchy is a form of government in which a country is controlled by a small group of people. Oligarchia is a Greek word that meant few (oligos) rule (arkho). One of the good things about oligarchy is that rather than being headed by one person, like a monarchy, a few different people are all working together to make decisions. In circumstances that are not as large as countries, but something like a small business, having an oligarchic system of running things can be helpful. However, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Aristotle used the term “to designate the rule of the few when it was exercised not by the best but by bad men unjustly.” An oligarchic system wouldn’t be bad, excepting that an oligarchic government is often run by the wealthy few, not just the few. Because of that, while the rich tend to stay rich or get richer, the poor get poorer. Also, the people who are neither rich nor poor don’t exist. In American society, there are rich people, there are poor people, and then there are the people who work to support their families and have enough money, food, etc. but are neither rich nor poor. With oligarchy, there are only two classes. The rich or ruling class, and the poor or serving class. I neither agree nor disagree with having more than one ruler and think that having several rulers working together is a good idea, not a bad one. It’s when the rulers do not think of the people that the problems begin.
Next subject, autocracy. An autocratic government is one in which one person has complete control over others, i.e., a monarchy or dictatorship. The only person who has any choice when it comes to politics is the autocrat. This could be good or bad since it allows the ruler to make decisions instantly rather than waiting around for other people to make decisions. It is good in the sense that they can be made quickly, but it can be bad because there is little or no debating or discussing things with other people. Because of the lack of discussion, the rulers might run out of ideas and lead their country foolishly or for pleasure, rather than with wisdom. Autocracy can be similar to oligarchy because the government is run by the wealthy with no say from the people. There are often no laws or constitutions that prevent the monarch (autocrat) from doing whatever they would so choose. One of the exceptions to this was the Magna Carta, an agreement signed by King John to help make peace between a group of people and the government. It mainly was about religious freedom, swift justice, and illegal imprisonment. I think that a constitutional autocracy would be a very good form of government. Such a form would allow the people to go about their lives without worrying about who to vote for, and the ruler would have to abide by the constitution in the laws that he/she makes.
Last, but certainly not least comes a democratic form of government. A democracy is a form of government where the people choose their government by voting. Democracy has a basis in political freedom, although if there were two ways to vote and everyone voted in the way that was worse, and only one person voted in the right way; than the person who was right would not gain whatever it was that they were trying to gain. The majority of democracies do include a constitution to protect people from the head of authority, but a constitution will not necessarily be adhered to. Democracy, unlike autocracy and oligarchy, was designed so that the people could have a say. It is excellent in the fact that it allows the people to make decisions. It is not excellent because those decisions may be twisted by the government, or possibly not adhered to. They could lie about the vote. For example, in the Lego Movie, one of the lines referring to a major corporation is, “And Octan, they make good stuff: music, dairy products, coffee, TV shows, surveillance systems, all history books, voting machines…” If the vote is a lie, it shouldn’t have any bearing, although it can.
In summary, I believe that the best form of government from these options would be a constitutional democratic oligarchy. A constitution would lay down many basic laws. A democracy would allow the people being governed to choose the government. And an oligarchy would prevent any one person from making immediate decisions. It would be a well-balanced form of government. It would be a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
Sources:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oligarchy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy
https://www.britannica.com/topic/oligarchy
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oligarchy
http://nlcatp.org/7-crucial- pros-and- cons-of- an-oligarchy/
http://occupytheory.org/oligarchy-pros- and-cons- list/
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/autocracy’
http://classroom.synonym.com/types-government- autocracy-democracy- oligarchy-14100.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta
https://www.verywell.com/leadership-styles- 2795312
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy
http://classroom.synonym.com/types-government- autocracy-democracy- oligarchy-14100.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1490017/quotes
http://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions/document_transcripts/Gettysburg_Address_small.pdf
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