Essay Sample on Problems of the Present Day Democratic Nation State

Introduction

People have always fought for their rights the world over even if they are in democratic societies. In a democratic system of government, the citizens either exercise power directly or they govern themselves through elected representatives who represent them in a system of government such as parliament. Also known as the majority rule, democracy has slippery edges that continue to cause ripples even in the most stable governments (Goldwater). If democratic societies can infringe the rights of citizens, then people might want to consider whether or not democracy is the appropriate means of running a country. In this light, it is vivid that democracies have limitations which need to be resolved so that such democratic states can operate well. Viewing these problems through the observant lenses of other historians and academic pundits, numerous underpinnings associated with democracy have been realized and discussed. Scholars have gone lengths shedding light on issues such as why democracies like that of the US have failed. This paper explores the problems of the modern day democratic modern day nation states especially the United States.

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Compared to other countries, democracy has been so successful in the United States. Despite this observation, there is an increasing view that Americans view democracy with complacency and most Americans can only talk of democracy with negativity. In "Unsustainable Liberalism" Patrick Deneen explores how liberalism has failed democracy more so in the United States. Human souls long for freedom, and this has fueled the commitment to be free in almost every aspect of life. Liberty is inspired by ancient Greece and has always appealed to individuals who have experienced inequality, unjust treatment as well as pervasive poverty. One of the reasons why liberalism is a threat to democracy is that democratically elected governments are continually flouting the principles on which democracy is built. While democracy has been labeled as "flawed" and Deneen (2012) observes that it has failed. This is because the so-called liberals have forgotten the means through which they can defend the liberal democratic values. Also, a spate of articles, books, and opinion pieces tend to talk of the demise of democracy, yet the authors of appearing to speak differently on the subject of democracy defining it differently all the time. Deneen's definition deviates from what Barry Goldwater talks about which is also different from what Mike Lofgren considers as liberalism as it is down to few individuals (deciders) in the government to decide certain aspects of what the public consume in terms of information. The challenge is that the common majority does not really know what liberal democracy means because many scholars do not speak about the same thing, seemingly, the confusions goes beyond just the semantics. It leads to confused thinking that results in the liberals' confused or impaired understanding of their own principles; this in return weakens their politics which favors the opponents who enjoy exploiting the former's verbal ambiguities.

While it is clear that the American political liberty is not in danger, something else is looming as has been observed by Yankelovich (1991). The political participation by the American public is derailed as the decisions are made only by a handful. That is so despite the fact that such decisions significantly affect the lives of all Americans. Decision-making is done by scientific experts, economic experts, trade, media, and PR experts. However detrimental, the arrangements are done by individuals in the corporate boardrooms in Washington, the state legislature, the Wall Street and city halls. Democracy asserts that the government has to be for the people and by the people-the public, on the contrary, critical decisions are less shaped by the American public. From this perspective, it appears that liberalism and democracy do not seem to conflate however much the two words have been used side by side. The truth is, Yankelovich (1991) Observes, the gap that appears a considerable gap exists between the general public and the experts or the so-called policymakers. History also has it that the proponents of liberalism including Benjamin Constant were not even Democrats. Democracy was considered to be associated with mob rule and chaos, and it is right to say that liberalism was brought to contain democracy.

Mike Lofgren in his essay "The Deep State" presents a subtle facet-a hidden perspective of American politics that has not often been explicitly explored before. The vaunted American political system is a complex has become what appears as a well-scripted reality TV show. The manner in which politics intertwines with other with other matters such as security as led by the department of defense, the justice department, the homeland security, the department of state and the Central Intelligence Agency. These are the components of what Lofgren calls the "deep state." The US government is divided into two: the visible state and the invisible state. The Visible state is the physical aspects that can be seen embodied in the neoclassical buildings in Washington D.C and is represented by the Capitol or the White House. The invisible facet of the government is stressed by the author as the most fascinating as it is the indefinable underground force that runs the nation. The invisible government is beneath what meets the eye; what Americans can see. It exists as a hybrid entity of private and public institutions and rules the nation through a web of controlled patterns and monitored closely by the visible government which pulls all the strings. The deep state is equivalent to the invisible government, and its force is massive around the nation's capital because of Washington D.Cs expansion and the amount of cash flow around the city. The truth is that the deep state does not explicitly care about democracy or the needs of the people. It is aligned exclusively on the interest of the US government including corporate benefits, trade policies, defense decisions and other priorities that have very little to do with the interests of the American people. Lofgren (2016) argues that due to such interests, American citizens have constantly fought against and demonstrated to show their discontentment on issues such as surveillance on all electronic communications which infringe the rights to privacy and freedom of expression. The decisions and policies that drive those interests are beyond what ordinary Americans can fathom. The forces come from powerful and complex corridors that involve the prowess of the military.

Unlike the relatively small direct democracies like ancient Athens, these issues or problems of democracy are more likely to occur in the modern day nation states because the organization of modern societies has evolved with time. The interests and priorities of societies today have changed due to certain complex experiences such as terrorism, economic affairs, and foreign policies and so much more. Ancient societies were not so complex, and the needs and interest then were so much different from what those of the modern societies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, today's democratic nation states or societies are faced by specific challenges that have gone against the core principles of democracy. Liberalism no longer serves to complement the basic understanding for which democracy stands. The forces of deep state have taken over democratic systems of the government putting other interests before those of the citizens. It is appalling that in as much as people live in democratic societies, they still have to fight for their rights constantly. That means if democracy is not a joke at the moment, then it is in grave danger.

Works Cited

Deneen, Patrick J. "Unsustainable Liberalism." First Things225 (2012): 25-31.

Goldwater, Barry Morris. The conscience of a conservative. Princeton University Press, 2007.

Lofgren, Mike. The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government. Penguin, 2016.

Yankelovich, Daniel. Coming to public judgment: Making democracy work in a complex world. Syracuse University Press, 1991.