It is a logically unsound to surmise that most effective of all that exists is equal to the most effective that can exist. This error of inference has led the populous to believe that democracy will always be the ideal form of government. This state of mind in unison with human amenability has led to the termination of government structure reform. This is unfortunately due to the underlying law: “perception is reality.” The appeal of the illusionary tenets of democracy is responsible for its overwhelming acceptance. As long as this appeal remains, so will the people’s reluctance to question.
Democracy is defined as “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.” (New Oxford American Diction). The United States’ democracy is primarily founded on the notion of utilitarianism. An example of this utilitarian value is the “winner-take-all” nature of electoral votes. This eliminates representational diversity and demotes public opinion diversity.
The primary source of the United States’ democracy flaws is not only the potential exploitation of representational power, but public neglect. After the 2000 general election, in which president Bush lost the public vote but won the electoral college (and thus became president), the system (arguably for the first time) was put into question. However, after the supreme court ruling in favor of the electoral college, this public questioning perished. Therefore, it seems as though this questioning was specific to the outcome of the election, rather than the validity of the system.
This negligence is exacerbated with general unintelligence and disinterest in politics. Which is supported by an average of 50% of the United States population voting in presidential elections, and increasingly less for congressional and local.
All indigence created by the decisions of America’s government can be attributed to these flaws. The notion that the majority wins, leads to all minorities losing. Losing in elections, thus influence of decisions, and ultimately losing all representation. Any decision that is made by the government from which discontent arises can be traced by to the notion that the majority wins. A more appropriate tenet would be that no man goes unrepresented. This would lead to power of all the people, rather than power of the majority of the people. A government based on this notion would be proportional representation or no representation at all, and direct voting on subjects which would be implemented as a compromise.