"Politics is not a game. It is an earnest business."



    

    

"Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."—Sydney J. Harris

            All people are reasonable, responsible, and respectful of others, and have the capacity to make decisions by themselves, through voices of representatives. In an ideal political system, a modern liberal democracy is

"Democracy is the government
of the people, by the people,
for the people."
—Abraham Lincoln

utilized with guaranteed rights and freedoms to all people. Fundamental individual liberties override authoritarian rule. All humans are equal, no matter what race, culture, religion, gender, or status, and should be treated as such. Equality of opportunity is maintained, particularly in the democratic process of voting for representatives into legislative organization, which includes multiple parties and viewpoints. As Montesquieu advocated, power is divided into three branches—executive, legislative, and judicial—in order to prevent the accumulation of power in one hand. Also, power is checked and branches are held accountable for their actions through this checks and balances system.

          In an ideal political system, decisions are made via a proportional representative democracy, so that all citizens have a voice and every vote counts. Unlike Hitler or Stalin’s authoritarian regimes with absolute power accumulated in one leader, power is spread throughout the representatives of the people. In an ideal political system, party solidarity is eliminated; representatives are not forced to vote along party lines. This way, the people’s voices are not silenced by the automatic vote by their representatives’ party. Having representatives speak for the people they are representing, not the party they are a member of, ensures that the will of the people is not silenced by the governing party’s wishes.

“The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.”—Thomas Jefferson

This is a compromise between direct democracy and a representative government with party solidarity; it is not as inefficient as direct democracy, yet the views of the people are still voiced loudly. In the event of a minority government, an opposition party keeps the party in power in check. Ideally, elections of representatives take place every four years to ensure majority governments do not get overzealous in their roles.

“To govern according to the sense and agreement of the interests of the people is a great and glorious object of governance. This object cannot be obtained but through the medium of popular election.”—Edmund Burke