Democracy & Authoritarianism: Which is Better

iv>				Government of the Governed caters to the
Compared to the authoritative form of				diversity of mankind. Open forum governments
government, government in its democratic form				like democracies, even representative
has done a better job at reflecting the true will of				democracies, allow for the inclusion of minority
the people.				thinking, for better or for worse. In a democracy
Coming from the Greek words dêmos, meaning				anyone has the ability to try and change the
people, and krátos, meaning power, democracy				government to cater to his or her own unique
has existed in one form or another since ancient				beliefs. Authoritative states have no room for
Athens’ gentry were elected to rule the				such independent thinking. Authoritarians seek to
governed. Democracy is the worst form of				impose their own will on their people. It
government, except all others that have been				doesn’t matter how benevolent the
tried. Was said by Former English Prime				despot is, the government is still a reflection of his
Minister Winston Churchill and even though				own personality and beliefs. There is no room for
government by the common man has hit many				variety. There is only the state’s thinking.
pitfalls throughout history, compared to the				Such freedoms can be seen in the
authoritative nature mankind’s				freedomhouse.org rankings. Democracies, even
governmental history and in some cases				transitional ones like South Africa and Mexico, are
contemporary cases, the will of the people has				ranked and classified as there. Autocratic states
always and will always be the best form of				like Iran’s Theocracy or China’s
government no matter the country’s size				pseudo-communistic state are ranked as not
or ethnic make up.				free’ (Kesselman 34). And as history has
Democracy has spread from nation to nation like				dictated, repressive states can only last as long as
wildfire since the 20th Century. Traditionally				their population is willing to be controlled.
authoritative cultures and countries, such as				Iran exemplifies the instability of autocratic states.
Germany and Russia, have embraced progressive				Every so often the ruling powers hold an election.
government. The nature of democracy’s				The elections are heavily fixed and the ruling
spread is inherently democratic. In nations such as				party, not surprisingly, always wins. Every time
the United States of America and India, the				this happens, the populace vents its anger in the
populace united under the banner of democratic				streets. As seen in the most contemporary round
ideals. The will of the people triumphed over				of elections, the populace’s anger boiled
authoritative installations and then the will of the				over into riots and violence. Compared to the
people put in a government of the people.				United States or Britain, where similar outbreaks
Democracy is sustainable. Because of the electoral				of dissent do happen, but not nearly as regularly
focus of democracy, its success does not rely on				and they aren’t calling for the abolishment
a single personality like most authoritarian states.				of the government, usually its just a protest of
South Africa displays this trait exceptionally. The				policy.
veritable cult of personality that formed around				Democracy’s sustainability can be
Nelson Mandela and his revolutionary movement				attributed to the fact that forums exist for the
that not only displaced the apartheid government,				venting of frustration. People can hold town hall
but it also put Mandela into a position of executive				meetings, protest in the streets, and vote
power. After he left office, more democratic				politicians out of office if they disagree with the
elections took place and a new president was				ruling powers. The only forum in authoritarian
elected. Even though the democratic movement				states is violence.
had lost its face, Mandela, it still continues to				History is rife with authoritative states collapsing
thrive.				and democratic revolutions installing progressive
On the other hand, during the Bolshevik				government. Few states have accomplished the
Revolution after the movement’s driving				inverse. The superiority of democracy exists, if in
personality Vladimir Lenin died the movement				nothing else, its sustainability. Government by the
began to tear itself apart. And while the creation				people for the people lasts as long as the people
of the Soviet Union could be seen as a success,				wish it to.
the violent infighting created a hyper authoritative
mutation of what the revolution started as. And				Work Cited:
while the aim of the Bolsheviks wasn’t to				Kesselman, Mark, Joel Krieger, William Joseph,
install democracy, their hopes shared similar				Amrita Basu, and Ervand Abrahamian. Introduction
characteristics, namely governance by the				to Comparative Politics.
common man.