List and explain what Tocqueville sees as the primary threats to Liberty in a modern democratic society AND do you think United States…or even our MKA community…takes sufficient care to prevent or minimize these threats?
1. The tyranny of the majority over public opinion a. He believes that the majority had the ability to gain too much power. This causes problems because the only just way to rule a society is democratically which relies upon majority opinion. This then risks the chance of despotism developing, and thus checks on the majority should always exist. b. We believe that in the United States there are some safe guards against majority rule, for example we have two houses of Congress and thus more voices can be heard. Congress also doesn’t have to be the same political party as the president, also allowing more voice to be heard. The American justice system also has the opinion of an appeal, allowing you to fight back against the majority rule of jury. c. However, we believe in our MKA community there are less safe guards against majority rule. We take many different surveys, and some of them ask us to rank our preferences which we think also helps the majority rule. Because of all these surveys specific opinions can’t be heard. 2. The ability to distinguish between equality and liberty a. Equality is easier to understand and define than liberty, so often people don’t understand when their liberty is being taken away and don’t object as much. b. In the MKA community there is more focus on equality than liberty, but ironically we believe that this focus on equality takes away opportunities to properly understand each other. For example, the diversity lunches say they promote equality but many members of the MKA community who would like to go are not allowed to because they are not the right race of ethnicity. How can we understand different life styles then our own and promote equality if we are not invited to listen? We believe that though MKA states they try and protect equality, it often does not work.
Tocqueville fears that the majority might become too powerful. 1) Eventually the majority would become too powerful which would impact the idea of Democracy, because only one side's ideas would be represented in the overall population. - As a safeguard to a potential majority "overruling" we have checks and balances within our government in order to protect the minority. 2) Democracy is favorable to the growth of manufacturers. Therefore manufacturers gain powerful positions which allow them to exploit the workman. Additionally the exploitation of the workman is incentive by the aristocracy of the manufacturers. -Unions attempt to prevent the Aristocracy of manufacturers, however, historically, and as recent legislation would indicate, labor organizations are under consistent threat of weakening power. With the weakening of labor unions, the aristocracy of manufacturers is strengthened.
Tocqueville believed that a primary threat to liberty is the power of the majority over the public opinion. Tocquecille goes on to say "I know no country in which there is so little true independence of mind and freedom of discussion as in America." He says how that in Europe religious and political theories can be propagated but in the US only one authority can decide what can be propagated. With only one authority that decides it is obviously a primary threat to the liberty of the people who have their opinions. furthermore, he also speaks about how equality is "easier to taste" (568) since men experience equality instantaneously and are traced from the source, however freedom, liberty is only seen in a length of time, not instantaneously. All in all the tyranny of the majority is a primary threat to the modern democratic society.
I believe that the US and MKA do at some extent take sufficient care to prevent or minimize these threats. For example, the checks and balances system in the US is specifically made so that there is no corruption and so that the tyranny of the majority, so that each branch of government can be regulated and made equal. At MKA, we have an MKA handbook that is signed by both the parents and students so that each student is bound by the same rules and there is not one student that cannot do whatever he wants, yet they still have the right to express themselves and have liberties such as frees, going out to lunch, and etc.
Madeleine
ReplyDeleteBridget
Emily
Primary threats to liberty:
1. The tyranny of the majority over public opinion
a. He believes that the majority had the ability to gain too much power. This causes problems because the only just way to rule a society is democratically which relies upon majority opinion. This then risks the chance of despotism developing, and thus checks on the majority should always exist.
b. We believe that in the United States there are some safe guards against majority rule, for example we have two houses of Congress and thus more voices can be heard. Congress also doesn’t have to be the same political party as the president, also allowing more voice to be heard. The American justice system also has the opinion of an appeal, allowing you to fight back against the majority rule of jury.
c. However, we believe in our MKA community there are less safe guards against majority rule. We take many different surveys, and some of them ask us to rank our preferences which we think also helps the majority rule. Because of all these surveys specific opinions can’t be heard.
2. The ability to distinguish between equality and liberty
a. Equality is easier to understand and define than liberty, so often people don’t understand when their liberty is being taken away and don’t object as much.
b. In the MKA community there is more focus on equality than liberty, but ironically we believe that this focus on equality takes away opportunities to properly understand each other. For example, the diversity lunches say they promote equality but many members of the MKA community who would like to go are not allowed to because they are not the right race of ethnicity. How can we understand different life styles then our own and promote equality if we are not invited to listen? We believe that though MKA states they try and protect equality, it often does not work.
Ian Notkin
ReplyDeleteJake Kleinbaum
Tocqueville fears that the majority might become too powerful.
1) Eventually the majority would become too powerful which would impact the idea of Democracy, because only one side's ideas would be represented in the overall population.
- As a safeguard to a potential majority "overruling" we have checks and balances within our government in order to protect the minority.
2) Democracy is favorable to the growth of manufacturers. Therefore manufacturers gain powerful positions which allow them to exploit the workman. Additionally the exploitation of the workman is incentive by the aristocracy of the manufacturers.
-Unions attempt to prevent the Aristocracy of manufacturers, however, historically, and as recent legislation would indicate, labor organizations are under consistent threat of weakening power. With the weakening of labor unions, the aristocracy of manufacturers is strengthened.
Post from Mauricio and Greg. And Max.
ReplyDeleteTocqueville believed that a primary threat to liberty is the power of the majority over the public opinion. Tocquecille goes on to say "I know no country in which there is so little true independence of mind and freedom of discussion as in America." He says how that in Europe religious and political theories can be propagated but in the US only one authority can decide what can be propagated. With only one authority that decides it is obviously a primary threat to the liberty of the people who have their opinions. furthermore, he also speaks about how equality is "easier to taste" (568) since men experience equality instantaneously and are traced from the source, however freedom, liberty is only seen in a length of time, not instantaneously. All in all the tyranny of the majority is a primary threat to the modern democratic society.
I believe that the US and MKA do at some extent take sufficient care to prevent or minimize these threats. For example, the checks and balances system in the US is specifically made so that there is no corruption and so that the tyranny of the majority, so that each branch of government can be regulated and made equal. At MKA, we have an MKA handbook that is signed by both the parents and students so that each student is bound by the same rules and there is not one student that cannot do whatever he wants, yet they still have the right to express themselves and have liberties such as frees, going out to lunch, and etc.