top of page
Pure Democracy
Definition
A democratic government is governed by elected representatives who vote on behalf of their respective constituents. A pure democracy, however, is conducted by the citizens themselves who vote on the issues directly without the need for representation.
Structure
The structure of a pure democracy consists of two parts: the President and the citizens of the country. Voting by the general public may be conducted every month or quarter in order to pass legislation. Though, an emergency vote may be declared by the President whenever such is necessary (e.g., declaration of war).
Since a pure democracy places authoritative powers in the hands of the people, the role of the President essentially becomes a figurehead for the country. The primary responsibility of the President will be to decide which issues should be placed on the ballot regarding their scheduling purposes.
In a pure democracy, the Cabinet (e.g., Secretary of Commerce, Defense, etc.) become advisers to the nation and provide a monthly status of their activities to the general public. They are responsible for providing information regarding their budgets, project schedules, and tentative plans for future months.
Since Tuesday is a workday for most people, perhaps it would be better if the first Saturday of every month became the official day to vote. Rather than using paper ballots, it would be more convenient for people to vote electronically through their local cable/satellite service within their own homes (as purchasing a Pay-Per-View event, the selections chosen during electronic voting would be submitted in similar manner).
The Department of Education will be responsible for presenting the monthly issues in a clear and concise manner for the public to review. By doing so, the issues will be presented at the general education level of the public that won't be swayed by the particular presentation or bias of the media.
Advantages
A major advantage of a pure democracy is that the accuracy of public opinion would be greatly improved since a more direct manner of governing the nation would be provided rather than being handled by the "middle man" (representatives).
Another advantage of a pure democracy is that it provides greater impartiality among the issues due to the lack of a representative being coerced by a biased influence of some kind (e.g., a politician's personal opinion, gifts from special interest groups, etc.). By eliminating political corruption in this manner, a pure democracy is inherently more reliable and trustworthy than a representative form of government.
A pure democracy also eliminates the possibility of "pork" being added to legislation by lawmakers to satisfy their own self-interests. Laws would become more simpler in nature since the proposed legislation will be written with the general public in mind, so bills will become less complex and easier to understand (with fewer loopholes).
Another important advantage of a pure democracy is that it has the possibility of preventing unnecessary war between nations. For example, America's involvement in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq was not reflective of public opinion at the time, and could have been prevented if the citizens of the nation had voted upon the matter. Even a major event such as World War II could have been prevented if the citizens of Germany had voted on the issue beforehand as a pure democracy.
bottom of page