Legitimate Authority

Why does political power need legitimation?

Without Legitimation governments would have absolute unchecked power,
it is the only thing stopping our democratic government from becoming a
dictatorship. Democracy first saw its rise in the past with the American
and French revolutions and with the overthrow of monarchist governments
around the world. People had become sick of the absolute unquestioned,
unwavering rule that had been the law of the land for generations. The
beauty of our current system of government is that it values the voice of
the people above anyone else, if the people dont like how the nation is
being handled then when the next election comes they will use the ballot
boxes to change it, the government is kept in line by the possibility that
anything they do can have repercussions down the line if it rubs the public
the wrong way. The constitutional separation of powers also helps the
arms of the government keep each other under control, the judiciary
which is independent from the legislature and the executive is allowed to
overturn government made decisions should they believe them to be
immoral, it is their independence that allows them to do that. If all else
fails there is always the watchful eye of The Queens direct representative,
the Governor General, who should the need arise, may remove a minister
from power or reject a proposed bill should he see it as unsatisfactory. It is
these restraints that keep our governing body in check and ensures a
democratic and free society.

Have the virtues of democracy been overstated?

To a degree yes, I believe that some of democracies virtues have been
overstated, but as Winston Churchill said Democracy is the worst form
of government, except for all the others that have been tried.1 I believe
he meant though democracy is as flawed as it is, is far and away more
effective then alternative forms (anarchy, divine monarchy, dictatorship).
But so far it is the best solution we have to governing a country and the
principles behind it are what make it so. The backing force of democracy is
the idea of power to the people, we have innumerable rights to protect
our freedom and liberty, we are free of tyranny and have the right to
speak our own minds and make our own choices. When it all comes down
to it we choose who governs out country every four years, how many
other countries can claim this? In china by speaking out you can be
thrown in jail, or those in Zimbabwe who have been governed by Robert
Mugabe for almost 38 years, who abuses his power as leader to seize land
and resources from those under him forcing many people to flee from the
country. I wont go as far as to say that democracy is taken for granted but
the virtues brought by it can never be over stated, freedom and liberty
goes unappreciated in the first world, but all over the world peoples
freedoms are being withheld from them by those above them whose
actions and decisions go unchecked by anyone.

James Biorci
References
1
W. Churchill 1947
Anon, (2017). Have the virtues of democracy been overstated. [online]
Available at: https://www.quora.com/Have-the-virtues-of-democracy-
been-overstated [Accessed 13 Mar. 2017].
Articlemyriad.com. (2017). A Comparison of the French Revolution and
American Revolution. [online] Available at:
http://www.articlemyriad.com/comparison-french-american-revolution/
[Accessed 15 Mar. 2017].
HISTORY.com. (2017). Robert Mugabe - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com.
[online] Available at: http://www.history.com/topics/robert-mugabe
[Accessed 13 Mar. 2017].
Richard M. Langworth. (2017). "Democracy is the worst form of
Government..." - Richard M. Langworth. [online] Available at:
https://richardlangworth.com/worst-form-of-government [Accessed 15
Mar. 2017].

James