Antidemocratic America

Democracy? What a Joke

One may contend that American democracy was doomed from the very beginning. The Constitution itself excluded rights for women and African Americans (save for the mention of slavery.) The framers of the Constitution did not even intend to create a democracy, but a simple republic. “Many of them felt that the nonwealthy majority-an unruly mob-would tyrannize the wealthy minority if given political power” (Edwards 44). Interestingly enough, we now call ourselves a democratic republic, while often operating by the same concept as aforementioned. Democracy is stained by misrepresentation, undistributed voting, inconsistent policies.

While government books would probably say that Congress is the most democratic branch of government, a closer examination would indicate the Congress is not a true representation of the people. The problem has its roots in competition between supposedly equal citizens without taking into account the unequal resources that citizens possess.