Mid-Term Examination: Part Two
What does the struggle to achieve Civil Rights say about the quality of democracy in America?
The American civil rights movement gained prominence in the mid-1950s in the southern United States and was characterized by mass protests by the descendants of African salves against racial discrimination and segregation. Even as the emancipation of American slaves occurred after the Civil War, coupled with their being granted basic civil rights courtesy of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States, the fact that these struggles culminated into the Civil Rights Movements is enough testament that the quality of democracy in the United States was still wanting. On the one hand, we had the whites who reigned supreme in terms of the privileges and rights that they enjoyed over blacks (Bianco & Canon, 2013). Such privileges and rights included having whites-only schools and public places. On the other hand we had the African Americans, the descendants of the African slaves, who still experienced racial discrimination and segregation
a) Discuss how the progress of the Civil Rights Movement was affected by the Madisonian institutions of American democracy;
Madisonian democracy is a term used in reference to a complex democracy that integrates protection of individual rights and minorities in some areas and majoritarian democracy in others (Rauch, 1995). In this case, majoritarian power is put under checks so as to curtail the probability of tyrannical uses or abuses of power. Cook contends that “the Madisonian foundations of American constitutional design manifest themselves most clearly as a configuration of institutional incentives” (2014). From an institutional context, the aim of these incentives is to channel self-interested motives likely to result to tyranny and factionalism. In this way, it is hoped that in the pursuit of self-interest, political actors will start relying on deliberation and reason, thus enabling them to commit to and envision a bigger and more permanent interest in addition to fostering policy on the basis of good sense, compromise, and moderation (Rauch, 1995).
b) Discuss and Analyze the events of the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of each of the three competing images of American democracy in practice (elite theory, pluralist, and hyper- pluralist).
The pluralist theory holds that groups characterized by shared interests determines public policy via organized efforts aimed at pressing their concerns. According to this theory, although groups go against one another with the aim of controlling public policy, none of them seeks to dominate. Should a group lose in one arena, it is free to pursue another arena. Moreover, pluralists contend that compromise and bargaining are key ingredients for democracy (Rauch, 1995). Pluralists remain upbeat that in the creation of public policy, public interest reigns supreme.
In line with the above arguments of the pluralist theory, the Civil Rights Movements were formed by groups of people who felt that they were being discriminated against on account of their race. They were also seeking to push in the fight for unequal segregation, disenfranchisement, as well as different types of oppression. They sought to achieve this through nonviolent civil disobedience and protests in an effort to bring about change.
The elite theory argues that class lines divide our society. They further claim that irrespective of governmental organization, the elite (or upper class) rules. Thus, policies are made by a few Americans with wealth acting as the foundation of class power. Many social scientists appear to be in agreement that the best way to understand American politics is via the generalization that a comparatively wealthy and small group of people hold nearly all political power (Rauch, 1995). These small group of wealthy people share similar interests and values and they also tend to come form comparatively related privileged backgrounds.
Majority of the top leaders in virtually all the key sectors of the economy also come from the aforementioned social group. In this regard, elite theorists argue that there is a high degree of interrelatedness between frequent social interaction and old school ties, thereby enabling coordination between individuals in government, cultural and educational establishments, government, and civic organizations (Tocqueville, 2000).
The Civil Rights Movement brought to the fore the huge disparities between the Blacks and Whites based on a characteristic mix of social, cultural, and economic practices. A small group of whites who were extremely rich also influenced decisions in society on account of their wealth.
On the other hand, hyperpluralists argue that the government is unable to act when there are a lot of influential groups in place. They further claim that many groups already possess a lot of powers to the extent that the government has become weaker, as a consequence. At the same time, the number of groups that can access the various branches and levels are just too many (Rauch, 1995). Such groups also tend to have various strategies of preventing policies that they are opposed to, even as they endeavor to promote policies they are in support of. As politicians attempt to pacify each group, this leads to contradictory, muddled, and confusing policy. Sometimes, no policies are realized. The progression of the Civil Rights Movements is a classic example of the extent to which the government can become weakened when we have in place many influential groups.
c) Based on your analysis of the three competing perspectives, which do you think most accurately explains American politics and democracy?
The hyper pluralism theory most accurately explains American politics and democracy. This is because American politics are today characterized by a lot of intense lobbying by organizations and groups with like-minded policies. Passing of bills into law is also characterized by this same high level of lobbying. The same trend is seen in industries such as the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries whereby powerful power brokers and barons influence policies, mostly through their financial capabilities.
Reference List
Bianco, W.T., & Canon, D.T. (2013). American Politics Today (Third Essentials Edition). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Cook, B.J. (2014). Bureaucracy and Self-Government, second edition: Reconsidering the Role of Public Administration in American Politics. Baltimore, Maryland: JHU Press.
Rauch, J. (1995). Demoscerosis: The Silent Killer of American Government. New York: Three Rivers Press.
Tocqueville, A. (2000). [1835-1840] Democracy in
America. Trans. and ed. Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba
Winthrop. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
