Essay Sample about American Democracy

Does the government of the United States of America follow the framework of a democratic government? According to Aristotle, "a democracy is a form of government in which the free are rulers” (Aristotle). Looking at a government with Aristotle's definition of democracy would imply that the majority of the population would directly participate in the legislative process; democracy is the rule of the many for the benefit of the majority. Examining the governmental structure of the United States using Aristotle's definition of democracy one can conclude that the United States of America is not a democratic nation. Currently, the United States government is ruled by the few for their benefit, making the system of government an oligarchic. 

According to Aristotle, an oligarchic form of government is when “rich and noble govern” and “the law represent their wishes” (Aristotle). The coronavirus exposed the corruption and oligarchy practices of the politicians. When the majority of the citizens needed support from the government to meet their basic rights such as food and shelter, the legislators did little to nothing to support the citizens. They chose to govern based on their wishes; the legislators provided support to big corporations and interest groups, thus making the elites more wealthy and powerful while citizens desperately tried to survive. While many small businesses were struggling to keep their doors open and pay their employees and needed support from the government, there was a constant conflict to get the Paycheck Protection Program(PPP) loan from the government. On the other hand, big companies, like Shake Shack, were able to easily receive their PPP loan, even when they did not need it. The legislators chose to sacrifice American lives to ensure that the economy thrives. In total, the billionaires of the United States of America have accumulated more than one trillion dollars of wealth when more than twenty million Americans have lost their jobs (Forbes). 

Within an oligarchy, the rich and elite are the legislators; looking at the demographics of the United States Congress majority of the members are white men. About seventy-three percent of the House of Representatives and eight-nine percent of the Senate are white, and two-thirds of that are white men(American Bar Association). In addition, the majority of the members of Congress are millionaires with some members having a net worth that is estimated to be over one hundred million dollars(Open Secrets). Analyzing the demographics of Congress, one can see that the majority of the lawmakers are wealthy elites. Oftentimes the laws and policies, such as lower tax rates for millionaires and tax breaks for big corporations, proposed by these legislators benefit them as wealthy elites and not the common good of the United States. 

In an oligarchic government the legislators in power, “select those of the other classes who are to be admitted to the government”(Aristotle). Although Congress members are elected to Congress by the people, during the campaign to be elected or re-elected to Congress the candidates receive endorsements from senior members from the same political party. Therefore, campaigns are no longer about the candidates' agenda and values, but rather it is about the endorsements they receive. Oftentimes, the winner of the elections are candidates that receive endorsement from senior Congress members, such as the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the Senate Majority Leader. Although people will argue that the process of selecting Congress members is democratic because the citizens are actively participating and casting votes, the endorsement from senior Congress members holds value and heavily influences the outcome of the election. It is a pseudo-democratic process, as the senior members of Congress are essentially selecting who comes into power. 

The questions remain: Is the government of the United States of America a democracy? Can we claim to be a democratic nation, when the practices of our elected legislators are oligarchic? According to Aristotle an oligarchy form of government is “rich and noble govern” and “the law represents their wishes”(Aristotle). In the United States of America, the politicians are doing little to nothing to support the common good and are writing policies to only benefit themselves; we can conclude that our nation is pseudo-democratic. We are living in an oligarchy, where the rich continue to get power and wealth and the poor are desperately trying to survive.