Calculus of Democracy
Democracy and freedom are the founding pillars and the most highly regarded values of the American society and its democracy. However, they have transformed into signifying a plethora of things which are almost pointless. Most of such additional aspects are essentially used for upholding several of the current governmental policies that are highly anti-democratic in nature. Such myriad inferences and connotations to democracy and freedom take the form of mere slogans, and are used by individuals as well as various other pressure groups in the society for lending an aura of "Americanism" to their own individualistic pursuit of a much larger share of the power held by every American citizen.
Social power transforms into becoming highly detrimental for democracy when it is concentrated and is also unreliable. When such a power that is concentrated is made responsible for a constitution, the lines of responsibility naturally tends to flow over to the person or persons upon whom the power is exercised
The fundamental premise of social power is the ability to influence or repel. When an individual or a group of individuals are seen to be possessing more power than the rest, then the relationships held by such people are not deemed as being democratic in nature. Democracy in essence calls for equal or balanced social power. If individuals are going to be impacted by anything in the society, then they should possess the ability to either influence or repel such happenings. This does not translate to the fact that everyone can have everything that they might wish to have. It rather denotes that the desires of the people should be reasonably balanced with the desires of the rest who might be involved. Any system that fosters this form of a balance of power is deemed as being democratic in nature.
Industrialism, which resulted in unparalleled and extraordinary degree of concentrations in the economic power, has also created a unique dynamic in relation to democracy. Industrial evolution and advancement had called for a high degree of widespread education, which eventually brought in extensive recognition of the prospects of democracy, ultimately resulting in a desire which naturally tends to continue insatiably till the objective is accomplished.
In addition, industrialism has been relied heavily upon the scientific method, not just in its quest for physical technology but also in the social structure of manufacturing. Science has a custom of seeking workability to philosophy and is hence regarded as being a close associate of democracy. Democracy is primarily utilitarian in its quest of the well-being and prosperity of its citizens and science calls for freedom and sovereignty for meetings its responsibilities and objectives. It is pivotal to note that many leaders who were part of the recent democratic movements were scientists.
Ultimately, a lot of industrial psychologists and organizational development pioneers have, since the initial phases of the 1930s, have been claiming that democratic participation by workers in institutions where they work leads to enhanced efficiency and productivity as well, while other benefits include decreased cost factor and the creation of lucrative initiatives. In the current day competitive global market, businesses are being forced to move in such kind of a direction. Finally, it is clear that the impact of democratization is incalculable, with specific relation to workplace, and all these make democracy a highly inevitable aspect of public administration and political science.
Works Cited
Atlee, Dr. John S. Atlee & Tom. Democracy: A Social Power Analysis. 2008. Web. 10 March 2016. <http://www.co-intelligence.org/CIPol_democSocPwrAnal.html>.
Tullock, James M. Buchanan & Gordon. The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy. Indianapolis, Indiana: Liberty Fund, Inc., 1962. Web. 10 March 2016. <http://files.libertyfund.org/files/1063/Buchanan_0102-03_EBk_v6.0.pdf>.
