Political Science S Essay Example

1. Liberal democracies today practice one of two forms of electoral systems: single-member-district or proportional representation. Single-member-district systems are further divided into plurality and majority systems. Plurality-based single-member-district systems, or “first past the post” systems, are used by a minority of liberal democracies and involve a single representative elected to represent a constituency. The candidate who receives the most votes wins the seat and all of the votes cast for other candidates are “wasted,” as these votes do not count towards any other candidate. This encourages the strength of a small number of parties (usually two), as voters do not want their votes to be wasted.
Majority-based single-member-district systems, like plurality-based systems, result in a single candidate becoming the representative for a constituency but use certain mechanisms to ensure that the eventual winner is elected by a majority of voters. One such mechanism involves using two electoral rounds with the second round of voting a runoff election between the two most popular candidates, as determined in the first vote. Advocates for this type of system argue that it would allow smaller parties to make gains, as voters will be less likely to consider a third-party vote wasted.
Proportional representation utilizes multimember districts, which, as the term suggests, involve more than one legislative seat contested in a district. With this system, voters vote for a party, rather than a candidate, and the percentage of votes a party receives in a district dictates the percentage of the seats that party receives. The political party decides which candidates will receive the seats that the party wins. Proportional representation allows an opportunity for even small parties to obtain seats in legislature and individual voters, therefore, are relatively unconcerned about wasted votes.
Proportional representation systems are arguably the most democratic voting systems, as each vote appears to have a greater impact. However, voting for a party rather than an individual candidate may make a vote less meaningful, particularly if a party is corrupt. Additionally, proportional representation systems can make the government more complicated and the legislature less productive, as many contending interests can make cooperation difficult and lead to government instability.
I think that plurality-based single-member-district systems are the least democratic of the systems, as they are set up in a way that makes it possible for a candidate that a majority does not support to become a representative. I prefer a mixed electoral system, or at least a majority-based single-member-district. With a mixed electoral system, some votes are allotted using each method usually giving voters the power to vote for multiple parties in simultaneous elections, trusting voters with the power to strategize and best determine which parties they want while also taking into consideration the parties that they feel are most likely to win.
2. Social expenditures encompass services and public benefits like health care, education and unemployment benefits that are frequently referred to as “welfare” or part of a “welfare state.” Although the term “welfare” frequently has a negative connotation, many or all citizens potentially benefit from social expenditures in the form of cultural institutions, public universities, a national high way system and various parts of the social “safety net.” Sometimes, certain social expenditures are controversial, with opponents of social expenditures arguing that, for example, offering high unemployment benefits encourages joblessness. On the other side, advocates for social expenditures point out that churches and individuals are often not able to meet the needs of individuals and it is a moral imperative that the government provide support raised from taxes to care for citizens who would benefit from welfare expenditures.
One problem looming over many countries that are hosting aging populations, with individuals that are too old to work increasing while the birth rate drops, is that the government revenue from taxes, which fuels most social expenditures, is decreasing while the need for social welfare remains the same or increases.
The best way to address the increased need for social expenditures and decreased tax base is likely through a combination of different tactics. Reducing or privatizing certain benefits, particularly expenditures that primarily benefit the rich and middle class such as support for cultural institutions may help to lower the funding required for social expenditures. Carefully monitoring and continuously working to improve the efficiency of expenditures will also ensure that funding is utilized as efficiently as possible. Reducing benefits, however, may make a country suffer in the long run, as would happen if public university were no longer supported by the government, or significantly affect the quality of life for some individuals.
Increasing taxes, but not to the extent that many more citizens are forced to seek government assistance can also help to address this problem. Raising taxes on the profits made by large businesses or increasing the sales tax on luxury items, for example, may raise government revenue without significantly increasing social expenditures. Raising taxes, however, often makes some groups of people suffer and could encourage businesses to relocate to other countries with lower taxes.
Increasing immigration by lowering the difficulty for immigrant groups with a higher birth rate to settle in a country or offering incentives for immigrants such as housing loans, employment assistance and free basic education can increase the tax base and increase the birth rate, allowing a country to remain younger and have more individuals working. Increasing immigration, however, can lead to increased ethnic tension and concerns about lower wages.
In summation, balancing social expenditures—often necessary to support the least empowered in society and encourage a relatively high standard of living for the middle and upper classes—with a desire to pay minimal taxes is a difficult balancing act that only becomes more difficult in countries with an aging population and decreasing work force and tax base.
3. Political violence, sometimes classified as a type of “contentious politics” or collective political struggle, describes action that occurs beyond state power, is neither war nor crime and is attempting to achieve a political objective using force. One prime example of political violence is a revolution to overthrow an institution.
The reasoning for political violence is grouped into three basic categories that may overlap, to some degree: institutional, ideational, and individual. Institutions are self-perpetuating organisms or patterns that define and shape human activity and are valued for their own sake. There are different kinds of institutions: societal institutions like religion, economic institutions, or political institutions such as regimes. Institutional explanations for political violence posit that institutions are necessary for public violence, either by enabling or constraining activity. Institutions may be enabling by implicitly or explicitly encouraging political violence or constraining human activity and provoking political violence. According to institutional explanations, changing institutional structure could eliminate motivation driving political violence.
Ideational explanations for political violence are focused on the effects of political, religious and other ideas in causing political violence. Individual explanations examine the motivations of individuals that partake in political violence for either irrational or psychological reasons.
One type of political violence is revolution, when the public seizes the state and overturns the existing regime or government. Revolutions are often violent and although a revolution may introduce new governmental and economic structures, it can also pave the way for dictatorship and increased state power. In general, the more violent the revolution, the more likely it is that violence will persist under the new government.
Another example of political violence is terrorism, which involves non-state actors utilizing violence against civilians for political reasons. Institutional, ideational and individual explanations can all help to explain terrorism, as it can stem from weak economies, religious fundamentalism or an individual feeling of humiliation or injustice. Guerrilla war, unlike terrorism, involves non-state actors targeting the state, rather than civilians.
One of the best ways to limit political violence is to allow sufficient political participation to ensure that repression does not occur, although a regime change could actually invite greater political violence. Additionally, finding a balance between security and curtailing individual freedoms, though challenging, is important. Finally, from the perspective of individual explanations for political violence, improving mental health care may also effectively limit political violence.