AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

American Democracy

American Democracy

Introduction

One of the obvious problems of a two-party system is that it is not representative of a true democracy. A real democracy includes parties of all sorts - liberal, conservative, totalitarian, communistic, not just democrats and republicans. As a result, smaller parties suffer from under representation or no representation at all. Vice versa, large parties become over represented. Also, this setup can cause a large animosity of the other party, in which there is more hostility and destructive disagreement which could block important legislation that could benefit the country. However, I think Americans are comfortable with this system because they would rather hear politicians argue in Congress then have to worry about a political party which might threaten national security and the American way of life (Berry, 1986).

The United States of America quickly rose to the become the most powerful nation in the world in a few decades following World War II. Its dominance is credited to its strong economic wealth, and its physical prowess is seen through its military forces. Economic strength and military power go hand in hand. Even after World War I, the United States was a relatively weak military country. The Great Depression of the 1930's placed even greater stress on America as a growing nation. It wasn't until World War II when the United States increased in economic productivity as well as military buildup. Without question, America needs both in order to be the most dominant nation in the world. With a strong military, other countries will be less likely to push us around, and it gives us a presence around the world, letting hostile countries know that we are a force to be reckoned with (Skocpol, 2003).

Most importantly, the united States need a strong economy if it wants to remain powerful. In this world, money runs everything and without the cash to maintain a growing nation, the United States will only retrogress. I believe the military depends on the economy because defense requires lots of spending. Military spending accounts for more than 30 percent of the nation's budget. If America wants to keep a powerful fighting force, it needs to have an economy that shell out that kind of spending, along with other domestic needs, otherwise it will be like the Soviet Union with a military but no economy (Arthur, 2004).

America would not be the strongest nation if it were not the economic leader for reasons I answered above. Like a chain reaction, a weaker economy would reduce military spending and the money would be needed for more important areas. While America would probably be one of the top countries as a first world nation, it would certainly not be the most dominant. Rouge countries such as China are rapidly growing economically; therefore the United States must remain economically sound to keep countries like China in check. If the world were still like the mid 90's the United States may very well be on top with a reduced ...