COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY ORGANIZATION KEY SAMPLE
A Comparison and Contrast of Democratic and Totalitarian Political Systems: Compare and Contrast Essay Organization Key Sample
Organization Key
Hook
Background/Summary
Thesis/Restated
thesis
Topic sentence
Arguments
and Explanations
Takeaway
Explanation
A compare and contrast paper usually
follows two patterns of organization. In the first pattern, known as
step-by-step method, the similarities and differences are arranged topically.
Meaning you identify key points for each paragraph then write about the similarity
or difference for the paragraph.
The second pattern known as the block by
block method involves having paragraphs that discuss points of similarity, then
following it up with paragraphs that discuss points of differences.
Essentially, the body paragraphs are arranged into two blocks: the first
section discussing the comparisons, and the second section discussing the
contrasts. The essay below follows a block by block format.
A
Comparison and Contrast of Democratic and Totalitarian Political Systems
A political system is a set of
formal legal institutions that interact with other nonpolitical systems such as
the legal, economic, social and cultural systems. From a sociological perspective,
political systems are concerned with who holds the power within the relationship of the
state and its citizens and how this power is used. Two common systems that have been used time after time are
democracies and totalitarian systems. A
democracy is a rule by the people and for the people, which implies participation
of both the public and the government in public interest. It is a system in
which the majority of the population possesses the right to share in the
exercise of sovereign power. On the
other hand, totalitarianism is a system in which the government is controlled by a governing branch of a highly
centralized institution characterized by limited mass mobilization and limited
pluralism (Gentile, 2004). Democratic and totalitarian political systems are both institutions of
authority that demand active and enthusiastic participation from its people;
however; the key characteristics that
distinguish the two political systems are control of power, degree of
participation in politics, the rate of freedom and the economic system.
Difference Block
One of the distinguishing factors between a
democracy and totalitarian regime is the control of power whereby democracies
rely on the separation of powers whereas totalitarian regimes rely on
consolidation of powers. Democracies believe that absolute power
corrupts absolutely, such that if the powers of government are not restricted, then there is a risk of tyranny or corruption of powers. For
this reason, democratic governments divide their powers into three: the
executive, judiciary, and legislature
(Khan and Muhammad, 2016). A good example
of such a case is the US whereby the the
head of state holds the executive power, Congress holds legislative power and the Supreme Court holds the judicial
power. By contrast, totalitarian regimes centralize all their power to a single
person or a small group of people. With such monopolistic power, totalitarian governments can
fully exercise their authorities without limitations. The Soviet Union
was a prime example of a totalitarian regime. Adolf Hitler centralized combined
all three powers together and had strict control of both the state and society.
It is worth noting that some totalitarian government establish institutions that
resemble separation of powers, but more often than this is normally an illusion since the powers
are actually consolidated in the hands of
the regime.
A democratic regime is
characterized by political equality whereas a
totalitarian government is characterized by political inequality. Democracies
typically pursue laws that allow free formulation of political preferences and free competition for political power. The
ruling government, therefore, acquires its
ruling power and legitimacy through the law.
According to Przeworski, Stokes, and
Manin (1999), elections give the public a chance to have a say in the political process and decisions. Democratic
systems conduct regular elections after every five to ten years and this allows
people to express their confidence in certain parties and influence the
political scene in the years to come. Provided one has attained the age of
majority, everyone’s vote is equal regardless of race or socioeconomic status. By
contrast, totalitarian regimes limit the political participation in which their
citizens can engage in political activities. For most totalitarian regimes, there are no opposition parties, and only certain
people have the right to vote, meaning that some people are more influential
than others. For totalitarian regimes with opposition parties, the ruling
parties are known to manipulate the electoral process in order to repress any opposing parties. Common examples of countries that have political inequality and
limited political participation include Egypt, Iran, and Burma.
Another distinguishing factor
between a democratic government and a totalitarian one is the extent of freedom
it guarantees it citizens. In democracies, the
state is expected to protect and guarantee
the individual rights and freedoms of its citizens. Ideally, this means that both
majority and minority groups equally enjoy their freedoms under the law. Most
democratic countries such as the US and Canada rank highly in democracy ratings
such as those conducted by Freedom House (“Freedom in the World 2018”). By
contrast, totalitarian regimes restrict the freedoms of their citizens
including freedom of the press, assembly, and speech. There is no division
between the private and the public, and the government can interfere in virtually any aspect of its people’s lives. For
the most part, respect for human rights is a subject which is mostly disregarded. A case in point, North
Korean government dominates political campaigns and uses its power to limit the
space for civil action, control the press and stifle any public criticism.
Another difference between
democratic and totalitarian regimes is the mode of production. In most democratic
societies, the economic system is based
on individualization, such that economic
decisions are made by individuals as
opposed to being made by collective institutions. This economic system places a
strong emphasis on private ownership and a free market. Democratic societies can
also be supportive of government regulation to a certain degree; however, most
draw the line when government intervention inhibits open competition and free
trade. The rationale behind this is that if the state were to intervene, it
would do so to serve the interests of the dominant powers and hence distort the
market to their favor. By contrast, totalitarian regimes preserve a capitalist
mode of production which takes the
direction of monopoly capitalism. In monopoly capitalism, monopolization of the
companies is maximized, and the competition in the market is reduced. The monopolies that remain in the
market are often merged with the
government, and through this, they
acquire political power as well as economic power. With the help of the
government’s use of ideology, competing interests in the market are turned to common
national interest. Thus the
individualization is crushed.
Similarities Block
Regardless of the differences,
one of the elements that both democratic and totalitarian share is the demand for
enthusiastic and active participation of its people. To this end, active participation is
evidently one of the key principles of democracy. As much as totalitarian regimes
restrict the individual rights and freedom of their people, they can also create active
and voluntary participation through
ideology. According to Sviličić and Maldini (2013), totalitarian regimes have
an elaborate ideology that the ruling leader identifies and uses it as a basis
for their policies. For most totalitarian societies, the leader or ruling party
typically has a sense of ideology that they share with the citizens. Mass
education and mass communication are
crucial for mass participation, and
therefore propaganda serves for the
absorption of the ideology. The use of
propaganda is used to mobilize the masses even further by creating and
enhancing loyalties and a sense of inclusion to the political sphere. For
instance, Adolf Hitler used propaganda during the World War II as a vehicle of
political salesmanship in a mass market (O'Shaughnessy, 2009). Art propaganda
was used to glorify the state and attack those who were considered the enemy,
effectively taking control of public opinion. At
the end of the day, the person in power a theological tyrant as opposed to
being just a mere individual. This sense of being divine out shadows the
perception of being a power hungry ruler.
Democratic and totalitarian
governments are also similar in the sense that they are both institutions of
authority, and therefore both have the potential to oppress people. As the government,
both political systems are in charge of managing their people, and this
includes managing the allocation of
resources, developing laws and legal procedures and taking charge of the
internal and external security of their people. With all this power, both
political systems have the potential to oppress their people. As much as a
democracy separates its powers, it is
possible for a majority of the citizens to elect a single party, who can then overtake
and corrupt the system of equality that should be typical of democracies. In
the recent past, some governments have disrupted the original system for one that has allowed them to extend
their terms. A case in point, the ruling party of Azerbaijan, has been in power since the mid-1990s. For all these years, the country has been controlled by
the Aliyev family and its circle of connections, making it difficult to have a
democracy whereby the all the citizens have political equality (Sultanova,
2014). In fact, while in office, the government held a controversial referendum
that allowed the family to run for another term.
Democracies and totalitarian political
systems are very distinct, with the main differences being how power is controlled, the extent of political
equality, the freedom that the government
guarantees its people and how the economic system is set up. Unlike democracies
which separate their powers into the executive, legislature, and judiciary, totalitarian governments consolidate
their power and limit the individual
rights and freedoms of its people. However, it
is also evident that democratic systems
are not perfect since they can also be corrupted.
The type of political system also influences the economic system whereby
democratic system gravitate towards liberal free market economies whereas
totalitarian governments gravitate towards monopolist economies. In addition, despite the strict control of
state and society, totalitarian governments are
able to unite their people through ideology. Both political systems.
All things
considered, democracy
seems to be a better political system because it represents every citizen
equally regardless of ethnicity, race, or socioeconomic status. Democratic rule may have its flaws, but it remains
to be a very stable form of government.
References
Gentile, E. (2004). Fascism, totalitarianism and political religion:
definitions and critical reflections on criticism of an interpretation. Totalitarian
Movements and Political Religions, 5(3), 326-375.
Khan, M. I., & Muhammad, A. (2016). An Evaluation of separation
of powers: A case study of Pakistan (2007-2013). South Asian Studies
(1026-678X), 31(1), 257-274.
O'Shaughnessy, N. (2009). Selling
Hitler: propaganda and the Nazi brand. Journal of Public Affairs
(14723891), 9(1), 55-76.
Przeworski, A., Stokes, S. C., & Manin, B. (Eds.). (1999). Democracy,
accountability, and representation (Vol. 2). Cambridge University
Press.
Sultanova, S. (2014). Challenging the Aliyev Regime: Political
opposition in Azerbaijan. Demokratizatsiya, 22(1),
15-37.
Sviličić, N., & Maldini, P. (2013). Visual persuasion and
politics: Ideology and symbols of the totalitarian regimes’–Case study: Hammer
and sickle. Collegium antropologicum, 37(2), 569-582.
Freedom in the World 2018. (2018, February 14). Retrieved April 05,
2018, from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2018
Tomasi, J. (2012). Free market fairness. Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
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