A Comparison and Contrast of Democratic and Totalitarian Political Systems: Compare and Contrast Essay
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.
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.
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.
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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