The Advantages of Direct Democracy

1. The People Have The Control
While all democracies are built off of the principle that the people are in power, this isn’t always the case when you have elected officials making all of the decisions. With a direct democracy the people have direct power, hence the name. They have the ability to cast votes that will actually impact the way things run.

2. More Information Must Be Made Available
Since the people must be more informed about the small details of all issues, the government must provide them with information that would not have been available for everyone to view before. The reason this would need to be done is so that the voters can make fully educated decisions.

3. Better Government Involvement
Since people would have a much stronger hand in the government, more citizens would begin to care and educate themselves about important issues. This would be a great benefit of a direct democracy because people would gain a better understanding of how the government truly works.

4. A Better Chance For Change
In a representative democracy, which is what most democracies around the world operate as, the people have to instill their trust in a politician. The politicians personal agenda often comes before the promises that are made during their campaign to be elected. A direct democracy lets the people’s will truly be fulfilled and for the change that is needed to actually happen.

The Disadvantages of Direct Democracy

1. Many People Are Ignorant About Issues
The largest flaw with a direct democracy is that most citizens are not qualified or educated enough to make a rational and good decision on things as important as laws and policies. While it may inspire some to learn, most will not and only cast their vote based on face value of the ballot.

2. Very High Operating Costs
Setting up voting centers can be costly, and it’s the tax payers who are footing the bill. With a direct democracy the frequency of voting would increase dramatically, raising the costs of elections each year. The issues would also have to be campaigned on individually in order to spread awareness, another high cost practice.

3. Distribution Of Information
However, by far the largest cost that would be incurred from a direct democracy government is the distribution of information. All documents that pertain to every bill or law would have to be printed and distributed in order for a direct democracy to come even close to being successful. This would not only cost a pretty penny, but the amount of paper that would have to be used would damage the environment.

4. Minorities Greatly Impacted
It is one thing when people are only voting for their representative, but a completely different one when they are actually the ones making the decisions on laws. The minority groups in that country would never be able to make change that would favor them, and many of the things that are put into effect through direct democracy would not bear in mind their unique situations.

Important Facts About Direct Democracy

The Advantages of Affirmative Action

1. Ensures A Level Of Diversity
Many people believe that diversity won’t occur in the workplace if it is left up to the discretion of the employers. Affirmative action laws set standards for the amount of minorities that must be employed within a company to make sure that everyone has the same chance of working there.

2. A Form of Compensation
Affirmative action has long been seen as a way of compensating minority groups for times of history such as slavery. Giving them preferential job treatment and extended protections is just a small way of undoing the wrong that has been done throughout history.

3. Protection Against Hate Crimes
While some people want to deny it, racism and prejudice is still alive and well in our world. Affirmative action laws help to further protect people that may be targeted by increasing the actions that are taken against the abuser.

4. More Eduction Opportunities
Colleges are given extra incentives, such as tax breaks or funding, for having a higher percentage of minority students attending. This promotes them to give out scholarships and additional school funding to young people of minority that may not have otherwise been able to further their education.

The Disadvantages of Affirmative Action

1. Further Promotes Racism and Prejudice
By giving some groups of people more “rights” and protections than others, you are still promoting the separation and racism that you are trying to eradicate. The goal of everyone being equal is lost with affirmative action because the minority groups now have special privileges.

2. An Unfair Advantage
Many people that are not part of a minority groups struggle to find jobs or to get funding for school just because of the simply fact that they are not minority. This gives people that are a very unfair advantages when it comes to getting into schools or landing a job, because the establishment has more to gain from hiring the minority candidate.

3. Outdated Policies
The majority of the problems that existed during the Civil Rights movement, which is when Affirmative action was signed into affect, no longer exist in today’s world. Issues like segregation, widespread discrimination, and many other things have been eliminated. There is no longer a need to give minority groups special treatment, because they are quickly becoming a part of the majority as well.

4. Puts Race First
Instead of trying to create a world that people do not see color, Affirmative action makes race more relevant than ever. During admissions and hiring processes now focus on racial identity, rather than choosing the very best person for the job.

5. Abused By Some
People of minority are well aware of the Affirmative action laws and how they work, which enables them to abuse them. If a white man where to harm a minority man in any way, no matter the circumstances, it is viewed as a hate crime. This perpetuates the idea that people of the majority cannot defend themselves against people of the minority.

Important Facts About Affirmative Action