Understanding Democratic and Authoritarian Regimes: Principles and Challenges
Understanding Democratic and Authoritarian Regimes
Democratic Regime: Sovereignty resides in the people, who can elect or change their rulers.
Authoritarian or Dictatorial Regime: A tyrant or party occupies power and governs without respecting the will of the people.
Power Warning: Under the law and law of a State.
Legitimate Power: Fair and lawful.
Democracy is a way to organize political power to avoid injustices and discrimination. The problems are:
- Can citizens choose their representatives freely and directly?
- Do the majority of citizens truly express reasoned and objective demands to find what suits humanity?
- How can the demands of minorities be addressed?
- Does political power have sufficient autonomy, or does it rely too much on economic power?
The Spanish Constitution
The Spanish Constitution is the highest law in the state, where all other laws are based. Article 1 states that Spain is a social and democratic state of law. It also says that the higher values that govern our society are liberty, equality, justice, and political pluralism.
Article 10 states the foundations of political order and social peace: human dignity, inherent rights to inviolable dignity, free development of personality, and respect for the law and the rights of others.
Tolerance and Political Leadership
Tolerance is the great virtue of democracy; nobody should be persecuted for their religious beliefs. A ruling political idealist must be respectful of the law and moral principles that legitimize it. A political leader must be realistic and astute, willing to break the law if their nation is greatly benefited.
Solutions for Participating in Power
Problems with power:
- Power is based on force.
- Power resides in a minority.
- Power is a three-way process.
- Power and government are beyond good and evil.
Good solutions aim to overcome all the bad solutions. Immanuel Kant believed that a fruitful and lasting peace among the states in the world could be achieved if independent states govern themselves, helping each other to achieve their own interests, peace, and harmony among all.