The United States is a democratic country and is governed through the rule of law. The American politics and government are well established and portray a good example of fairness and justice to other political systems and governments of other countries globally. The United States government is founded on ideas of limited government where the government and all its operations are under specified restrictions in order to uphold individuals’ and citizens’ rights across the whole of the United States. The idealistic nature of politics and government has led to a smooth course of national politics and governance for several decades in the United States. The American politics and governance are defined by the following ideas; republicanism, popular sovereignty, natural rights, and social contract. This paper will discuss on the four ideas which define the American politics and type of governance as it is up to date.
Natural Rights
Natural rights refer to the rights that one is born with and cannot be given up under any circumstance. Natural rights entail one’s right to life, liberty, and property. According to Campbell (2017), natural rights are supplemented by human rights which define the well-being of an individual (Campbell, 2017). The American politics and government give priority to the idea of natural rights because it’s very much sensitive to the lives of the United States citizens. The idea of natural rights has become a strategy that the two main political parties in the United States; the Democratic party and the Republic party use in their campaigns. The candidates to be elected on different political seats in the whole of the United States ought to have clear strategies on how he or she will ensure that the American citizens enjoy their natural rights to the fullest and with no internal or external interference.
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The government of the United States also bases its leadership on the idea of natural rights. The government of the United States safeguards freedom of speech and freedom of expression of its citizens at all costs (Campbell, 2017). Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are the epitome of the well-being of the United States citizens. The modern society is becoming more demanding with regard to natural rights, human rights, and other forms of freedoms. The United States government is on the forefront of other governments in the whole world in upholding the virtues contained in the idea of natural rights. The United States government prioritizes natural rights to both its citizens and beyond its borders. The United States government is known to intervene in international crisis which violate natural rights for the people. For instance, the United States government openly condemns civil wars among African nations; civil wars which lead to death of innocent people and loss of property.
Social Contract
The idea of social contract argues that the people hold a country’s political power and that the government is made to entirely serve the will of the people. Social contract is highly practised in the United States politics as all politicians must assure the citizens of the idea of social contract if they are to be elected. The American political system is majorly strategized by the idea of social contract (Kelly, 2019). The American political system is mature, highly regarded globally, and imitated by many countries. As such, the citizens of the United States are fully aware of their political rights and challenge any attempts to violate them. The American politics revolve around the idea of social contract across all levels of political arenas. Politicians in the United States are obliged by the idea of social contract to respect and adhere to political power held by the United States citizens.
The United States government and form of governance, which is majorly run by politically elected leaders, also takes into consideration the idea of social contract. According to Kelly (2019), various forms and interpretations in the modern day American history have been evoked by the idea of social contract (Kelly, 2019). Through the idea of social contract, the United States citizens are able to questions actions and steps taken by the American government, nationally and internationally. Through the idea of social contract also, the United States government is obliged by its citizens’ outcry to initiate counter action against an issue which is affecting its citizens negatively. Generally, the governance styles practised in the United States are strongly embedded on the idea of social contract, where the government understands that real political power lies with the citizens and ought to be safeguarded.
Popular Sovereignty
The founders of the United States believed that their country should be founded on popular Sovereignty, which states that the power endorsed on any government should be regulated by the will of the people it governs (Levinson, 2014). As such, if the people governed feel that the government is not appropriately fulfilling their needs as voters, then they have the right to change it. In the United States political system, popular sovereignty has been witnessed over the years and in the recent past. The United States which has two main political parties has enjoyed government leadership from the two political parties. Through the idea of popular sovereignty, United States citizens have the free will to vote in the political party which they feel gives adequate considerations to their well-being. The United States citizens usually vote in the political party which upholds natural rights and social contract.
The government of the United States also has to uphold popular sovereignty towards its citizens who they govern. The government, obliged by the idea of popular sovereignty, must ensure that the rights and needs of all its citizens are observed and that no violation is observed. United States citizens have the right to question the government on issues that seem to violate their rights as American citizens. The government bases all its internal and international operation on the idea of popular sovereignty which gives consideration on the well-being of the citizens. The citizens have the power to shift the power of the government from one political party to another (Levinson, 2014). This has been recently witnessed when government power was shifted from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. This power endorsed on citizens to shift government power from one political party to the other serves to ensure accountability among the political leaders.
Republicanism
The idea of republicanism just like the other ideas has a long history in the United States. The idea of republicanism cropped up during the colonial period of the United States, where the founders of the United States demanded for a type of governance where political power rested with the majority but the colonialists were not for the idea. The founders of the United States then came up with the idea of republicanism which would lead to a creation of a political system which would give consideration to the wills and needs of the people. As such, the idea of republicanism was brought forth and is practised even in the current political system in the United States. The political system in the United States revolves around the political power which lies with the citizens. The wills of the citizens are highly regarded in the United States political system.
The idea of republicanism is observed in the United States political system as well as its government. The government gives first priority to its citizens knowing well that the power to change a government lies with them. Anything that is deemed to violate the idea of republicanism in the United States is shunned at all costs to prevent any harm on the citizens. The United States government similarly observes total adherence to its laws which safeguard the rights of its citizens. Republicanism is very essential in the United States government which it promotes the rule of law. All actions that the United States government takes are well articulated to ensure that they don’t violate the idea of republicanism. The idea of republicanism also helps to strike a balance between the extremities that the government can go in securing its territories with regard to violation of its citizens’ rights.
Conclusion
The success of the American political system and form of government can be highly attributed to the ideas that were adopted by their founders and are still being practised up to today. All the governments which have ever ruled in the United States have relied on these ideas, with each government coming up with its own modifications to increase the efficacy of the ideas. The ideas of republicanism, natural rights, popular sovereignty, and social contract have been used by different United States governments over the years. All the four ideas revolve around the aspect of political power resting with the citizens, therefore, granting them the right to be respected and well served by the ruling government. Also, the United States heavily relied on the four ideas to gain their independence from their colonialists. They have since then upheld the ideas up to date and this defines the stability of their political system and their government.
References
Campbell, J. (2017). Natural Rights and the First Amendment. 127(2): 246-489.
Kelly, M. (2019). The Social Contract in American Politics. Retrieved November 24, 2019; from https://www.thoughtco.com/social-contract-in-politics-105424
Levinson, S. (2014). Popular Sovereignty and the United States Constitution: Tensions in the Ackermanian Program. 123(8): 2644-2677.
