Government Concentration of State Power

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Separation of power division of a nation’s resources
Democracy
Socialism
Key concepts Conservatism
Liberalism
Works Cited

Introduction

Leaders in the political, social and economic domains in many states of the world usually control different forms of power by virtue of the nature of their jurisdictions. Power can be separated or concentrated depending on the system of administration in question. In the United States of America, separation of power is evidenced by the existence of political parties.

The Republicans and Democrats have a long history of contention involving several issues of governance in the United States. The party with the majority of votes is usually the winner of a particular dispute in parliament or in an election. Power can be defined as the strong will and authority to command, lead or administer a particular norm.

The President of the USA has the power to reinforce changes in the Air Force, the FBI or even the CIA. Power has been widely used in the field of academics to refer to the government, the elite class, the Supreme Court and the state among others. In all the mentioned areas, power is the central theme that defines the different institutions.

The government is considered to have the highest rank in power. Concentration of power on one state separates and isolates it from others. The Supreme Court is considered as a powerful institution in the judicial system. Separation of power is a wide subject which is operational in some sectors within the US and non-operational in a few cases.

The concept becomes operational when it applies to the partition of a nation in a democratic or socialist basis. The idea can also be considered non-operational when it comes to conservatism and liberalism. In non-operative cases, one can argue that power is concentrated rather than partitioned. Three theories have been advanced to explain separation of power and these comprise the theories of marjoritarism, the elitism and pluralism.

Separation of power division of a nation’s resources

The United States is a sovereign nation comprising of many states. During the Civil War (1861-1865) that defined the federal government and eleven southern states, power was inequitably divided. The states from the South involved were South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Albania, Louisiana, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas. Each of the mentioned states demanded power and secession from the federal government.

The move by the states meant liberation for them and utmost freedom from the central government. However, though 10,000 Jewish soldiers were involved in the secessionist exercise by the states; Great Britain was non-partisan and therefore remained neutral. The existence of the Republicans, Democrats and political parties exemplified the whole phenomenon of separation of power.

The theory of marjoritarism played a crucial role in the division of power. In 2010, the Democrats were able to dominate the Republicans by getting 255 to 180 majorities during the election. However, after the election, power shifted to the Republicans who enjoyed a 243 to 192 majority. It was surprising that even though the Republicans had the majority votes, the Democrats still captured the presidency and the senate as well.

Some observers even questioned the power of the Congress in determining key decisions. The fear of a ‘big government’ brought about insecurity within the political movement especially when the Republicans lost their popularity after speculation that they were reducing budgetary allocations on social programs. The 2012 elections described the electorate of the US as a close, bitter and divided one. The government was mandated to consolidate power to preserve itself.

Democracy

Democracy can be divided into that of the few and of groups. Democracy offers any nation the freedom of choice. The elitist theory is a key proponent of democracy of the few. The theory of pluralism justifies democracy of groups whereby systematic clusters of people fight for power.

In this scenario, the impoverished are left out and only the privileged are represented. Even though many Americans consider themselves conservative Democrats, evidence shows that none of them has been actively involved in humanitarian and democratic issues in the capital of Washington D.C by 2008.

The issue of political affiliations only leads to cases of indiscipline between the Democrats and Republicans. Democracy means peace, solidarity and genuine contention of power. The dominance of the Republicans in the Northern State of Marine, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island purely describes how the partitioning of power is a contentious subject.

Socialism

Socialism unlike democracy plays a minor role in the politics of America. It has an ideological influence on social and economic equity. Division based on social status is not enormous in the US like in the 3^rd world countries but the elite theory still applies to ideas of socialism.

Key concepts Conservatism

Conservatism was driven by liberalism for religion, patriotism or support for traditional ideology. Conservatisms in the US were able to speak out against certain kinds of marriages between individuals of one gender. Though the government advocated for the practice, the church heavily opposed it. Separation of power became evident when there are opposing views or stand points between the state and the church (Rangel, 3).

Liberalism

Alongside conservatism, liberalism advocated for a position in governance and the welfare of individuals in the society was given priority. Prejudice based on religion of cultural standings was contested. Modern liberalism developed a strong foundation in the society and civilians embraced it (Art and Jervis, 13).

The separation of Britain from the US especially during the Civil War aroused interest and opinions with many experts predicting economic and social rivalry between the two most powerful nations of the world. The rivalry between the two sates led to a sudden change in their economic and foreign policies in the face of global recession and competition from the eastern bloc especially China Edwards, 38).

During the 2007-2008 global recessions, many experts made analyses that the war in Iraq depressed the US economy though it was believed that the US was demonstrating its military strength against terrorism enhanced by the need to make oil exploits in the oil rich country of Iraq. The division between the Republicans and the Democrats created differences between the two ideological factions. On one side, the world was fighting the financial recession but, on the other, Bush was fighting the Democrats.

It was not until the Democrats became fully opposed to the excessive spending by the Republicans under the regime of Bush that Barack Obama, a democrat, was elected to as the president to spearhead a neutral approach to issues afflicting the US especially on foreign policy (Bardes, 17). Political experts proposed that power was an important tool for democracy, conservatism, liberalism and socialism. However, the beneficial element of power can be destructive if not used or shared properly.

Works Cited

Art, Robert, and R. Jervis. International Politics: Enduring concepts and contemporary issues tenth edition. Boston, USA: Longman. 2011. Print.

Bardes, Shelley. American Government and Politics today; Separation of Power, 17th Edition. Connecticut, USA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 2013. Print.

Edwards, Sebastian. Left Behind: Latin America and the False Promise of Populism. Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press. 2010. Print.

Rangel, Carlos. The Latin Americans: Their Love-Hate Relationship with the United States. Connecticut, USA: Cengage Learning. 1977. Print.

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