In any system which claims to be democratic, a question of its
legitimacy remains. A truly democratic political system has certain
characteristics which prove its legitimacy with their existence. One
essential characteristic of a legitimate democracy is that it allows
people to freely make choices without government intervention. ... Minority rights
are also crucial in a legitimate democracy. ... government may be considered legitimate in some aspects, and
illegitimate in others. Because voting is class-biased, it may not be
classified as a completely legitimate process. Although in theory the
American system calls for one vote per person, the low rate of turnout
results in the upper and middle classes ultimately choosing candidates
for the entire nation. ... People with high income
and education also have more resources, and poor people tend to have low
political efficacy (feelings of low self-worth). ...
The "winner-take-all" system in elections may be criticized for being
undemocratic because the proportion of people agreeing with a particular
candidate on a certain issue may not be adequately represented under
this system. ...
Political parties in America are weak due to the anti-party,
anti-organization, and anti-politics cultural prejudices of the
Classical Liberals. ... there is no national discipline
to force citizens into identifying with a political party, partisan
identification tends to be an informal psychological commitment to a
party. This informality allows people to be apathetic if they wish,
willingly giving up their input into the political process. Though this
apathy is the result of greater freedom in America than in other
countries, it ultimately decreases citizens’ incentive to express their
opinions about issues, therefore making democracy less legitimate.
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