Question

discuss the political values central to liberal democracy. In your judgement, which values stand out as most important? Why? Subject - Public Administration

Answer 1

Liberal democracy is a political ideology often used to describe Western systems of governments. Its core principle is Classical liberalism. Liberal democracy is characterized by free and fair elections, with several candidates vying for different positions of power. These political systems create a distinction among governments, powerful forces in the society and constitutional institutions. Liberal democracies have the 5 principle; Power, Legitimacy, Justice, Freedom and Participation.

Justice ensures equality and fair representation in systems with representative democracy. Citizens are treated with respect and dignity in an environment where free and fair elections, constitutionalism and restraints of power are observed.

To prevent leaders from misusing powers, liberal democracies have constitutions giving limits of powers to different leaders. Executive, legislative and judicial powers are separated and equitable legal structures have been established to complement this system of government.

Representation is a value popular with representative democracies in which individuals are elected to stand in for others for a period stipulated in the constitutio . Citizens are represented by elected leaders through their voting rights. There are formalistic, symbolic, descriptive and substantive theories of representation as developed by a philosophical writer, Hanna Pitkin

Legitimacy is an ideal element of government authorities. Leaders must be backed up by the majority of citizens through an electoral process. A high degree of popular support must be realized as required by the constitution, which is normally a percentage more than half of the registered voters.

Freedom is a natural human condition. Citizens in a liberal system have a free will to make decision, learn from them and be accountable and responsible for their actions. Citizens should have options to choose from. However, these choices should not be forbidden under the law. Various freedoms and rights of the citizens are contained in their constitution and the universal bill of rights. Rule of law should be enforced to prevent violation of peoples freedoms by government and individuals

Evidently, the most important principle is representation. It is important for citizens to make wise decisions when choosing leaders, since good leaders uphold other values of democracy. The value of limited government has not been lost due to the decisive laws played by the judiciary in restraining executive powers to the constitutional limits