Republican Government – Pros Of Republican Government

Republican Government – Pros Of Republican Government: The word republic derives from the Latin res publica, or public stuff, and refers to a form of government in which people act not for the benefit of a dictator or monarch but for their own benefit. One in which the constitutional power comes from the citizens is a republican government. In the United States, power, as written in the U.S, is granted to the government by its people.

The belief in republicanism helped contribute to the American Revolution and the Constitution of the United States. The American colonists were inspired by Thomas Paine’s writings. Paine made a case for political freedom from Britain, a representative government, and a written constitution for the colonies in his 50-page Common Sense pamphlet, written in 1776. Paine thought that the king had no role in government and that the legitimate authority for the government was the people themselves.

When he wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Thomas Jefferson borrowed extensively from the theories of John Locke, the Enlightenment theorist. Jefferson encouraged settlers to break with the monarchy and become citizens of the Republic. The first attempt at republican rule by the colonists was the Articles of Confederation in 1781, and then the Constitution of the United States in 1787, which further strengthened the Republic’s control.

A republic is based on the concepts of representative democracy, citizenship, and common sovereignty, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. There is a decreased chance of government corruption since the people are the primary source of political power and government officials are responsible for both the people and the law. People acting for their self-interest through their representatives are more likely to pass only laws that favor the majority and not just one of the few than an autocrat.

The incentive for people to engage in government within a republic, according to the Center for Civic Education, helps the population, in general, to establish socially beneficial civic values like integrity, transparency, loyalty, and duty.

The Center for Civic Education also clarifies that when authority is distributed across several levels: executives, courts, legislatures, the issue with a republic is that democratic decisions become weaker. Instead of working towards a clear goal as a united whole, the government is disturbed by the many competing purposes of the separate factions that control the various branches.

Furthermore, there is a danger that voters will lose sight of the public interest and vote in the process according to their personal whims, compromising democracy, and the rights of others.

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Pros of a Republican Government

Have you ever given up your own interests in order to do something for someone that is good? For the greater good of the land, personal interests are given up in a republican government. Let’s take a look at the additional benefits of a Republican government.

  • It is intended that laws made by elected officials are equal. If people deem laws unjust, other leaders can be elected that can amend certain laws.
  • Greater freedom and prosperity are enabled by a republic. The entire nation profits from economic pursuit and individuals are able to live well.
  • We conclude that when the government serves the needs of the whole country, it serves the popular welfare.
  • In the democratic process, there is wider involvement. All men are created equal, according to the Declaration of Independence; thus, it didn’t matter whether you were a small farmer or a strong aristocrat. Ordinary people are welcome to be part of the state.
  • Based on people’s strengths, leaders grow, not their birthright.
  • There is a promotion of civic morality. Civic virtue requires demonstrating civic understanding, self-restraint, self-assertion, and self-reliance (how the government and the democratic process function).
  • It is by referendum, not by coercion, that change and reform come about.

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