Democracy Drama

Table of Contents

1. Top 5 Signs That Your

Country Is Dedicated To
Protecting Your Freedoms

2. The Capitalist (and Socialist)

in me: How I’d Run An
Economy

3. Looking Back On It - A
Reflection
 Democracy, Freedoms, and the Function of Government
Top 5 Signs That Your Country Is Dedicated To Protecting Your Freedoms
Citizens have the right to
vote and elect
representatives
It is necessary that a country
gives citizens the liberty to
vote and elect representatives
that can advocate for their
rights, priorities, and
privileges. Suffrage is very
important because people
have more power and control
as supposed to the
government. It is highly likely
that if the government had not
allowed enfranchisement, a
dictatorship would run in the
place of a democracy. This
could lead to the exploitation
of citizens and eventually a
revolt, as seen in the French
Revolution. But since citizens
have the right to vote,
limitations, especially
economy-related ones, are
scarce. Running businesses
and corporations, granting
franchises and rising up
above the market are just
some examples.
Government/leader doesn’t abuse their power
As mentioned earlier before, if citizens don’t have
the power to elect leaders, the government has
full control over how everything runs.
Exploitation, the absence of freedom and human
rights/privileges, it’s all possible. To know that
your country’s leader or government isn’t abusing
their power to serve their own interests or any
others, there are several things that they should
be doing for you to know that your freedom is
their priority. There are a few rules that will help
you know the intentions of your government, they
are prevalently known as the 5 Limits of Power.
The 5 limits are known as a constitution, Rule of
Law, Separation of Power, Consent of the
Governed, and the Rights of the Minority. Some
of these may be familiar, but others may not. For
example, the Rule of Law is when a country’s
laws are fair, enforced, and nobody is above the
law. Separation of Power is when power is
divided among several branches of government.
Consent of the Governed is when citizens give
their permission to be governed. And lastly,
Rights of the minority protects the rights of the
small or unpopular groups. If these limits are
actively implemented in your country, you can be
assured that your government is not corrupt and
doesn’t abuse its power.
Equality for everybody
This is one of the most conspicuous
actions or measures that can tell you if
your country cares about your freedoms.
Equity of treatment regardless of race,
religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, etc is a crucial part of a free
country. This sort of ties into one of the 5
limits of power, Rights of the Minority,
because in a country where a certain
religion or ethnicity is uncommon,
protecting the rights of these people
should be one of the many duties of the
government. According to Article 1 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
All human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and rights. It shouldn’t matter
whether they live in the USA, or
anywhere else in the world and this
should apply everywhere. Article 7 only
reinforces this point when it says, all are
equal before the law and are entitled
without any discrimination to equal
protection of the law. So, if certain ethnic
or minority groups are mistreated or
denied basic rights within a country, that
is a violation of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
Government transparency and an independent judicial system
If you didn’t know or weren’t aware, government transparency is an
important form of freedom in a country. Since many people don’t really
know about it, the government often evade implementing or following this
rule, but it’s your chance to find out the truth. Transparency is the
government’s obligation to share information with the public, especially
concerning the use of taxpayer dollars and actions of political figures and
representatives. Transparency keeps the government accountable to the
people, which is an important concept in a democratic republic. In addition
to this, a country must also have an independent judicial system
(Supreme Court and lower Courts) that is not controlled by the
government. This ensures the branch is not manipulated or taken
advantage of by the government. This is an example of Separation of
Power (another of the 5 limits of power). The judicial branch is just one of
3 branches in a federal government, along with the Executive branch
(President) and Legislative branch (Senate and House of
Representatives). These 3 branches must be independent and cannot be
influenced by each other in order to maintain fairness, equality, and
justice.
An example of a contravention of this freedom (judicial freedom
specifically) took place in the 1990s in Peru. A man called Alberto Fujimori
came to power after the Peruvians elected him to be their President. Like
the USA, Peru had a constitution, congress, and judicial system (3
branches of government). But what happened in Peru, was something that
was never seen before. On the night of April 5, 1992, Fujimori told
Peruvians via television, that he was dissolving Congress, and was going
to reorganize the judicial branch. With no independent judicial branch,
thousands of suspects were killed without a trial. Additionally, it was
discovered that one of Fujimori’s government officials was caught
smuggling drugs and was aiding terrorists in the country.
Because Fujimori interfered with the branches outside his own, Peru
became a country of chaos and scandal broke out everywhere. He not
only repudiated the limits of power but also violated the sacred oath he
made before becoming President.
Social freedoms
The last freedom that I think should be
acknowledged, is social freedoms, or the right to
having jobs, education, marriage, etc. This is
mostly prevalent, but there some countries that
infringe on this freedom. There are many articles
in the UDHR that address and recognize
different social freedoms, such as Article 16,
which states that men and women of full age,
without any limitation due to race, nationality or
religion, have the right to marry and to found a
family. They are entitled to equal rights as to
marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
Or Article 23 says that everyone, without any
discrimination, has the right to equal pay for
equal work. Or Article 26 says technical and
professional education shall be made generally
available and higher education shall be equally
accessible to all.
It is highly important that your country enables
its citizens and immigrants to have freedom in
this aspect, and this can definitely alleviate any
tensions between the people and the
government.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I think that having these 5 rights
suggests that your country has your equality
and freedom in their best interests. Of course,
there are many more, but I think that these
ones are fundamental rights. If, however, your
country doesn’t actively implement any of
these, it will be up to you to make them aware
and take action.
 The Capitalist In Me: How I’d Run An Economy
Featured in this political pamphlet, is the world-famous, Amairah Islam, an economist with an idealistic scheme
to create a flawless economy system. You may have heard of her celebrated book, The Capitalist In Me: How
I’d Run An Economy, but if you haven’t, there’s no need to worry because we’ve included an abridged version
in this handbook.

“If I was in charge, people can count on the fact that my preferred economic system would be a capitalist one.
But, as with everything, capitalism does have it’s flaws, which is why my ideal economy would actually be a
predominantly capitalist one, but with the bonus of socialistic characteristics and features. Economics is messy,
but it is a utilitarian business and must be treated as such, so my explanation will be blunt. The most important
aspect of capitalism is that it is a market-based economy made up of buyers (people) and sellers (private or
corporate-owned companies). The goods and services that are produced are intended to make a profit, and
this profit is reinvested into the economy, through taxes, etc. The government doesn’t interfere in the
economies of the free market, so the market determines investments, production, distribution and decisions.
This is the opposite of communism, where there is no market, and everything is controlled by the government.
This causes many disadvantages that hinder the progress of the economy instead of strengthening it. Since
there is no market, there is no incentive to work hard because everyone earns an equal profit regardless of
effort or hard work, and this not only makes an economy deteriorate, but can also result in corruption within a
government. I realize that a capitalist economy can result in a monopoly of power because there is the
possibility of people abusing their position by charging higher prices, but that is where socialistic traits come in.
Earlier I mentioned that the market and means of production are owned by businesses and corporations, but
there is actually more to that statement. I believe that economic success can be achieved when the means of
production are managed by both public enterprises and cooperatives, and individuals are compensated based
on the principle of individual contribution. This way there is a balance in control, the government can’t take
advantage of their power, and people cannot abuse their positions in the market.
In conclusion, I believe that the epitome of an impeccable economy includes a market where people can
buy and sell goods, but the market is neither in the hands of the people nor the government. Instead, it is
managed by both and both parties are able to cooperate and collaborate with each other to consolidate the
country’s economy”.

As Amairah Islam mentioned, the perfect economy is one that consists of both capitalistic and socialistic
features. Hopefully, this provided some insight about a pragmatic economy, and inspired you to take action to
make similar changes to your own economy.
 The Truth Of What I’ve Really Learned - A Reflection
What I learned about myself
During the unit on government, I became more aware
of my values and beliefs in the aspect of politics and
economics. There are certain systems that appealed
to me because of what they did and how it affected
me. We explored several countries and their freedoms
and I think that the activity made me more conscious of
the things I sometimes take for granted and how
important they really are to me. For example, when
we looked at Saudi Arabia’s freedoms on a spectrum,
I wasn’t really surprised but I realized how grateful I
was to live in a country that respects and takes into
consideration the freedom and well-being of its citizens.  people to have a choice in who leads their country. A
On a political spectrum, I found out that I fell under the
socialism category, which I think is quite accurate. I
strongly believe that power should be distributed equally
to ensure that there is no abuse of power. It is similar to
the concept of Separation of Power, where there are
several branches of power. This is a main
characteristic of socialism, just like the economist
Amairah Islam mentioned in her book.
Overall, I think that on a spectrum, I will always be in
the middle, because I don’t believe too strongly in
anything (that would be extreme), but rather believe
in moderation and in systems that allow me to
exercise my rights as a human being, and also to
keep my values and beliefs without them being
influenced by anything else.
Ideal Form of Government
There are many forms of government (Democracy, Autocracy,
Oligarchy, Theocracy, Monarchy, etc), and these government
systems are implemented and exercised all over the world.
Some work better than others and are quite successful, while
others don’t fare as well. I’m not a politician or a ruler, but I do
have an opinion. In some places in the world, having an opinion
and voicing it out loud is illegal and can result in stringent
punishments, so I don’t need to be a politician or a ruler to
voice this next opinion. An ideal form of government, I think,
that could achieve success in all aspects, is a representative
democracy. This is because I think it is very important for the
representative democracy means that citizens can choose to
elect whoever they wish to advocate for their rights and
prerogatives. This system gives people a choice in the matter
of leading a country. If it were the opposite, however, corruption
would be abundant and exploitation would be recurrent. Instead
of the government or leader having all the power, it is in a
sense, distributed among the population. That is why I think a
representative democracy is ideal for the success of a country.
In conclusion, I think this unit has really broadened my
understanding of both politics and economics by learning and
thinking about the different forms of government and various
economic systems. Learning about government and economic
systems helped me make connections and links to current
affairs and really enlightened my understanding and knowledge
of the subject.