Democracy vs. Absolutisn Essay

Democracy vs. Absolutism During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there were various forms of government, including democracy and absolutism. Not only is this an important topic because it deals with the government, but it also deals with the citizens and their perception of the government. However, at this time democracy was a better form of government because the people share the power with the government, the person in power does not have absolute power, and it protects the rights of the people. Through democracy, the government shares the power with its citizens. Absolutism, on the other hand, is where the government comes before everything. According to King Louis XIV, â€Å"The head alone has the right to deliberate and decide, and the functions of all the other members consist only in carrying out the commands given to them. † King Louis believes his opinion is the only opinion that matters. On the other hand, democracy is better because it considers the opinions of other people. This makes it so that one person in charge is unable to have absolute power. Having too much power was also an issue in some countries in the 17th and 18th centuries. According to Machiavelli, fear and punishment will make the citizens comply with the decisions and ideas of their leader. Democracy is better than absolutism because citizens have the ability to form their own opinions without fear of punishment for disagreeing with their leader. The right to freedom of speech is one of the many rights people value in a democratic government. A democratic government respects the natural rights and freedoms of its citizens. By allowing its citizens to make their own choices, the citizens hold a positive view of the government. A democratic government allows the citizens to have their freedoms and doesn’t invade their privacy. By allowing everyone to have a say in the government, it makes the government easy to comply with. That is why it is an obvious assumption that the citizens will have a negative view on absolutism because they won’t have their basic freedoms. In conclusion, democracy is a better form of government because the government shares power with its citizens, the person in power does not have absolute power, and it protects rights of the people. For these reasons, a democracy is a more effective government when it comes to leading its people.