Democracy and Authoritarian Regime Law Legislation and Justice

Transcription

1 Cizí jazyk Angličtina vyučující: PhDr. Peter Jan Kosmály, PhD. AMAK

2 zadání: každý týden krátký přízpěvek citující jeden literární zdroj nebo pramen k dané témě jeden přízpěvek může po předělání na článek posloužit jako první seminární práce na kurs Úvod do studia (odborný přízpěvek)

3 Democracy: preserving rights of a minority within the rule of the majority? Anti-Christ Democracy: one vote reprentative system? Authority Tradition Fundamentalism Totality? Law and the system of justice Types of law Law and order Law and democracy which is better for a human?

4 Anti-Christ Democracy: one vote reprentative system? Remember? Political scientist Harold Lasswell defined politics as "who gets what, when, and how Anti-Christ Democracy: one vote reprentative system that has sentenced Jesus Christ to death who represented what and what was the role of lobby and policy there? source: dvd.php

5 Democracy what is it? international relation s subject, political and socio-anthropological studies each vote has the same strength, each person has the right to vote or represent voters (who is responsible for consequences?) democracy: rights and responsibilities: social responsibility (e.g. carbon footprint, climate, etc.), cultural and preserving responsiblity (language, education, etc.), permanent survival sustainable development, etc. source: and

6 Democracy: preserving rights of a minority within the rule of the majority? the Kingdom of Democracy? source:

7 The blind Justice? Because it sees no limitations, barriers, obstacles, differences one rule for everyone blind choice, blind overview of execution of my rights by the representatives, blind consume, blind alibism, blind destrucion? source:

8 Democracy: agreeing for a common non-sense and using democracy as alibi: Democracy as authocracy? vote for anything only for the purpose of voting itself: consumer motivational games, social networking as a waste of time and energy, advertisement as a hyper-real artificial selfprojecting world of signs and symbols constructed without a concrete purpose or meaning exept its value to its system source: and and the following image from: racy%20horse.jpg

9

10 Democracy international the U. S. Department of State Democracy and respect for human rights Fundamental values: religious freedom, worker rights helps create a more secure, stable, and prosperous global arena helps to secure all the others Democratically governed nations are more likely to secure the peace, deter aggression, expand open markets, promote economic development, protect American citizens, combat international terrorism and crime, uphold human and worker rights, avoid humanitarian crises and refugee flows, improve the global environment, and protect human health. source:

11 Democracy international the Economist Intelligence Unit The Democracy Index 2011: Democracy under stress The results of the Economist Intelligence Unit s (EIU) Democracy Index 2011 show that democracy has been under intense pressure in many parts of the world. In most regions the average democracy score for 2011 is lower than in 2010, including the developed countries of North America and Western Europe. There was a decline in the average score for Eastern Europe and small declines for both Asia and Latin America. These were offset by increase in average scores in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Sub-Saharan Africa. source:

12 Democracy international Oxford Dictionaries source:

13 Democracy international The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy On the term Democracy: Normative democratic theory deals with the moral foundations of democracy and democratic institutions. It is distinct from descriptive and explanatory democratic theory. It does not offer in the first instance a scientific study of those societies that are called democratic. It aims to provide an account of when and why democracy is morally desirable as well as moral principles for guiding the design of democratic institutions. Of course, normative democratic theory is inherently interdisciplinary and must call on the results of political science, sociology and economics in order to give this kind of concrete guidance. source: Christiano, Tom. "Democracy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <

14 Democracy international The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy a method of group decision making characterized by a kind of equality among the participants at an essential stage of the collective decision making) - democracy concerns collective decision making, decisions that are made for groups and that are binding on all the members of the group. - this definition means to cover a lot of different kinds of groups that may be called democratic (democracy in families, voluntary organizations, economic firms, states, transnational and global organizations) - the equality required by the definition of democracy may be more or less deep; it may be the formal equality of one-person one-vote in an election for representatives to an assembly where there is competition among candidates for the position, or it may be the equality in the direct participation of members of a society in deciding on the laws and policies Source: Christiano, Tom. "Democracy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <

15 Democracy international The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The Justification of Democracy We can evaluate democracy along at least two different dimensions: consequentially, by reference to the outcomes of using it compared with other methods of political decision making; or intrinsically, by reference to qualities that are inherent in the method, for example, whether there is something inherently fair about making democratic decisions on matters on which people disagree. Instrumental Arguments in Favor of Democracy Two kinds of in instrumental benefits are commonly attributed to democracy: relatively good laws and policies and improvements in the characters of the participants. Source: Christiano, Tom. "Democracy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <

16 Democracy international The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Instrumental Arguments against Democracy Plato (Republic, Book VI) argues that democracy is inferior to various forms of monarchy, aristocracy and even oligarchy on the grounds that democracy tends to undermine the expertise necessary to properly governed societies. In a democracy, he argues, those who are expert at winning elections and nothing else will eventually dominate democratic politics. Democracy tends to emphasize this expertise at the expense of the expertise that is necessary to properly governed societies. The reason for this is that most people do not have the kinds of talents that enable them to think well about the difficult issues that politics involves. But in order to win office or get a piece of legislation passed, politicians must appeal to these people's sense of what is right or not right. Hence, the state will be guided by very poorly worked out ideas that experts in manipulation and mass appeal use to help themselves win office. Source: Christiano, Tom. "Democracy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <

17 Liberty Some argue that the basic principles of democracy are founded in the idea that each individual has a right to liberty. Democracy, it is said, extends the idea that each ought to be master of his or her life to the domain of collective decision making. First, each person's life is deeply affected by the larger social, legal and cultural environment in which he or she lives. Second, only when each person has an equal voice and vote in the process of collective decision-making will each have control over this larger environment... Since individuals have a right of self-government, they have a right to democratic participation. This right is established at least partly independently of the worth of the outcomes of democratic decision making. The idea is that the right of self-government gives one a right, within limits, to do wrong. Just as an individual has a right to make some bad decisions for himself or herself, so a group of individuals have a right to make bad or unjust decisions for themselves regarding those activities they share. Source: Christiano, Tom. "Democracy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <

18 Legislative Representation A number of debates have centered on the question of what kinds of legislative institution are best for a democratic society. What choice we make here will depend heavily on our underlying ethical justification of democracy, our conception of citizenship as well as on our empirical understanding of political institutions and how they function. The most basic types of formal political representation available are single member district representation, proportional representation and group representation. In addition, many societies have opted for multicameral legislative institutions. In some cases, combinations of the above forms have been tried. Source: Christiano, Tom. "Democracy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <

19 Legislative Representation Single member district representation returns single representatives of geographically defined areas containing roughly equal populations to the legislature and is present most prominently in the United States and the United Kingdom. The most common form of proportional representation is party list proportional representation. In a simple form of such a scheme, a number of parties compete for election to a legislature that is not divided into geographical districts. Parties acquire seats in the legislature as a proportion of the total number of votes they receive in the voting population as a whole. Group representation occurs when the society is divided into non-geographically defined groups such as ethnic or linguistic groups or even functional groups such as workers, farmers and capitalists and returns representatives to a legislature from each of them. Source: Christiano, Tom. "Democracy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <

20 Source: Christiano, Tom. "Democracy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <

21 Source: Ober, Josiah. The Original Meaning of Democracy : Capacity to Do Things, not Majority Rule, In Constellations, Volume 15, No 1, 2008., URL = < >.

22 Remember? Permaculture Demos parts of the system -Kratos, -Archos rules of the system Source: /images/principles_menu.gif

23 Authority Tradition Fundamentalism Totality? Source:

24 Authority Tradition Fundamentalism Totality? Fundamentalism New Dictionary of the History of Ideas 2005 Kenney, Jeffrey Copyright A term used loosely to describe a reaction of (neo)traditional religion against the pressures of modernity, fundamentalism became a widespread topic of interest in the media and the academy during the last quarter of the twentieth century. According to many observers, fundamentalism is a worldwide phenomenon, arising in various societies with differing cultural backgrounds and experiences of modernity. The original understanding of fundamentalism, however, took shape in an American Protestant context... Source:

25 Sources:

26 Law and the legal system Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. Laws are made by governments, specifically by their legislatures. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution (written or unwritten) and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics and society in countless ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. A general distinction can be made between civil law jurisdictions (including Canon and Socialist law), in which the legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates their laws, and common law systems (including Islamic law), where judge-made binding precedents are accepted. In some countries, religion may inform the law... Sources

27 Legal subjects All legal systems deal with the same basic issues, but jurisdictions categorise and identify its legal subjects in different ways. A common distinction is that between "public law" (a term related closely to the state, and including constitutional, administrative and criminal law), and "private law" (which covers contract, tort and property). In Bergkamp, Lucas. Liability and Environment. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, ISBN , p. 1 2 In civil law systems, contract and tort fall under a general law of obligations, while trusts law is dealt with under statutory regimes or international conventions. International, constitutional and administrative law, criminal law, contract, tort, property law and trusts are regarded as the "traditional core subjects"... Sources

28 Legal systems In general, legal systems can be split between civil law and common law systems... A third type of legal system accepted by some countries without separation of church and state is religious law, based on scriptures. The specific system that a country is ruled by is often determined by its history, connections with other countries, or its adherence to international standards. The legal systems of the world today are generally based on one of three basic systems: civil law, common law, and religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and so incorporates individual variations. Sources and

29 source:

30 Law / Order / Democracy / Háuman Rights Development which does the best? sources: and and

31 Finally Thank You for Your attention See You next week... Please, study texts, write the article (commentary on the studied literature) Prepare for the next lesson Find additional info at: Keep in touch!