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When one begins to examine the current hodgepodge of political governmental theories shaping the globe today, words such as “democracy,” “communism,” and “totalitarianism” emerge as dominant forces. Upon further inquiry, each system comprises a specific ideology concerning the relation of the governors to the governed people, however, it is only in democracy that one finds a true partnership between these two parties, thanks in large part to the work of the eighteenth century Enlightenment philosopher, John Locke. Before the era of Locke, the “age of reason” (encompassing the opinion that human beings are considered rational creatures capable of employing reason and logic in order to solve pressing questions of the time), around the time of the English Glorious Revolution (1689), “democracy” encompassed a much different scope than most use it today in the common vernacular. Its etymology can trace back to the days of the Republic of Ancient Rome and the rule of the Senate, one of the first true “governments of the people, for the people, and by the people” as President Abraham Lincoln phrased within his Gettysburg Address. Democracy’s correlation with the formulation of American political philosophy, however, would demand a solid foundation of purely epistemological, Lockian conjecture, earning John Locke designation as a “Father of a truly American system of government.” The United States would incorporate some of Locke’s most radical views into the construction of its most prized political documents (the Constitution and Declaration of Independence), which in subsequent years, would prove a model for democracies the world over. Long before the founders of the United States of America assembled in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, committing their energies to the establishment of a purely democratic government, citizens of the Ancient Roman Empire embraced democratic principles in the organization of their Republic. Such ideals as the “rule of the majority,” and “the development of man’s potentiality to govern himself” remained unheard of before Rome sent its legions outside of Italy to conquer the known world. Although Roman culture assimilated many practices of the Hellenistic civilization before it, including its deities, it would abstain from a crippling vision of man at the mercy of a vengeful god or goddess who determined his fate. Such a shift in paradigm allowed Roman society to contemplate the contribution each individual could make toward the administration of the entire community, however, in essence, true power lingered within the hands of the patricians (Roman societal elite), those men groomed for political life. In light of such an elitist attitude, elections comprised a formality, as the Senate morphed into an oligarchy. Administration by the few for the many became a standard facet of government throughout the next few thousand years, leading toward the rise of the monarchy and the institution of the principle of divine right.
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