Transcript How Democratic Is America?

BY
HOWARD
ZINN
I. ESSAY SETTING
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Written in 1971.
Vietnam War.
Civil Rights movement.
Protests, riots, assassinations.
What’s wrong with American society?
Howard Zinn
Zinn during
World War II.
Shortly before
his death in
2010 at age 87.
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II. STANDARD DEFINITION
OF DEMOCRACY
• FOUR questions are
commonly asked to determine
if a country is a democracy:
II. STANDARD DEFINITION
OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.)
#1 Q: Who makes decisions?
A: Elected officials in a
representative system.
(a.k.a., a Republic or an Indirect Democracy)
II. STANDARD DEFINITION
OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.)
#2 Q: Who can vote?
A: All adult citizens.
(a.k.a., Universal Suffrage)
II. STANDARD DEFINITION
OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.)
#3 Q: Are individual rights
guaranteed?
A: Yes. A Bill of Rights is
backed up by government
action.
(First 10 Amendments to
the Constitution.)
II. STANDARD DEFINITION
OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.)
#4 Q: Is there open competition
for office?
A: Yes. There are no
arbitrary restrictions on who
can run.
(e.g., race, gender, religion, etc.)
II. STANDARD DEFINITION
OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.)
• Zinn rejects using this standard
definition for TWO reasons:
1) It doesn’t reveal nearly
enough about a country.
II. STANDARD DEFINITION
OF DEMOCRACY (CONT.)
2) Democracy is too complex to
be a simple YES/NO question.
YES
NO
III. METHODS OF COMPARISON
• To find out HOW democratic
America is, one might compare it
to 3 things:
1) Other countries.
BETTER THAN BAD
GOOD
III. METHODS OF COMPARISON
(CONT.)
2) Our own history.
DEATH OF
COMPLACENCY = PROGRESS
III. METHODS OF COMPARISON
(CONT.)
3) Perfection; the ideal
democracy.
FLAWS!
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
1) Representation is undemocratic.
Decisions are made by a small
group of ELITES who are out of
touch with the masses.
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
2) The public often does not
have
access to accurate and
timely information that is vital to
good decision-making.
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
3) The draft (and war in general)
unfairly discriminates against:
young, poor, uneducated, men.
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
4) Equality before the law
does NOT exist.
The legal system favors the
rich, the white, celebrities and
the conformist.
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
5) Resources are not fairly
distributed. The working poor
do not have access to adequate:
1) food, 2) clothing, 3) shelter,
4) health care, and 5) education.
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
6) Children of the wealthy have
access to a good education and a
chance to go on to college while
poor kids often do not.
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
7) Everyone has the freedom of
expression, but only the wealthy
and well-connected get HEARD.
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
8) Freedom for individuality is
often restricted.
Choices like same-sex
marriage and marijuana are still
illegal in many states.
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
9) The drive for corporate
profit often results in unnecessary
suffering and death.
IV. Zinn’s 10 criticisms
10) While protest is necessary to
make change happen it is often
suppressed by the government.