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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper examines the ideas of William Hudson and argues that democracy is really at work. Different ideas are explored. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RG13_SA1140amd.rtf
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large numbers is obvious, but Hudson (2006) points out that the lack of participation in elections is just the tip of the iceberg. The author writes: "Political scientists have documented
citizen disengagement from a whole host of civic institutions and practices that affect our collective well-being" (Hudson, 2006, 135). Then, the author expresses the other side. That is, some worry
about citizens becoming too vocal (Hudson, 2006). Hudson (2006) explains that there is a lot of participation from particular citizens during important votes. It is true that special interest groups
and other very active citizens practically harass members of the government in order to push the vote their way. Of course, the fact that some groups are manipulative does not
make up for apathy at the other end. The author points out the problems in American democracy today. Hudson (2006) explores democratic theory. He explains that there are basically two
models, one of which is the Developmental/Participatory paradigm and the other is the Protective/Pluralist one (Hudson, 2006). The first supports the idea that citizens should be engaged as much as
possible and the second supports the notion that people merely elect representatives and that is all that is supposed to be done (Hudson, 2006). Hudson (2006) acknowledges that he used
to support the idea of removing barriers to increase voter turnout, but notes that when such things have been done, voter turnout did not increase anyway. The author goes on
to examine Alexis de Tocquevilles well-known thesis regarding the erosion of social capital and expands on the notion. It is explained that civic engagement had been good during the twentieth
century, but since the 1960s, people began to trust less, vote less, give less, and join less (Hudson, 2006). Putnams thesis that had been published under the title "Bowling Alone"
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