Question

Why should all the powers of the government not be in the hands of one person?

Answer 1

Concept:

• The answer can be reached by asking what would go wrong if one person held every power, which is the practical side of the same argument.
• The source itself supplies the reasoning in its closing lines.

Step 1: Consider who would be left out.
A society contains many different groups and views. If one person decided everything, only that one view would count, and the diverse groups mentioned in the source would have no say at all.

Step 2: Consider what democracy claims.
Democracy rests on the principle that people are the source of all political power and that they rule themselves through institutions of self-government. A single ruler holding all power would contradict both.

Step 3: Consider the conclusion the source draws.
Because everyone must have a voice in shaping public policies, the source concludes that political power should be distributed among as many citizens as possible.

Final Answer: Concentrating all power in one person would deny the diverse groups in society any voice and would contradict the democratic principle that people themselves are the source of political power, which is why power must be spread among as many citizens as possible.

Answer 2

Concept:

• The two reasons for power sharing are usually called the prudential reason and the moral reason.
• Separating them makes the answer clearer, because one looks at results and the other at rights.

Step 1: The prudential reason, based on results.
Sharing power lowers the chance of conflict between social groups. Where conflict builds up it turns into violence and political instability, so a shared arrangement protects the stability of the whole political order.
Belgium managed this successfully, while Sri Lanka suffered years of civil war after refusing to share power.

Step 2: Why majority rule alone is not enough.
A majority community can impose its will on others, and in the short term this may appear to work. Over time it damages the unity of the nation, and the tyranny of the majority ends by ruining the majority itself along with the minority.

Step 3: The moral reason, based on rights.
Democratic rule means sharing power with those who are affected by its exercise and who must live with its consequences. People have a right to be consulted about how they are governed.

Step 4: How the two reasons join.
A government becomes legitimate when citizens take part and thereby acquire a stake in the system. Such a government is both fairer in principle and more stable in practice.

Final Answer: Power sharing is necessary for a practical reason, that it prevents conflict and keeps the political order stable, and for a reason of principle, that people affected by a decision have the right to be consulted about it.

Answer 3

Concept:

• The contribution of self-government is clearest when it is compared with rule by a single authority that answers to no one.
• The comparison brings out three gains, participation, representation and accountability.

Step 1: The gain in participation.
Under a single unaccountable authority, the citizen is only a subject who receives orders. Through institutions of self-government the same citizen elects the representatives, contests elections and takes part in the making of decisions.
Citizens acquire a stake in the system, and a government in which people have a stake is accepted as legitimate.

Step 2: The gain in representation.
A single ruler can reflect only one point of view. An elected council or assembly seats members from many communities, regions and opinions, so the diverse groups and views in society all find a place.
Public policy is then shaped by discussion among these views rather than by one of them alone.

Step 3: The gain in accountability.
Representatives hold office for a fixed term and must return to the voters. That necessity forces them to explain their decisions and to correct unpopular ones, which no unelected authority is obliged to do.

Step 4: The combined effect on power itself.
Because self-government operates at the local, state and union levels together, power is distributed among as many citizens as possible instead of collecting in one pair of hands, which is exactly what the source recommends.

Final Answer: Self-government strengthens democracy by turning subjects into participants, by seating many different views in the bodies that make policy, by forcing representatives to answer to the voters, and by spreading power across several levels rather than concentrating it.