Authoritarianism vs. Democracy: Key Concepts and History
Authoritarianism
The attitude of those who exercise their authority over others.
Leader
A person who is recognized as a leader by a group.
Drop
To remove someone or something from its place.
Powers
Control, power, jurisdiction, or power you have over something.
Fascism
A political and social movement of a totalitarian nature that occurred in Italy, on Benito Mussolini’s initiative, after the First World War.
Nazism
A political and social movement of Pangerman, fascist, and anti-Semitic character.
Despotic
A ruler who governs without subjection to any law.
Tyrant
A person who obtains the rule of law against a state.
Autocrat
A person who alone exercises supreme authority in a state.
Coercion
Pressure on someone to force their will or their behavior.
Consensus
Agreement produced by consent among all members of a group or several groups.
Plebiscite
A resolution adopted by an entire people by a majority of votes.
Democracy
Political doctrines favorable to the intervention of the people in government.
Handle
A skillful means to intervene, sometimes devious, in politics.
Segregation
To separate and marginalize a person or group of persons for social, political, or cultural reasons.
Arbitrary
Something that depends on the will.
Victim
Someone who has suffered serious damage of a collective character.
Solidarity
Circumstantial accession to the cause or the company of others.
Guild
A set of people who have the same exercise.
Leadership
Status or superiority in which a company, product, or industry is within its scope.
Viable
That of a case whose circumstances make it likely to be possible to carry out.
Consensual
A decision by mutual agreement between two or more parties.
Obstructing Means
Preventing the operation of an agent, either physically or in the immaterial.
Pesticides
Intended to combat pests.
Loan
A loan that the state takes from a firm or corporation.
Company
An organizational unit engaged in industrial activities.
Productivity
Capacity or level of output per unit of work.
Government
Supporter of the government in case of discord and civil war.
Delegate
That of a person to another jurisdiction that is dignity or office, for in lieu thereof or to give it its representation.
State
All the organs of government within a sovereign country.
Rule of Law
A system of life that each and all citizens enjoy the benefits afforded by the law.
Division of Powers
It consists in making legal decisions of government and administration of justice by an independent person.
Inclusion
Refers to when people feel disenfranchised and are confident that the solutions to be sought and implemented.
Constitutional Guarantees
The reasons which form the state. The certainty that the constitution will be upheld.
Representation
Rulers should act in accordance with the needs and income of the governed.
Authoritarianism
The concentration of power in one person or group without consultation with the governed. The decision by the leader without taking anybody’s opinion. Authoritarianism emerged in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, praising companies’ need to make decisions in emergencies.
Characteristics of Fascism
- The glorification of the ideal of a nation, as Marxism, made it quite possible that he could reach the person.
- The exaltation of the leader is sought through print advertising, film, and radio, with the erection of monuments and medals.
- Issuing activities for disadvantaged populations to gain their support.
Characteristics of Nationalism
- The Nazis were based on evolutionary theories.
- Used a trend called “natural selection”.
- Nazis suggested that as species evolve, a group was more improved than the other.
- For the Nazis, removing other groups was most natural because it eliminated the species groups most “backward”.
Natural Selection in National Socialism
It was based on the least favored evolutionary theories tending to disappear.
Characteristics of the Authoritarian
Concentration of power in a few, the absence of consensus, coercion, and exclusion.
Absent in the Consensus of the Authoritarian
Demands the participation of several individuals and groups to reach an agreement in which all are satisfied.
Coercive Measures
- Control over education: People should have access only to information that supports the government or a particular group.
- Control over the media: The media is given material to publish.
- Laws against the opposition: It is common for legislative bodies in countries with authoritarian governments to enact laws limiting the exercise of the opposition.
- Limitations on contacts abroad: Usually prevents the movement of media from other countries.
Strategies of Exclusion
- Legislation: Laws are issued limiting the participation of certain groups in making significant shear.
- Education: School participation is limited to certain groups.
- Gender: It restricts the participation of women in leadership positions.
- Religion: It is common to limit the participation of people with different religious beliefs than the leaders to avoid criticism of government actions.
Authoritarianism
- The final decision had the ruling under his authority.
- There is no balance in rights.
- The people are deceived because everything is handled by authoritarianism.
Democracy
They take the opinions of all individuals and groups to reach an agreement. There is a balance in the law exercised and applied duties.
Evolutions of Democracy
Pre-Hispanic period: The rulers had a body of advisors on board two for the nobility, but the population had no access to the obsessions.
Constitutionalism
Refers to the form of government that exercises authority under a constitution, which is a law of which were divided.
Evolution of Constitutionalism
- Spanish monarchy.
- After independence, a constitution valid for any ism.
- Separation of the Central American Federation.
- The most important constitution, organizing the state for more than half a century.
- 1945, a new constitution.
- Replaced in 1956.
- 1966, was subsequently replaced.
- Drafted by a constituent national assembly elected by democracy in 1985 and renovated in 1993.
Implications of Authoritarianism
- Economics: It limits the development of most of the population.
- Social: They create divisions among the leaders, with many privileges.
- Politics: The birth of a large group of opponents.
- Cultural: It harms the people’s participation in cultural activities and traditional spontaneous events.
- Ethics: The people are in the dilemma of acting as they believe is right or following the rules dictated by authoritarian governments.
Pluralism
The possibility that differences in political views and differences are respected and taken into account in the processes.