Taking Sides: Issue 21: Kaplan and Kagan

Essay by REvil804High School, 12th grade March 2005

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Taking Sides argument: Issue 21

Democracy is Government by the people. There are many different views on whether democracy is good or bad and if it works. Robert Kagan and Robert Kaplan have opposed thoughts on democracy.

First off, Robert Kagan supports the concepts of democracy. He states that it has taken part in many countries like it never has before. The conditions that are necessary for democracy are economics. Another is literacy, which is not just knowing how to read and write it goes beyond that. You have to know all of the responsibilities in a democratic society. Since America has tried to adopt democracy it helps governments' military and economic expansion. The people who want democracy to spread usually fight about idealistic and practical approaches do not work because the security of the United States is at risk by absolute governments. Kagan concludes that "Democracy is not the solution to the world's problems but it is better than the other alternatives."

Kagan thinks that democracy is the only solution that the United States can support consistently. Kaplan goes on to say that the spread of democracy during the last twenty years has been a good thing for the United States and the world.

Another view of the democracy is by Robert Kaplan. He states that instead of putting all our focus on elections that we should put some attention towards promoting family, planning, environmental renewal, road building, and other projects to stabilize nations. In Kaplan's eyes, what third world countries need is not democracy. He goes on to say that democracy does not strengthen countries but it even weakens them. Kaplan suggests that democracy is too hard for people to obtain and is actually not good for them to have. Democracy, that people encourage in poor parts...