The U.S. - a Legitimate Democracy? In any system which claims to be democratic, a question of its legitimacy remains. A truly democratic political system has certain characteristics which prove its legitimacy with their existence. One essential characteristic of a legitimate democracy is that it allows people to freely make choices without government intervention. Another necessary characteristic which legitimates government is that every vote must count equally: one vote for every person. For this …
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…for the power and celebrity that comes with public office"(Dye, 58-59). The legitimacy of the United States government is limited, but in a system of government which was designed not to work, complete democracy is most likely impossible. --- Bibliography Dye, Thomas R. Who's Running America? The Clinton Years. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995. Lind, Michael. The Next American Nation: The New Nationalism and the Fourth American Revolution. New York: The Free Press, 1995.