Comparative Analysis Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Comparative Analysis Paper - Essay Example This, in essence, was a stunning and radical idea; the previous political atmosphere before the American Revolution was that state and sovereign authority was derived solely from the monarch. The American framers of the Constitution made sure that political authority should emanate from the people, through the holding of regular, free, and fair elections in the form of representative democracy in which those who weld political power has to seek a new mandate each time by election. Some historians suspect the idea of a separation of powers came from a suggestion made by Alexis de Tocqueville, a foremost French observer of the American experiment in the new representative democracy in which sovereign will resides in the people, although the idea is not new. It had been extensively discussed earlier by John Locke in his â€Å"Two Treatises of Government† at around 1689; even the Greeks under Aristotle also took up the doctrine of the separation of powers in his treatise entitled â€Å"Politics† circa fourth century B. C. E. (before the current era) and subsequently also in ancient republican Rome based on the same principle of checks and balances to prevent abuse of power by any one man or group or cabal. a. The original intentions of the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution had been distorted, such that this noble concept of separation of powers had become the source of policy deadlock in the American government. Instead of helping in the task of governance, it had instead become the main cause of gridlock we see today in the form of bitter partisanship. America today is faced with a host of problems which require urgent solutions, such as the budget deficits, illegal immigration, the war on terror, environmental concerns, peak oil (that oil is now running out and alternative renewable energy sources must be found, and fast) and persistently big trade deficits as well, but cooperation