Pluralism in America

Democracy is a belief in political science that involves universal suffrage, political equality in votes, majority rule, and a constant response from the peoples government. There are different types of theories that go along with democracy. Some theories of power in a democracy include Marxism, Elitism, Bureaucratic Elitism, and Pluralism. In Marxism, the idea can be simplified to money equals power. If you have economic power, you are ultimately able to make the countries decisions. In elitism, the government and military is in power. In Bureaucratic Elitism, bureaucrats, which are government officials that are not elected, are in control. But the one that describes our country the most is Pluralism.

In Pluralism, groups must work together to make decisions and ideas to approach a compromise. Views in Pluralism are so scattered and different for every group, and the groups have the power to make the decisions, so everyone gets a chance to have a say. Monopolies are impossible, and there are no such thing as elites. Pluralism simply means political diversity.

A Black Lives Matter protest in Seattle

The reason the United States is best described as a pluralist country is because there are so many groups that have followers, and are represented in the government as well. One example of this is the LGBT group. In congress, the LGBT group is represented by six representatives and one senator. The LGBT group is a large group of people that are able to push rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people among the states. Another example of this is Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter is an activist group lead by African-Americans to point out and act against actions of racial inequality and police brutality. Black Lives Matter was able to develop so many followers and push rights and awareness for African-Americans.

A demographic of the religion of the United States (2007)

The religious diversity of the United States is also proof of Pluralism. America was built on the concept of freedom of religion. There are so many religious groups nowadays that have supporters that a one type of religion does not dominate the United States anymore. There are Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jewish, and the list can go on.

So what is the significance of all of these statistics and examples? Why does this show the United States is Pluralist? Pluralism is a diverse version of a democracy, no single group dominates the country and makes the decisions. All of the examples that are listed are instances of diversity, and acts of protest and representation.