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 …showed first 75 words of 1327 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1327 total…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.