Edexcel Government &amp; Politics - Unit 1 06/06/16

Original post by elchapo97

doesnt the specification change? the content will be much tougher

Why would it change?

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Reply 1122

Original post by Pokémontrainer

I'm not ready on my retake either... :ashamed:

Ah no, why not?

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Reply 1123

Original post by Aaas115

Ah no, why not?

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It is just an exam I will never get :frown:

Reply 1124

Original post by Pokémontrainer

It is just an exam I will never get :frown:

What did you get last year?

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Reply 1125

Original post by Aaas115

What did you get last year?

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B overall - C in unit 1 and A in unit 2.

Reply 1126

Original post by Pokémontrainer

B overall - C in unit 1 and A in unit 2.

That's good! Why are you retaking?

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Reply 1127

Original post by Aaas115

That's good! Why are you retaking?

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Need a better chance at A for my offer!

Reply 1128

Original post by Pokémontrainer

Need a better chance at A for my offer!

Oh okay, that makes sense. If I got a B overall I would be over the moon! But I only started revising two days ago so I've just got to wish for the best

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Reply 1129

Original post by Aaas115

Oh okay, that makes sense. If I got a B overall I would be over the moon! But I only started revising two days ago so I've just got to wish for the best

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Don't worry, that's about as much as I did last year too. You can do it! I can't this time round though...

Reply 1130

Can someone tell me if my arguments for a direct democracy are good enough?:

For:
Purest form of democracy, and the power is in the hands of the people, thus, curing voter apathy and helping with political engagement.
Better educated and well informed society, e.g. more people taking part in political debates during the EU referendum, with some attending the Sky News Debate with David Cameron on the EU referendum
Rule is more legitimate, as the people are making decisions- if the people make policy decisions, they are thus, more likely to accept them, which also adds to government stability- e.g. Scottish Independence referendum, turnout was 84.6%, which increases democratic legitimacy considerably.

Against:
1. It doesn't really cure voter apathy, e.g. in the AV referendum, there was a turnout of merely 42%, thus, illustrating referendums, a form of direct democracy, do not necessarily encourage political participation. Also, side point, direct democracy in an electorate of ours would be difficult anyway, since we have an electorate of 46.2 million since 2015 general election, thus, creating a long and tedious process of policy formation.
2. Electorate could make ill informed decisions based on misinformation, political spin and lack of knowledge, e.g. the EU referendum campaigns have both been thought of as "scaremongering" and providing a lack of impartial info. In addition, some did not understand the pros/cons of AV referendum, which could have possibly lead to the 'no' vote regarding the proportional electoral system, compared to FPTP. Note; these ill informed decisions could be a disadvantage as they would affect the constitution considerably.
3. Finally, only majority views are taken into account in direct democracies, as minority views are harder to advocate, unlike in a representative democracy, where there are representatives for different sections of society, e.g. ethnic minorities, women, etc.

I feel like my for views are too vague???????????

Reply 1131

Tej98

Original post by IRoranth

Same! I loveee talking about divisions within and between parties, just not those in the coalition, loool, what are your points for and against direct democracy? If you're doing democracy?

Party divisions are my speciality, pretty good at them in terms of general and revised knowledge. It's hard to grasp and time consuming I'll admit but definitely an interesting one!

Points for:
- Allows individuals to make decisions as opposed to having such decisions made on their behalf
- People engage in politics on a regular and ongoing basis

Points Against:
- Unworkable in a modern society as individuals may well be ill informed about what the right decisions would be.
- People cannot find a lot of time to cope with making such decisions.

Reply 1132

Nel97

1

Original post by IRoranth

Can someone tell me if my arguments for a direct democracy are good enough?:

For:
Purest form of democracy, and the power is in the hands of the people, thus, curing voter apathy and helping with political engagement.
Better educated and well informed society, e.g. more people taking part in political debates during the EU referendum, with some attending the Sky News Debate with David Cameron on the EU referendum
Rule is more legitimate, as the people are making decisions- if the people make policy decisions, they are thus, more likely to accept them, which also adds to government stability- e.g. Scottish Independence referendum, turnout was 84.6%, which increases democratic legitimacy considerably.

Against:
1. It doesn't really cure voter apathy, e.g. in the AV referendum, there was a turnout of merely 42%, thus, illustrating referendums, a form of direct democracy, do not necessarily encourage political participation. Also, side point, direct democracy in an electorate of ours would be difficult anyway, since we have an electorate of 46.2 million since 2015 general election, thus, creating a long and tedious process of policy formation.
2. Electorate could make ill informed decisions based on misinformation, political spin and lack of knowledge, e.g. the EU referendum campaigns have both been thought of as "scaremongering" and providing a lack of impartial info. In addition, some did not understand the pros/cons of AV referendum, which could have possibly lead to the 'no' vote regarding the proportional electoral system, compared to FPTP. Note; these ill informed decisions could be a disadvantage as they would affect the constitution considerably.
3. Finally, only majority views are taken into account in direct democracies, as minority views are harder to advocate, unlike in a representative democracy, where there are representatives for different sections of society, e.g. ethnic minorities, women, etc.

I feel like my for views are too vague???????????

You can always limit your advantages, if you feel that it is too vague.

Such as while the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum had a remarkable turnout rate of 85%. It could go to the other way like in the 1994 London Mayor referendum of only 34% turnout which makes the decision not legitimate.

Reply 1133

Original post by Nel97

You can always limit your advantages, if you feel that it is too vague.

Such as while the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum had a remarkable turnout rate of 85%. It could go to the other way like in the 1994 London Mayor referendum of only 34% turnout which makes the decision not legitimate.

What do you mean I can limit my advantages, shouldn't I expand or get more advantages? I reeeeally think direct democracy is going to pop up, i'll be glad if it doesn't D:

Reply 1134

chloelong

Original post by MBenjamin

Here you go!

Thanks so much!

Reply 1135

Original post by Pokémontrainer

Don't worry, that's about as much as I did last year too. You can do it! I can't this time round though...

You can only get better though! I'm sure you'll be fine, especially if you barely revised last year and got a B!

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Reply 1136

Nel97

1

Original post by IRoranth

What do you mean I can limit my advantages, shouldn't I expand or get more advantages? I reeeeally think direct democracy is going to pop up, i'll be glad if it doesn't D:

I just told you how xD By looking at your advantage of legitimacy. The Scottish Independent Referendum arguably is a one-off situation and is not a strong argument for 'this is how referendum will go' because there were a lot of variables involved - lowering the age to 16. People will get fatigued from having so many referendums that they won't bother turning out to vote therefore making the decision or referendum illegitimate such as the 1998 London Mayor Referendum.

Reply 1137

Hiro2514

since we only need to answer two questions tomorrow, do you think i would be limiting myself if I only studied two topics from unit 1?

Reply 1138

Original post by Nel97

I just told you how xD By looking at your advantage of legitimacy. The Scottish Independent Referendum arguably is a one-off situation and is not a strong argument for 'this is how referendum will go' because there were a lot of variables involved - lowering the age to 16. People will get fatigued from having so many referendums that they won't bother turning out to vote therefore making the decision or referendum illegitimate such as the 1998 London Mayor Referendum.

Ohhhhh, I totally get you now! Thank you for explaining =)

Reply 1139