- Published: September 15, 2022
- Updated: September 15, 2022
- University / College: The University of Georgia
- Level: Secondary School
- Language: English
- Downloads: 26
Sur Likely outcomes that might result if there were no checks and balances and separation of powers in the American government.
The American government is comprised of three branches of government that work in tandem with one another. These are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Each arm of the government keeps the other in check in order to ensure that no one branch becomes more powerful than the other. Separation of power assigns unique roles to each branch of the government whereby the legislature has the mandate to make laws and pass the budget while the executive vetoes or enforces those laws and appoints federal judges among other roles. The judiciary on the other hand interprets laws and their application in specific circumstances. A system of check and balances ensure that each branch as the authority to decide on certain kinds of issues although each branch often require cooperation from other branches if the decisions are to implemented successfully (Wood).
However, in the absence of these checks and balance, there would be a potential abuse of power from these arms of the government that would result to a tyrannical regime. Firstly, if the legislature had the powers to create any law that it desired, however malicious it may be, there would be no one to oppose it. This could lead to exploitation and infringement of the rights of the American citizens who would be defenseless against such unconstitutional laws.
Checks and balances are vital in providing an oversight over the actions of the executive. In absence of these checks and balances, the executive might abuse its powers by appointing incompetent, unqualified or corrupt people into public office in order to serve their own selfish interest. However, if the checks and balances do exist, the senate would reject such appointments so as to ensure integrity in the system. Furthermore, the courts can Judge the executives actions to be unconstitutional through the power of the judicial review.
In addition, the absence of checks and balances would lead to the rise of ambitious and unscrupulous office holders in some of these branches of government with the sole purpose of encroaching upon the powers and authority of other branches hence leading to a tyrannical concentration of powers (Wood).
In conclusion, checks and balances and separation of powers in the American government ensures accountability which translates into a policy making process that puts the interests of the minority along with those of the majority into serious consideration. However, this system is not flawless as at times it has been criticized for stalemate, gridlock and inefficiency. This system though, has been effective in preventing the rise of dictatorships and rise of tyrannical regimes since its inception by the drafters.
Works Cited
Wood, Gordon S. The Creation of the American Replic, 1776 – 1787. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998.