Brady Marsh
Intermediate Composition- Rhetorical Analysis
2/9/15
Rhetorical Analysis: Ideal Democracy by Carl Becker
In today’s world people all over the world, when asked, would give what their opinion of
democracy is and what it means to them. There would be millions of different answers that
would all be based around the idea that democracy is supposed to be a form of government that
is for the people and by the people. What is interesting is that even though all of the answers
would differ, parts of each and every one of them would be right. There is no true definition of
democracy because over the years people have put their own twists and spins on the meaning and
on the application of democracy. In his essay, “Ideal Democracy”, published in 1941, Professor
and historian Carl L. Becker argues that even in today’s society people do not really know what
democracy is because no one has ever know what democracy really is, even dating back to the
ancient Greek times. Becker takes no time diving into his thoughts and feelings on the topic of
democracy. He explains that democracy, like many other phrases or terms that we know are not
truly as simple as we may have thought previously. “Democracy, like liberty or science or
progress, is a word with which we are all so familiar that we rarely take the trouble to ask what
we mean by it.” (Becker, 147) He challenges readers by taking something that should be so
simple and shining a new light on it so that way it may be seen in a whole new perspective that
may not have been thought of before. Becker splits up this essay into three parts; the first part
showing that democracy may not be as simple as people think it is and that the term democracy
has been thrown around and twisted to fit different forms of government, the second part
informing the reader that in order to truly make judgments about democracy you have to look
deeper into the background of the time and place that democracy was trying to be implemented
so that way a fair and just judgment can be made. “In order to form an objective judgment of its
nature and significance, we must therefore first of all get it in proper perspective.” (Becker, 150),
the third part Becker points out the fact that faith plays a very big role in the advancement of
democracy, there will be times that things might not seem like the best idea but sometimes you
have to take a risk and believe that things will work out well in the future.
Being a historian Becker already has a stereotype about him that he is a very factual and
simple person. Becker defies this stereotype by expressing his true feelings at the beginning of
this piece. Becker states that he is honored and feels very nervous about giving a speech to a very
large crowd. Becker lets the reader and the listeners into his mind a little bit just to see how he
really feels about the situation set in-front of him. Becker describes how some of the weight was
lifted off of his shoulders when he found out that he would be presenting this speech at the
University of Virginia. “I often find it difficult, when invited to speak before a university
audience, to hit upon a proper subject. But the invitation to deliver the Page-Barbour lectures at
the University of Virginia relieved me of that difficulty.” (Becker, 147) Becker felt honored to be
able to give this speech because it was associated with the name of a famous founder, Thomas
Jefferson. At this point Becker was thrilled because of the extensive knowledge he had of
Jefferson since Becker was indeed a historian. Becker speaks very much about some of the past
leaders and people of history that have impacts on today’s society. Thomas Jefferson was just his
first of many different historical examples that are given to support the claims he makes. Becker
did not only use important American figures, he also speaks of Hitler, Mussolini, Napoleon,
Stalin, Caesar and many more. Becker was not afraid to use some controversial figure heads of
other countries and that was a very bold move because this speech was published in 1941 which
was not so long after World War II (WWII) had started in which the U.S. was at war with Hitler,
Stalin and Mussolini. This speech struck a chord with the audience of this piece, some people
had to re-evaluate their way of thinking.
Becker challenges the audience when writing this speech, he challenges the audience by
making them think about what they already know and whether that information is actually true or
as accurate as they thought. In his first part Becker just jumps right in and states that when
people hear the word democracy they will very quickly get an idea in their head, but is that idea
correct? Becker argues that it may not be because the term democracy has been tossed around for
centuries. The meaning of the word has been mangled and manipulated so much that nobody
really knows and exact definition for it now. Many rulers in the past have called their
government a democracy because it hit some of the benchmarks that are supposed to be hit in
order to have a democracy. For example, Caesar gained his power through popular vote but he
still ran the government as a dictatorship, even though there was a majority that wanted him to be
the ruler that does not make it a democracy. Many have tried to come up with a solid definition
for the term democracy but just when someone had come up with one, somebody else was
figuring out a way around it. Even in today’s world the definition of democracy is, a government
of the people, by the people, for the people. This definition has been manipulated by people in
power by them abusing the meaning of democracy. “to define it as government of the people, by
the people, for the people; or to define it as government of the people, by the politicians, for
whatever pressure groups can get their interests taken care of.” (Becker, 148) Becker points out
that democracy is not always what it is supposed to be, people have still found ways around it so
that way they can make things work out in their best favor.
With Becker raising some curiosity from his first section of his speech he transitions in to
the second part very smoothly. Becker first challenged the beliefs and the prior knowledge of the
audience and now that the new information has been set in-front of them Becker knows that
some new opinions are going to form. In his second part Becker states that before anybody
jumps to any conclusions the audience first has to have some crucial background information to
truly make a sound judgment. Over time and throughout history many people have been very
quick to judge democracy before actually thinking things out first. In ancient Greece there were
the first signs of democracy Becker states, there were very good times for democracy in the
smaller cities of Greece and then later Rome, but then all traces of democracy disappeared.
Becker informs the audience that even though democracy had disappeared for a little while that it
came back in the nineteenth century, but this time it came back in some of the more populated
and more popular parts of the world. For example, democracy popped back up in Europe South
America, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Japan. Becker points out that at this time
democracy had only had limited success as the main form of government, it was not yet a
foolproof plan. “From this brief survey it is obvious that, taking the experience of mankind as a
test, democracy has as yet had but a limited and temporary success. There must be a reason for
this significant fact.” (Becker, 151) Later in the second part Becker returns to the point that
people would have formed their own opinions, he has given many different examples of when
democracy has been tried out in civilizations. One fact that Becker stands behind is that there is a
very defining difference in how well democracy works in a smaller city or town and how well it
works on a much larger scale, like a whole country. Also, Becker points out that democracy is
not something that can be used to pull a crippling country out of the hole it’s in, democracy can
only work when the country and city/town is in a good place economically and health wise.
“Democracy does not flourish in communities on the verge of destitution…..In modern times
democratic institutions have, generally speaking, been most successful in new countries, such as
the United States, Canada and Australia, where the conditions of life have been easy for the
people.” (Becker, 152) At this point now it would be okay for the audience to start making some
better opinions about the recent information that has been given by Becker. He has provided
them with some crucial information that can give them multiple perspectives on this topic of
democracy.
Finally, finishing up the speech, Becker stresses the fact that believing and having faith in
the future is key, you have to be able to dream high and set goals and then work towards them
because when there is something that is unclear in this world you have to try and find ways to
make it clear. Becker wants the audience to try and make sense of what is this so called “simple”
word, democracy, and to try and give it a true meaning that can make it simple and easy to
understand but also effective when in use.
After reading through this piece multiple times I now have a completely new idea of what
I think of when I hear the word democracy. I have been able to see it from a whole new
perspective that makes the words meaning seem simplified and easier to understand. I believe
that was Becker’s intent for this essay, was for the audience to hear and read what he had to say
and then go back and make sense of what seemed to be so blurry and confusing upon first sight.
“The problem may be otherwise stated: Can the flagrant inequality of possessions and of
opportunity now existing in democratic societies be corrected by the democratic method?” (The
Dilemma of Modern Democracy, Becker) This is the main question of democracy and it has been
the same question all throughout history, I believe that this question will be answered and
someday democracy will be a very clear and effective form of government that can be used by
all people.
Works Cited
Becker, Carl L. "Ideal Democracy." Page-Barbour Lectures. University of Virginia. 6 Feb.
2015. Modern Democracy. N.p.: n.p., 1941. 147-60. Print.
Becker, Carl L. "The Dilemma of Modern Democracy." The Dilemma of Modern Democracy.
N.p., 31 Mar. 2010. Web. 09 Feb. 2015
Reflections
1.) I would explain rhetoric as a form of language, rhetoric varies between all people.
Rhetoric is how somebody uses words or how they present something using language.
2.) It is important to know about rhetoric because it then allows you to be able to read
deeper into an author’s piece and you can really break it up and understand it more. I
can use what I learned about rhetoric to use it in my papers and projects, I can learn
how to use it most effectively for me so that when teachers or anyone reads my
papers they can easily understand what I am trying to say.
3.) A discourse community is the intended audience that an author is trying to reach out
to when writing or speaking about anything. They are the target group of people that
would possibly understand the piece the easiest because it is written in terms that only
they would understand.
4.) It is important to know about discourse communities because in the future when I am
analyzing a piece of writing or a speech I want to be able to know who the intended
audience was so I can have a better understanding of what the author’s point was that
he/she was trying to get across. I can use what I know in my writing by writing to a
certain discourse community and using tactics and language that they would be able
to understand easier when reading so that way the audience knows what I am saying
in my papers.