Essay on Federalism: Advantages and Disadvantages
Federalism, as a form of government, has its advantages and disadvantages. Supporters of federalism state that this form of government can be viewed as the most suitable form to address the interests and needs of diverse groups of people. State’s laws guarantee the application of the best strategies to meet the needs of citizens, e.g. gun control laws, alcohol-related laws, abortion-related laws, etc. Ventral government fails to address these needs in a proper way. Besides, federalism is aimed at strengthening liberty through the division of powers between different levels of government. In fact, the division of power guarantees legal protection against the “concentration of power in a single, unitary government” (Dautrich & Yalof, 2011, p. 78). The division of power helps to preserve liberty. Moreover, federalism helps to encourage social and economic experimentation and provides effective response to changes in different sectors. Democracy encouraged by federalism allows states to develop and implement policies to improve the life of the nation. Adaptability of states to changing environment helps to manage bureaucracy and other issues.
The opponents of federalism provide many arguments that describe the disadvantage of federalism. Federalism can be characterized as an unfair system that involves the existence of economic disparities between the states, and “questions about government accountability for many public programs that are inherent with competing sovereigns” (Dautrich & Yalof, 2011, p. 79). The difference between the states in concluded in different levels of citizens, their financial opportunities, taxes and incomes. The lack of accountability is concluded in challenges caused by the functioning of multiple levels of government, which make it difficult to deal with these challenges effectively. Besides, federalism is dependent on the courts’ decisions to define the rules of this form of government. As a result, the judicial decision making forms the basis of the federalist system functioning.
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