PS100: US Government and Politics

US Government and Politics
Name
Course number
Instructor’s name
Date
There is a raging debate on whether elected officials are required to behave as trustees or delegates while making decisions. The problematic issue with representation is the fact that many voters are ignorant about political issues and interests. This poses a challenge to the legislators because they are required to represent the interests of their constituents owing to the fact that they are elected through popular vote and yet many of the American voters are unable to fully understand their interests. Americans have strong beliefs about some issues although they are sometimes ignorant of their interests making it extremely difficult to achieve an understanding of the constituents’ majority opinion indicates that a balance between delegate and the trustee model of representation should guide all decisions.
Elected officials as agents represent the people either through the model of a trustee or delegate representation. A trustee assumes that the voters have trust in his capability to display wisdom that is beyond the constituents and he leads them rather than follows them. The trustee model indicates that the legislator makes decisions that are in the best interest of the constituents without consulting them about their wishes and beliefs. The trustee model as espoused by Edmund Burke connotes that a legislator is a member of the legislative body and not a member of the constituency which he represents. This implies that the decisions he makes are in the best interest of the whole nation rather than just the interest of one community or constituency (Russell 5)
A delegate on the other hand consults the will of the people in all critical decisions. The delegate model requires the legislator to undertake only the duties given by the voters (Russell 1). The delegate model is the direct opposite of the trustee model because it views the elected representative as one that represents the will of the people. It views the legislators that subscribe to the trustee model as ones that represent themselves and not the people. The delegate model indicates that the judgment of a district is less prone to error because of its size and is therefore more reliable than one of a single person that purports to make decisions in the best interest of the nation (Russell 6). It indicates that a government that fails to follow the instructions of its citizens is not fit to be referred to as a representative democracy.
The trustee model is appropriate because it recognizes the fact that the elected official takes cognizance of the opinion of the majority where it exists. It also acknowledges that an ‘instruction’ from the constituents does not always exist and this why the legislator takes decisions that are in his view in accordance to the constituents’ and nation’s best interest. This works to meet the needs and demands of the Americ...