Feudal System vs. Democracy

Essay Question: "Compared to medieval times where the feudal system was in place, our system today is much fairer"

The Feudal System

The Feudal System was in place during the middle ages. If you were born poor, then you were destined to be poor. At the top was the king. He gave land to the nobles, who each promised to supply the king with soliders in war time. The nobles then divided their land, and gave it to the lower lords and knights. Below the lower lords and knights were the "peasants" or "serfs", they worked on the land in exchange for having a place to live and food to eat. You were born into what class or "level of society". So if your father was a peasant, then you were a peasant.

Trials were done in many ways. Some you were immediatly thought of to be guilty, and sentenced to death or another punishment. Some were done by ordeal. This was done usually by fire or water, though there was more. Trial by fire involved the accused putting their hand into a cauldron filled with boiled water, and pulling out a metal rod. if the blisters healed within 3 days, they were innocent. They believed that god knew they were innocent if he helped them heal quickly. Trial by water involved the accused being thrown into a lake. If he sank, he was innocent (but he would drown). But if he floated, then he was guilty (they believed that god had made him float, proving him guilty). They then took him out of the water and killed him.

Democracy

In modern times, in country's such as Australia, our government is a Democracy. Our prime ministers or presidents are elected through a vote. Every Australian citizen thats over 18 has the privelege to vote. They can vote for any party which is in the election. The bigger the percentage of votes a party gets, the more seats in parliament it gets. But the party with the most votes wins the election, and gets to have their leader as prime ministers, who gets to elect people from his own party to go into positions such as health minister, foriegn minister and environmental minister. They all help the prime minister govern the country. Any australian citizen could become the prime minister, or be part of the government.

The government also creates the laws that everyone abides by. When a law is created it is made into a bill. The bill then goes through many stages, before it is made into law. If your parents were poor, that doesnt mean you are. You can go to university and study for a better job. Trials are done in court. They are heard by a jury, which is made up of ordinary citizens who dont know the people involved. That way they can make a decision based on the evidence, rather then personal opinion of the person. 

Differences

The main differences between The Feudal System and Democracy, is that the latter is much fairer. The Democracy allows people to have more freedom, not restricting them to certain jobs and levels of society. It also gives people the choice on who is the prime minister and which party he/she is from, instead of having kings who inherit it from their decendants. The democracy, in general, is much, much fairer.

Conclusion

Compared to medieval times where the feudal system was in place, our system today is much fairer. The democracy gives more rights to the common man. Trials also act upon evidence moreso then in the feudal system.