As a result, the trustee representation in American has not served the nation's interests since representatives have continued to work for their personal interests. Actually, these representatives continue to strictly support the best interests of their political party and corporate sponsors ("Who is the Boss?" par, 6).
The main reason attributed to the tendency by politicians to serve the interests of their political party and corporate sponsors at the expense of the nation's interests is the huge amounts of money in today's politics in the United States. The perversion of the trustee model of representation by politicians is evident in the tendency by these elected officials to vote against issues that majority of voters support.
In light of these facts, the delegate model of representation may not be the most suitable means for the American population. Even with this kind of model, elected officials are likely to continue supporting the best interests of their political parties and corporate sponsors that play a key role in their election. Therefore, the best model would be a balance between the trustee and the delegate model of representation. This balance would first enable the citizens to develop an interest in governance because their interests would serve as the basis for evaluating the performance of politicians. On the other hand, the balance would help in providing checks and balances with which politicians would not be inclined to serve the personal interests.
The boundary that helps in creating a balance between the two models is a combination of the nation's interests and constituents' interests. Candidates should be required to clearly state their plans in serving the nation's interests and constituents' interests through whom they can be sanctioned and evaluated.
In conclusion, the task of representation is quite complex and challenging though it's the basis of every political structure and culture. Representation plays a crucial role in politics since it provides a way with which the public can get involved...
This concept has mainly been dominated by two models i.e. The trustee and the delegate models. The trustee model is based on serving the nation's interests through personal judgment while delegate model is based on serving the constituents' interests through constituents' mandate. While American politics has been based on trustee model that has been extremely perverted, the delegate model is not the most suitable means of representation. A balance between these two models seems as the most appropriate way of dealing with the perversion and enhancing the citizens' involvement in public governance.
Works Cited:
Fox, Justin, and Kenneth W. Shotts. "Delegates or Trustees? A Theory of Political Accountability." Yale University. Yale University, 23 June 2007. Web. 16 May 2013. .
REHFELD, ANDREW. "Representation Rethought: On Trustees, Delegates, and Gyroscopes in the Study of Political Representation and Democracy." American Political Science Review 103.2 (2009): 214-30. Brown University. Brown University, May 2009. Web. 16 May 2013. .
Rosenfeld, Zachary. "Are Republicans Fielding a Delegate When America Wants a Trustee?" The Citizen: The Official Student Newpaper at Harvard Kennedy School. The Citizen, 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 16 May 2013. .
RUSSELL, MATTHEW. "TRUSTEE or DELEGATE: A LEGITIMATE QUESTION FACING POLITICAL REPRESENTATION." STUDENT RESEARCH BRIEFING SERIES 2.2 (2012): 1-26. DEPARTMENT of POLITICAL SCIENCE ~ TUFTS UNIVERSITY. TUFTS UNIVERSITY, 2012. Web. 16 May 2013. .
Schwartz, Nancy Lou. The Blue Guitar: Political Representation and Community. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1988. Print.
Verstein, Andrew. "Trustee or Delegate? Understanding Representation to Illuminate Shareholder Governance and Regulatory Change." European Company & Financial Law Review 1 (2012): 74-100. EBSCOHOST. Web. 16 May 2013.
"Who Is the Boss? Trustee Model vs. Delegate Model of Representation." MajorityVoteRules.Org. MajorityVoteRules.Org, n.d. Web. 16 May 2013. .
