You would have often heard the term 'democracy'. A democracy is a government that is run by the people. There are other forms of government, including monarchies, oligarchies, and dictatorships, in which the people do not have a say in government. In this lesson, we will learn about:
The term 'democracy' is derived from the Greek word dēmokratia, which was coined from dēmos (“people”) and kratos (“rule”) in the middle of the 5th century BCE to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states like Athens.
It means "rule by the people".
Long ago, ancient Greeks developed this kind of government in Athens. Everyone who was a citizen (not slaves, women, foreigners, and children) assembled in one area, talked about what kinds of laws they wanted, and voted on them. Through lottery draws, they would pick up their Council who suggested the laws. The participants in the Council would change every year. The citizens would write the name of their favorite candidates on a piece of stone or wood, and pick their leader. The person with the highest votes became the leader.
Basically, democracy is the government in which the supreme power is vested in the people. In some forms, democracy is exercised directly by the people; in large societies, it is by the people through their elected agents.
In the words of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States of America, democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Cornerstones of democracy include:
The notion of democracy has evolved over time considerably. The original form of democracy was a direct democracy. The most common form of democracy today is a representative democracy, where the people elect government officials to govern on their behalf.
The terms 'freedom' and 'democracy' are often used interchangeably, but the two are not synonymous. Democracy is indeed a set of ideas and principles about freedom, but it also consists of practices and procedures that have been molded through a long, often tough history. Democracy is the institutionalization of freedom.
Democracy is rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly or through elected representatives while freedom is the state of being free, of not being imprisoned or enslaved.
People living in a democratic society must serve as the ultimate guardians of their own freedom.
Democracy is more than just a set of specific government institutions; it rests upon a well-understood group of values, attitudes, and practices - all of which may take different forms and expressions among cultures and societies around the world. Democracies rest upon fundamental principles, not uniform practices.
A political scientist named Larry Diamond says that a government must meet four requirements to be a democracy:
Life: Each citizen has the right to the protection of his or her life.
Liberty: Liberty includes the freedom to believe what you want, freedom to choose your own friends, and to have your own ideas and opinions, to express your ideas in public, the right for people to meet in groups, the right to have any lawful job or business.
Pursuit of Happiness: Each citizen can find happiness in his or her own way, so long as he or she does not step on the rights of others.
Justice: All people should be treated fairly in getting advantages and disadvantages of our country. No group or person should be favored.
Common Good: Citizens should work together for the good of all. The government should make laws that are good for everyone.
Equality: Everyone should get the same treatment regardless of where their parents or grandparents were born, their race, their religion or how much money they have. Citizens all have political, social and economic equality. Truth: The government and citizens should not lie.
Diversity: Differences in language, dress, food, where parents or grandparents were born, race and religion are not only allowed but accepted as important.
Sovereignty: The power of the government comes from the people.
Patriotism: This means having a devotion to one's country and its values.
Direct and Representative
These are the two basic forms of democracy.
Direct democracy is one in which the people themselves vote on a bill or amendment, thereby making the final statement. It involves a huge number of people from the country. It was mainly practiced in ancient Greek cities.
In a representative democracy, people vote for representatives who then enact policy initiatives. Countries like Canada, India, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom all have representative democracies.
Participatory, Pluralist, and Elite
Participatory democracy is a model of democracy in which citizens have the power to decide directly on policy and politicians are responsible for implementing those policy decisions.
Pluralist democracy is a model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy.
Elite democracy is a model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision-making.
Other variants of democracy
Constitutional monarchy - Many countries such as the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavian countries, Thailand, Japan, and Bhutan turned powerful monarchs into constitutional monarchs with limited or, often gradually, merely symbolic roles.
Republic - A country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader such as President rather than by a king or queen.
Liberal democracy - A democratic system of government in which individual rights and freedoms are officially recognized and protected, and the exercise of political power is limited by the rule of law.
Socialist - A system of political thought and action that calls upon the government to provide certain social and economic rights or entitlements necessary to the well-being of all members of the community.
Anarchist - It is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of authority and rejects all involuntary, coercive forms of hierarchy.
Sortition - Sometimes called 'democracy without elections', sortition chooses decision-makers via a random process. The intention is that those chosen will be representative of the opinions and interests of the people at large, and be more fair and impartial than an elected official.
Consociational democracy - It allows for simultaneous majority votes in two or more ethno-religious constituencies, and policies are enacted only if they gain majority support from both or all of them.
Consensus democracy - It is the application of consensus decision-making to the process of legislation in a democracy. It is characterized by a decision-making structure that involves and takes into account as broad a range of opinions as possible, as opposed to systems where minority opinions can potentially be ignored by vote-winning majorities. The latter systems are classified as majoritarian democracy.
Supranational - This system allocates votes to member states in part according to their population, but heavily weighted in favour of the smaller states. This might be seen as a form of representative democracy, but representatives to the Council might be appointed rather than directly elected.
Inclusive - It is a form of social organization that aims for direct democracy; economic democracy in a stateless, moneyless and marketless economy; self-management; and ecological democracy.
Cosmopolitan democracy - It is a political theory which explores the application of norms and values of democracy at the transnational and global sphere. It argues that global governance of the people, by the people, for the people is possible and needed.
Creative democracy - It is advocated by American philosopher John Dewey. The main idea about creative democracy is that democracy encourages individual capacity building and interaction among society.
Guided democracy - It is a form of democracy which incorporates regular popular elections, but which often carefully "guides" the choices offered to the electorate in a manner that may reduce the ability of the electorate to truly determine the type of government exercised over them. Russian-style democracy has often been referred to as a "guided democracy".
Unlike a dictatorship, a democratic government exists to serve the people, but citizens in democracies must also agree to abide by the rules and obligations by which they are governed. Democracies grant many freedoms to their citizens including the freedom to dissent and criticize the government.
Citizenship in a democracy requires participation, civility, and even patience.
Democratic citizens recognize that they not only have rights, they have responsibilities. They recognize that democracy requires an investment of time and hard work -- a government of the people demands constant vigilance and support by the people.
Under some democratic governments, civic participation means that citizens are required to serve on juries, or give mandatory military or civilian national service for a period of time. Other obligations apply to all democracies and are the sole responsibility of the citizen -- chief among these is respect for law. Paying one's fair share of taxes, accepting the authority of the elected government, and respecting the rights of those with differing points of view are also examples of citizen responsibility.
Democratic citizens know that they must bear the burden of responsibility for their society if they are to benefit from its protection of their rights.
For democracy to succeed, citizens must be active, not passive, because they know that the success or failure of the government is their responsibility, and no one else's. Democracies need more than an occasional vote from their citizens to remain healthy. They need the steady attention, time, and commitment of large numbers of their citizens who, in turn, look to the government to protect their rights and freedoms.
On the surface, the principles of majority rule and the protection of individual and minority rights would seem contradictory. In fact, however, these principles are twin pillars holding up the very foundation of what we mean by a democratic government.
Majority rule is a means for organizing government and deciding public issues; it is not another road to oppression. Just as no self-appointed group has the right to oppress others, so no majority, even in a democracy, should take away the basic rights and freedoms of a minority group or individual.
Minorities whether as a result of ethnic background, religious belief, geographic location, income level, or simply as the losers in elections or political debate enjoy guaranteed basic human rights that no government, and no majority, elected or not, should remove.
Among the basic human rights that any democratic government must protect are freedom of speech and expression; freedom of religion and belief; due process and equal protection under the law; and freedom to organize, speak out, dissent, and participate fully in public life of their society.
People are at a lesser risk of being exploited, as all are deemed equal irrespective of their gender or race. Group decision-making leads to distribution of authority, contrary to autocracy where one person has absolute power. The most important merit of democracy is that power ultimately rests in the hands of the people who elect their leaders. However, in a country where people do not vote or where elections are influenced by riches or religion, the real meaning of democracy is lost.
