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Democracy describes a small number of related With origins in ancient Greece, Rome, south Asia, and North and South America 1 democracy has generally grown and expanded throughout history. The principles of democracy emphasize the importance of the individual in the context of government and, today, are a major influence around the world. Though the term democracy is typically used in the context of a political State , the principles are also applicable to other groups and organizations. In contemporary world on Wikisource but some commentators in Western nations have described it as a Totalitarian Dictatorship . Freedom in the World 2006 at freedomhouse.org ETYMOLOGY The word democracy derives from the ancient Greek '' Demokratia '' (''δημοκρατία''), formed from the roots ''demos'' (''δημος''), "people," Democracy:Britannica Student Encyclopedia "the mob, the many"Inoguchi, Takashi, Edward Newman, John Keane (1998). ''The Changing Nature of Democracy'' Page 255. United Nations University Press, and ''kratos'' (''κρατος'') "rule". Democracy:Britannica Student Encyclopedia FORMS OF DEMOCRACY See Also: Democracy (varieties) Representative Representative Democracy involves the selection of government officials by the people being represented. The most common mechanisms involve election of the candidate with a majority or a plurality of the votes. Representatives may be elected by a particular district (or Constituency ), or represent the entire electorate proportionally Proportional systems, with some using a combination of the two. Some representative democracies also incorporate elements of direct democracy, such as Referendum s. A characteristic of representative democracy is that while the representatives are elected by the people to act in their interest, they retain the freedom to exercise their own judgment as how best to do so. Parliamentary democracy Parliamentary Democracy where government is appointed by parliamentary representatives as opposed to a 'presidential rule' by decree dictatorship. Under a parliamentary democracy government is exercised by delegation to an executive ministry and subject to ongoing review, checks and balances by the legislative parliament elected by the people. Liberal democracy Liberal Democracy is a representative democracy along with the protection of minorities, the Rule Of Law , Separation Of Powers , and protection of Liberties (thus the name ''liberal'') of speech, assembly, religion, and property. Conversely, an Illiberal Democracy is one where the protections that form a liberal democracy are either non-existent, or not enforced. Direct Democracy Direct Democracy is a political system where the citizens participate the decision making personally, contrary to relying on intermediaries or representatives. The supporters of direct democracy argue that democracy is more than merely a procedural issue (i.e voting). Most direct democracies to date have been weak forms, relatively small communities, usually City-state s. However, some see the extensive use of Referendum s, as in California , as akin to direct democracy in a very large polity with more than 20 million potential voters.John M. Allswang. ''The Initiative and Referendum in California, 1898-1998'' (2000) (ISBN 0-8047-3821-1) In Switzerland , 5 million voters decide on national referendums and Initiative s two to four times a year; direct democratic instruments are also well established at the cantonal and communal level. nb Socialist Democracy Socialism has several different views on democracy. Social Democracy , Democratic Socialism , and the Dictatorship Of The Proletariat (usually exercised though Soviet Democracy ) are some examples. Many democratic socialists and social democrats believe in a form of Participatory Democracy and Workplace Democracy combined with a Representative Democracy . Marxists, Leninists and Trotskyists believe in direct democracy though a system of Communes (which are sometimes called Soviets ). Marxist-Leninists, Maoists and other "orthodox Marxists" generally advocate democracy, but practice Totalitarianism and often employ a Cult Of Personality , Secret Police and Propaganda to remain in power. Anarchist Democracy The only form of democracy considered acceptable to anarchists is direct democracy. Some Murray Bookchin criticized Individualist Anarchists for opposing democracy,Bookchin, Murray. Communalism: The Democratic Dimensions of Social Anarchism. Anarchism, Marxism and the Future of the Left: Interviews and Essays, 1993-1998, AK Press 1999, p. 155 and says "majority rule" is consistent with anarchism.Bookchin, Murray. Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism: An Unbridgeable Chasm Some anarcho-communists oppose the majoritarian nature of direct democracy, feeling that it can impede individual liberty and opt in favor of a non-majoritarian form of Consensus Democracy , similar to Proudhon's position on direct democracy.Graeber, David and Grubacic, Andrej. ''Anarchism, Or The Revolutionary Movement Of The Twenty-first Century'' Tribal Democracy Certain Tribe s such as the Bushmen organized themselves using different forms of participatory democracy or consensus democracy. {Link without Title} Consensus Democracy Consensus Democracy and Deliberative Democracy seek Consensus among the people.Amy Gutmann & Dennis Thompson, ''Why Deliberative Democracy?''. 2004, Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691120196 {Link without Title} HISTORY See Also: History of democracy . It shows the '' De Jure '' status of democracy in the world. ]] 's survey Freedom In The World 2007, which reports the state of world freedom in 2006. It is one of the most widely used measures of democracy by researchers. Note that although these measures (another is the Polity data described below) are highly correlated, this does not imply interchangeability.Casper, Gretchen, and Claudiu Tufis. 2003. "Correlation Versus Interchangeability: the Limited Robustness of Empirical Finding on Democracy Using Highly Correlated Data Sets." Political Analysis 11: 196-203 Freedom House considers these to be liberal democracies. {Link without Title} ]] 's evaluation of the number of nations in the different categories given above for the period for which there are surveys, 1972 - 2005 ]] - 2003 scoring 8 or higher on Polity IV scale, another widely used measure of democracy.]] 's Democracy Index . The palest blue countries get a score above 9, while the black countries score below 2.]] Ancient origins The concept of democracy first appeared in Ancient Greek political and philosophical thought. The Philosopher Plato contrasted Democracy , the system of "rule by the governed", with the alternative systems of Monarchy (rule by one individual), Oligarchy (rule by a small élite class) and Timarchy (rule by one race or nationality over another). Political Analysis in Plato's Republic at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Although , Slaves , or Metics . Of the 250,000 inhabitants only some 30,000 on average were citizens. Of those 30,000 perhaps 5,000 might regularly attend one or more meetings of the popular Assembly. Most of the officers and magistrates of Athenian government were allotted; only the generals ( Strategoi ) and a few other officers were elected. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekdemocracy_01.shtml One of the earliest instances of civilizations with democracy, or sometimes disputed as . The Republic Of India is currently the largest democracy in the world. Time-India Awakens The Roman Republic had elections but again women, slaves, and the large foreign population were excluded. The votes of the wealthy were given more weight and almost all high officials come from a few noble families. {Link without Title} Democracy was also seen to a certain extent in , such as the Bushmen , which usually number 20-50 people in the band often do not have leaders and make decisions based on consensus among the majority. Middle Ages During the Middle Ages , there were various systems involving elections or assemblies, although often only involving a minority of the population, such as the election of Gopala in Bengal , the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , the Althing in Iceland , certain Medieval Italian city-states such as Venice , the Tuatha system in early medieval Ireland , the Veche in Slavic countries, Scandinavia n Things , The States in Tyrol and Switzerland and the autonomous merchant city of Sakai in the 16th century in Japan. However, participation was often restricted to a minority, and so may be better classified as Oligarchy . Most regions during the middle-ages were ruled by clergy or feudal lords. The . The power to call parliament was at the pleasure of the monarch (usually when he or she needed funds). After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the English Bill Of Rights was enacted in 1689 , which codified certain rights and increased the influence of the Parliament. The franchise was slowly increased and the Parliament gradually gained more power until the monarch became largely a figurehead. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/struggle_democracy/getting_vote.htm 18th and 19th centuries Although not described as a democracy by the , adopted in 1788, provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. However, in the colonial period before 1776, only adult white male property owners could vote; enslaved Africans, free black people and women were not extended the franchise. On the American Frontier , democracy became a way of life, with widespread social, economic and political equality.Ray Allen Billington, ''America's Frontier Heritage'' (1974) 117-158. ISBN 0826303102 However the frontier did not produce much democracy in Canada , Australia or Russia . By the 1840s almost all property restrictions were ended and nearly all white adult male citizens could vote; and turnout averaged 60-80% in frequent elections for local, state and national officials. The system gradually evolved, from Jeffersonian Democracy to Jacksonian Democracy and beyond. In Reconstruction after the Civil War (late 1860s) the newly freed slaves became citizens with (in the case of men) the right to vote. In 1789, Revolutionary France adopted the Declaration Of The Rights Of Man And Of The Citizen and, although short-lived, the National Convention was elected by all males. {Link without Title} Liberal democracies were few and often short-lived before the late nineteenth century. Various nations and territories have claimed to be the first with Universal Suffrage . 20th Century 20th century transitions to liberal democracy have come in successive "waves of democracy," variously resulting from wars, revolutions, Decolonization , and economic circumstances. World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires resulted in the creation of new nation-states in Europe, most of them nominally democratic. In the 1920s democracy flourished, but the Great Depression brought disenchantment, and most the countries of Europe, Latin America, and Asia turned to strong-man rule or dictatorships. Fascism and dictatorships flourished in Nazi Germany , Italy, Spain and Portugal, as well as nondemocratic regimes in Poland, the Baltics, the Balkans, Brazil, Cuba, China, and Japan, among others. Together with Stalin's regime in the Soviet Union , these made the 1930s the "Age of Dictators" {Link without Title} . World War II brought a definitive reversal of this trend in western Europe. The successful democratization of the American, British, And French Sectors Of Occupied Germany , Austria, Italy, and the Occupied Japan served as a model for the later theory of Regime Change . However, most of Eastern Europe , including the Soviet Sector Of Germany was forced into the non-democratic Soviet Bloc . The war was followed by Decolonization , and again most of the new independent states had nominally democratic constitutions. In the decades following World War II, most western democratic nations had Mixed Economies and developed a Welfare State , reflecting a general consensus among their electorates and political parties. In the 1950s and 1960s, economic growth was high in both the western and Communist countries; it later declined in the state-controlled economies. By 1960, the vast majority of nation-states were nominally democracies, although the majority of the world's populations lived in nations that experienced sham elections, and other forms of subterfuge (particularly in Communist nations and the former colonies.) A subsequent wave of Democratization brought substantial gains toward true liberal democracy for many nations. Spain, Portugal, and several of the military dictatorships in South America became democratic in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was followed by nations in East and South Asia by the mid- to late 1980s. Economic malaise in the 1980s, along with resentment of communist oppression, contributed to the Collapse Of The Soviet Union , the associated end of the Cold War , and the democratization and Liberalization of the former Eastern Bloc countries. The most successful of the new democracies were those geographically and culturally closest to western Europe, and they are now members or candidate members of the European Union . The liberal trend spread to some nations in Africa in the 1990s, most prominently in South Africa . Some recent examples include the Indonesian Revolution Of 1998 , the Bulldozer Revolution in Yugoslavia , the Rose Revolution in Georgia , the Orange Revolution in Ukraine , the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon , and the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan . The number of liberal democracies currently stands at an all-time high and has been growing without interruption for some time. As such, it has been speculated that this trend may continue in the future to the point where liberal democratic nation-states become the universal standard form of human Society . This prediction forms the core of Francis Fukayama 's " End Of History " theory. These theories are criticized by those who fear an evolution of liberal democracies to Post-democracy . THEORY Aristotle Aristotle contrasted rule by the many (democracy/ Polity ), with rule by the few ( Oligarchy / Aristocracy ), and with rule by a single person ( Tyranny / Monarchy or today Autocracy ). He also thought that there was a good and a bad variant of each system (he considered democracy to be the degenerate counterpart to polity). [http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/aristotl.htm . Conceptions Among political theorists, there are many contending conceptions of democracy.
"Democracy" and "Republic" In 18th century historical usages, especially when considering the works of the ", ''Daily Advertiser''. New York . Republished by Wikisource . Madison was seeking to distinguish between a direct democracy and a representative democracy, but his choice to do so using the words "democracy" and "republic" had no basis in prior usage of the words. Dahl, Robert A. ''On Democracy'', P.16-17 In contemporary western usage, the term "democracy" usually refers to a government chosen by the people, whether it is direct or representative. {Link without Title} The term " Republic " has many different meanings but today often refers to a representative democracy with an elected Head Of State , such as a President , serving for a limited term, in contrast to states with a hereditary Monarch as a head of state, even if these states also are representative democracies with an elected Head Of Government such as a Prime Minister . Therefore, today the term is used by states which are quite different from the earlier use of the term, such as the former German Democratic Republic and the USSR . Using the term "democracy" to refer solely to direct democracy, or to representative democracy without checks on the power of elected officials, retains some popularity in United States Conservative and Libertarian circles. Note that the US constitution states that the power comes from the people "We the people..." However, some argue that unlike a Pure Democracy , in a constitutional republic, citizens in the US are not governed by the majority of the people but by the rule of law.Levinson, Sanford. ''Constitutional Faith''. Princeton University Press, 1989, p. 60 ISBN 0691023212 Constitutional Republics are a deliberate attempt to diminish the threat of Mobocracy thereby protecting Minority groups from the Tyranny Of The Majority by placing checks on the power of the majority of the population. Thomas Jefferson stated that majority rights cannot exist if individual rights do not.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789. ME 7:455, Papers 15:393 The power of the majority of the people is ''checked'' by limiting that power to electing representatives who govern within limits of overarching constitutional law rather than the popular vote or government having power to deny any defined a constitutional republic as "a government of laws, and not of men." The original framers of the was written to protect the Inalienable Rights of citizens from potential excesses of government, even if taken by Majority Rule . Inalienable rights are not granted by government, but by nature.Thomas Jefferson to William Johnson, 1823. ME 15:441 Republicanism and Liberalism have complex relationships to democracy and republic. See these articles for more details. Constitutional monarchs and upper chambers Initially after the American and French revolutions the question was open whether a democracy, in order to restrain unchecked majority rule, should have an elitist Upper Chamber , the members perhaps appointed meritorious experts or having lifetime tenures, or should have a Constitutional Monarch with limited but real powers. Some countries (as Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavian countries and Japan) turned powerful monarchs into constitutional monarchs with limited or, often gradually, merely symbolic roles. Often the monarchy was abolished along with the aristocratic system (as in the U.S., France, China, Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Greece and Egypt). Many nations had elite upper houses of legislatures which often had lifetime tenure, but eventually these senates lost power (as in Britain) or else became elective and remained powerful (as in the United States). CRITICISMS OF DEMOCRACY Modern criticism of democracy comes mainly from theocratics, anarchists, communists, fascists and monarchists. For debates on specific forms of democracy, see the appropriate article, such as Liberal Democracy , Direct Democracy , Polyarchy , Sortition , etc. See Anti-Democratic Thought . ARGUMENTS FOR DEMOCRACY Empirical research shows that more democratic nations have little .2 See Democratic Peace Theory . Poor democracies have better education, longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality, access to drinking water, and better health care than poor dictatorships. This is not due to higher levels of foreign assistance or spending a larger percentage of GDP on health and education. Instead, the available resources are managed better. 3 Democracies do not have large scale famines. Amartya Sen , (1999). "Democracy as a Universal Value" . ''Journal of Democracy'', 10.3, 3–17. Johns Hopkins University Press. Refugee crises almost always occur in nondemocracies. Looking at the volume of refugee flows for the last twenty years, the first eighty-seven cases occurred in autocracies.4 Political institutions are extremely important in determining the prevalence of Corruption : democracy, parliamentary systems, political stability, and freedom of the press are all associated with lower corruption. Daniel Lederman, Normal Loaza, Rodrigo Res Soares, (November 2001). "Accountability and Corruption: Political Institutions Matter" . ''World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 2708''. SSRN 632777. Accessed , 2006 . Regarding the claim that nondemocracies have higher growth, this only applies to East Asia. If leaving out East Asia, then during the last forty-five years poor democracies have grown their economies 50% more rapidly than nondemocracies. Poor democracies such as the Baltic countries, Botswana, Costa Rica, Ghana, and Senegal have grown more rapidly than nondemocracies such as Angola, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe. 7 A recent meta-analysis finds that democracy has no direct effect on economic growth. However, it has a strong and significant indirect effects which contribute to growth. Democracy is associated with higher human capital accumulation, lower Inflation , lower political instability, and higher Economic Freedom . There is also some evidence that it is associated with larger governments and more restrictions on international trade.8 BEYOND THE PUBLIC LEVEL This article deals mainly with democracy as it relates to systems of public government. This generally involves nations and subnational levels of government, although the European Parliament , whose members are democratically directly elected on the basis of universal suffrage, may be seen as an example of a Supranational democratic institution. Aside from the public sphere, similar democratic principles and mechanisms of voting and representation have been used to govern other kinds of communities and organizations.
QUOTES
::- Thomas Jefferson
::– George Bernard Shaw
::- Abraham Lincoln
::- Sir Winston Churchill SEE ALSO
NOTES FURTHER READING
EXTERNAL LINKS
;Critique
;Alternatives and improvements - see also Wikocracy , E-democracy and Futarchy
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