Article on democracy
Article on democracy
Answers
Democracy (Greek: δημοκρατία dēmokratía, literally "Rule by 'People'") is a system of government where the citizens exercise power by voting. In a direct democracy, the citizens as a whole form a governing body and vote directly on each issue. In a representative democracy the citizens elect representatives from among themselves. These representatives meet to form a governing body, such as a legislature. In a constitutional democracy the powers of the majority are exercised within the framework of a representative democracy, but the constitution limits the majority and protects the minority, usually through the enjoyment by all of certain individual rights, e.g. freedom of speech, or freedom of association.[1][2] "Rule of the majority" is sometimes referred to as democracy.[3] Democracy is a system of processing conflicts in which outcomes depend on what participants do, but no single force controls what occurs and its outcomes.
The uncertainty of outcomes is inherent in democracy, which makes all forces struggle repeatedly for the realization of their interests, being the devolution of power from a group of people to a set of rules.[4] Western democracy, as distinct from that which existed in pre-modern societies, is generally considered to have originated in city-states such as Classical Athens and the Roman Republic, where various schemes and degrees of enfranchisement of the free male population were observed before the form disappeared in the West at the beginning of late antiquity. The English word dates back to the 16th century, from the older Middle French and Middle Latin equivalents.
According to American political scientist Larry Diamond, democracy consists of four key elements: a political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections; the active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life; protection of the human rights of all citizens; a rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.[5] Todd Landman, nevertheless, draws our attention to the fact that democracy and human rights are two different concepts and that "there must be greater specificity in the conceptualisation and operationalization of democracy and human rights".[6]
The term appeared in the 5th century BC to denote the political systems then existing in Greek city-states, notably Athens, to mean "rule of the people", in contrast to aristocracy (ἀριστοκρατία, aristokratía), meaning "rule of an elite". While theoretically these definitions are in opposition, in practice the distinction has been blurred historically.[7] The political system of Classical Athens, for example, granted democratic citizenship to free men and excluded slaves and women from political participation. In virtually all democratic governments throughout ancient and modern history, democratic citizenship consisted of an elite class, until full enfranchisement was won for all adult citizens in most modern democracies through the suffrage movements of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Democracy contrasts with forms of government where power is either held by an individual, as in an absolute monarchy, or where power is held by a small number of individuals, as in an oligarchy. Nevertheless, these oppositions, inherited from Greek philosophy,[8] are now ambiguous because contemporary governments have mixed democratic, oligarchic and monarchic elements. Karl Popper defined democracy in contrast to dictatorship or tyranny, thus focusing on opportunities for the people to control their leaders and to oust them without the need for a revolution.[9]
Firstly, what is democracy?
Democracy is a form of government where people are allowed to chose their own representatives by elections.
It can also be called the rule of people.
What are the values of democracy?
Equality and Justice are the main values of democracy. WHY? Because giving equal rights to people is the only form of government everyone should follow, and there shouldn't be any country which doesn't give justice to people.
There are many basic concepts of democracy. What are they?
- Everyone is deserved to be a part of our country.
- Everyone should be given the right to vote.
- Everyone should be given equality.
- Everyone should be given justice.
- There should be no discrimination between people about caste, race, gender, sex, creed etc.
- All the citizens are equal before the law.
To agree that a particular country follows democracy, we must ensure that Free and fair elections are conducted, everyone is equal before the law, everyone is allowed to vote, there should be the freedom of speech and expression.
There are two types of Democracies followed all over the world.
Governmental democracy : This is a type of democracy which is ruled by the government where the representatives of the government are elected by the people.
Monarchical democracy : This is a type of government where a particular country is ruled by a king or a queen. And the rulers are not elected or selected by the people.
As we saw many things about democracy, there is a dark side of democracy too.
What are the problems faced or caused by democracy?
- The government is unable to fulfill the problems of each and every citizen. It is not at all possible for the government to fulfill the needs of every citizen present in the country.
- Not everyone's voice is heard everywhere.
- There is corruption in most of the government places.