Question

What do you understand by representative democracy? Why do we follow it in today's time? ​

Answer 1

Representative democracy (also indirect democracy, representative government or psephocracy) is a type of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy.

It is an element of both the parliamentary and the presidential systems of government and is typically used in a lower chamber such as the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Lok Sabha of India, and may be curtailed by constitutional constraints such as an upper chamber. It has been described by some political theorists including Robert A. Dahl, Gregory Houston and Ian Liebenberg as polyarchy.[4][5] In it the power is in the hands of the representatives who are elected by the people. Political parties are often central to this form of democracy because electoral systems require voters to vote for political parties as opposed to individual representatives.[6]

Power of representatives

Representatives are elected by the public, as in national elections for the national legislature.[3] Elected representatives may hold the power to select other representatives, presidents, or other officers of the government or of the legislature, as the Prime Minister in the latter case. (indirect representation).

The power of representatives is usually curtailed by a constitution (as in a constitutional democracy or a constitutional monarchy) or other measures to balance representative power:[citation needed]

An independent judiciary, which may have the power to declare legislative acts unconstitutional (e.g. constitutional court, supreme court).

The constitution may also provide for some deliberative democracy (e.g., Royal Commissions) or direct popular measures (e.g., initiative, referendum, recall elections). However, these are not always binding and usually require some legislative action—legal power usually remains firmly with representatives.[where?]

In some cases, a bicameral legislature may have an "upper house" that is not directly elected, such as the Senate of Canada, which was in turn modeled on the British House of Lords.

Theorists such as Edmund Burke believe that part of the duty of a representative was not simply to communicate the wishes of the electorate but also to use their own judgement in the exercise of their powers, even if their views are not reflective of those of a majority of voters:[7]

Answer 2

Representative democracy means represenation of people, means our own governance. Only this system presents liberty to vote . Which one you understand better for you , you can vote. This is the way to walfare state , this system provides chance to participate in election and raise your demands in house for your community, for your society.

Secondly, we follow it in today's time because it is a type of democracy that allows everyone's view to be represented. And even if it could lead to an ochlocracy(means mob rule) where some people get elected promising irrealistic things, only creating new problems, most of the times ensures a better nation.

Hope it helps...