Differences Between the Political and Value Based Definitions of Democracy

Abraham Lincoln (2005) defined modern democracy in three-part as “government of the people”, “government by the people” and “government for the people”. Democracy started in Greek around 500 B.C. with the simple meaning of people with power, nowadays democracy could be separate into two forms the direct democracy and the representative democracy. In this essay, I will argue that democracy is in crisis from the following aspect, fail of the direct democracy, the decline of representative democracy and the eroded right.

Democracy is a “system of government in which political authority vested in the people” (Ch. 1, Pg. 4). Democracy is by far the most challenging form of government, for perhaps both politicians and the people. The term democracy comes from a Greek term which in short means “rule by the people”. The antique democracies in ancient cities, such as Rome and Athens, represent precursors of modern democracies. Like modern democracy, the need for organized rule arose in the midst of power abuse. The democracy we abide by today was created in the 17th century during the Age of Enlightenment, by philosophers such as John Locke, Voltaire… These philosophers created the foundation for our modern democracy. These essential elements such as the separation

Since the dawn of mankind, there has always been a struggle for power, from our primitive ancestors to our present day, supposed, enlightened times. There have been a variety of systems that spawned and died in the political world. It can be assumed that the fruition of democracy emerged after the desire to create a system in which it was equal, sustainable, and transparent and where human rights was recognized. Robert Dahl, a prominent political scientist, had believed creating a democratic society in which he considered was perfect had to have (Dahl, 2000): effective participation, equal voting, enlightened understanding, an open agenda setting and inclusion (p.37-38) . In the present day, there are many countries that consider themselves

Democracy: A political system in which citizens enjoy a number of basic civil and political rights, and in which their most important political leaders are elected in free and fair elections and accountable under a rule of law (26). In the studies we have undertaken, comparing and exploring various countries and systems politically, economically, and psychologically throughout the quarter, this outcry of democracy has prevailed as a main theme. Successful countries such as the United States and Great Britain are based upon such democratic ideals. It is no wonder that countries have striven more recently toward this goal of democratization. Both the Russian and Mexican revolutions prove that democracy is an attainable goal in the next

The authors also argue that the greatness of the government driven by democracy is the right to

In the most basic sense, democracy can be defined as a system dominated by elections. Handelman states that democracy can be defined as, “... a political system that holds fair, contested elections on a regular basis, with universal adult suffrage.” (Handelman, p. 30). Additionally, Handleman offers up another, more thorough, definition of democracy that fully explains the intricacies of the ideology. Handelman expresses,

What does Democracy mean? It’s not just the way of running a country, but in this system of governance all qualified citizens get an equal opportunity of involvement in the creation of laws, proposals, general development and it is also preferred Worldwide today, because of the respected freedom that citizens enjoy in executing their choices. There are several features of Democracy which make it more favorable for the people other than any system such as: People elect the representatives for themselves to do the legislation and make policies, an adult citizen have right the vote

The general understanding of democracy is that it is a state of leadership where citizens of a country participate equally either directly or by representative individuals in the establishment of laws, which run the society. However, like many other forms of leadership, democracy has its cons and may not give the citizens the necessary freedoms that they think they have. Different philosophers have different insights on democracy in terms of concepts such as liberty, which they embraced. This paper will look at Benjamin Barber and Joseph Schumpeter’s idea of democracy contrasting their definition in terms of citizenship, obligation, rights and duties of each individual in the society declaring whose idea of democracy creates a compelling vision (Terchek & Conte, 2001).

Democracy is a unique type of government, and the purpose of this essay is to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses that a democratic government provides. I will detail that many components of this type of society are both strengths and weakness as each component has beneficial aspects as well as unavoidable pitfalls.

As it is discussed briefly what this essay means as democracy, it is important to define what is democratic deficit. Because of there is not a clear and concise definition for democratic deficit; this essay is based on the standard version and the five standard claims of democratic deficit as it was presented from Hix (2008).

Democracy is often referred to as the rule of the many, but Aristotle called this definition incomplete. In his book “Politics”, he explained that in a city if the majorities are aristocrats and if they have political authority, then it is an aristocracy not a democracy. He therefore defined democracy as when “free people have authority and Oligarchy as when the wealthy have it” (1290b). Plato viewed Democracy as a flawed system with too much inefficiency that would make any implementation of a true democracy not worth it. While Aristotle viewed democracy as a system that could work if it is limited to certain restrictions and if it is the regime that best fits the culture of the people to be governed. In this essay it will be argued that Plato’s view on democracy as a flawed system is more prevalent or more compelling if the current political arena around the world is observed.

one essential conviction, expressed in the word democracy itself: that power should be in the hands of the people. Although democracy today has been slightly inefficient in this idea, with the wealthy, elite class challenging this right, “it nevertheless claims for itself a fundamental validity that no other kind of society shares….” To completely understand the structure of democracy, one must return to the roots of the practice itself, and examine the origins in ancient Greece, the expansion in the Roman Empire, and how these practices combined make what we recognize as today’s democratic government.

In our textbooks democracy is defined as “a form of regime associated with ‘rule by the people’ that signifies rights and liberties for citizens, including political rights to participate in elections and civil liberties such as freedom of speech” (Dickovick & Eastwood, 2013). Yet this definition will not suffice alone. To further our understanding of a democracy Larry Diamond and Leonardo Morlino explain what makes a good quality democracy. According to them a democracy is at least made up of universal suffrage, fair elections, multiple political parties, alternative sources of information, and must accords its citizens’ ample freedom, political equality, and control over public policies and policy makers through the legitimate and lawful functioning of stable institutions as well (Diamond & Morlino 2004). Although the quality of a democracy is hard to measure, they offer eight dimensions that can be used to measure the quality of a democracy, and if

Winston Churchill once remarked that “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried”. In agreement with his statement, this paper will examine the problems of democratic governments using specific examples, and compare it to the failure of fascist governments in Nazi Germany and Italy and communist governments in the Soviet Union and China.

The whole population or all eligible members of a state can define democracy as a system of government, typically through elected representatives (Oxford Dictionary, December 2014) . Of course there are other ways in truly understand what democracy involves such as a system of rule by the poor or disadvantaged or a society that is based on equal opportunity and individual merit rather than hierarchy or privilege (Heywood, 2013; p.89) . Whether democracy is the best political system for everyone is still very debatable. In addition to highlighting democracy as the best political system for everyone, this discussion will consider the faults of democracy as a political system as well as the various types of democracy.