Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows people to participate equally – either directly or through elected representatives – in the proposal, development and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination. The term originates from the Greek: “rule of the people”, which was used around 400 BCE to denote the political systems then existing in Greek city-states, notably Athens.
A democratic government contrasts to forms of government where power is either held by one, as in a monarchy or where power held by a small number of individuals as in an oligarchy or aristocracy. Nevertheless, these oppositions, inherited from Greek philosophy, are now ambiguous because contemporary governments have mixed democratic, oligarchic and monarchic elements. Several variants of democracy exist, but there are two basic forms, both of which concern how the whole body of citizens executes its will: direct democracy and representative democracy.
Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which people decide policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then decide policy initiatives. Depending on the particular system in use, it might entail passing executive decisions, making laws, directly electing or dismissing officials and conducting trials. Two leading forms of direct democracy are participatory democracy and deliberative democracy.
The earliest known direct democracy is said to be the Athenian democracy in the 5th century BC, although it was not an inclusive democracy: women, foreigners and slaves were excluded from it. The main bodies in the Athenian democracy were the assembly, composed of male citizens; the boule (senate of Ancient Greece) composed of 500 citizens; and the law courts, composed of a massive number of jurors chosen by lot, with no judges. There were only about 30,000 male citizens, but several thousand of them were politically active in each year, and many of them quite regularly for years on end. The Athenian democracy was direct not only in the sense that decisions were made by the assembled people, but also in the sense that the people through the assembly, boule and law courts controlled the entire political process and a large proportion of citizens were involved constantly in the public business. Modern democracies do not resemble the Athenian system.
The architects of the first democracies of the modern era, post-revolutionary France and the United States, claimed a line of descent from classical Greek – as Abraham Lincoln put it: “Government of the people by the people for the people.” However, at this point it is significant that we keep in mind the differences between the Greeks’ systems of democracy and ours.
There are some major differences between their democracy and ours. First of all, there weren't as many people as there are now. This made for more participation in civil duties. Another difference is that instead of a representative elected by vote, most officials were selected randomly. The people believed that in this way, there wouldn't be an unfair advantage if one candidate had more money and power than the other. This made more sense in that the officials and jurymen did not all conform to the same beliefs, making for more diversity and opinions. The last difference is that because these were ancient times, prejudice and slavery were accepted. This meant that only men could join. Adding to this fact, to be eligible, you had to have had credible ancestry: an Athenian mother and father. You were ineligible if you were a foreigner and slaves were excluded all together.
Democracies understand that one of their prime functions is to protect such basic human rights as freedom of speech and religion; the right to equal protection under law; and the opportunity to organize and participate fully in political, economic and cultural life of society.
In a democratic society, citizens do not have only rights, but also the responsibility to participate in the political system that protects their rights and freedoms.
More specifically, in democracies, these fundamental or inalienable rights of citizens include freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of assembly, and the right to equal protection before the law. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the rights that citizens enjoy in a democracy, but it does constitute a set of the irreducible core rights that any democratic government worthy of the name must uphold. Since they exist independently of government, in Jefferson’s view, these rights cannot be legislated away nor should they be subject to the whim of an electoral majority.
Moreover, democratic societies are committed to the values of tolerance, cooperation, and compromise. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.”
Democratic elections are competitive. Opposition parties and candidates must enjoy the freedom of speech, assembly and movement necessary to voice their criticisms of the government openly and to bring alternative policies and candidates to the voters. Simply permitting the opposition access to the ballot is not enough. The party in power may enjoy the advantages of incumbency, but the rules and conduct of the election contest must be fair. On the other hand, freedom of assembly for opposition parties does not imply mob rule or violence. It means debate.
“Peaceful nations must stand for the advance of democracy. No other system of government has done more to protect minorities, to secure the rights of labor, to raise the status of women, or to channel human energy to the pursuits of peace.”