Democracy
-derived from the Greek Athens, demo -means people and kratia- means to rule.
-Democracy is identified with the principle of majoritarianism, where majority rule and the
idea of the common good or rule of the people are central.
- Democracy is a system of government in which citizens exercise their power
directly and have the right to elect government representatives, who collectively
form a governing body for the entire nation.
-type of government where people elect representatives to represent them and
their needs in parliament through regular and universal elections.
-Abraham Lincoln (1863) gave a brief definition of democracy in which he defined
it as “government for the people, by the people”.
-having fundamental principles of:
citizens participation
equality and inclusiveness for everyone
accountability and transparency from the elected presentative
consent from the governed.
freedom from unwarranted governmental interference and deprivation
free and fair elections, multi-party systems
control of abuse of power, right to life and liberty
right of minority groups, voting right, right to property.
freedom of economy, assembly, association, religion, freedom of speech,
and freedom of press, an independent justice system
rule of law.
Types of democracy
Schumpeterian
Populist
Participatory
Social (aligned with positive liberty)
Deliberative
Liberal democracy
Modern representative democracy
, Modern representatives’
democracy
-direct participation is not impossible in this type of democracy as there’s a large
territory and population.
-instead, an emphasis on an indirect rule through the representation process was
made.
-this type of democracy in a modern state is viewed as a way of mobilizing
political power& a mechanism to secure some accountability of the rulers/
leaders over those being ruled.
- elections are deemed as the main mechanism for ensuring accountability,
power, authority, legitimacy of the rulers.
Problems associated with
modern representatives’
democracy.
-There’s a lack of citizen’s participation in electoral politics / low voter turnout.
-it’s association with liberalism and capitalism produce market generated
inequalities.
-It’s large association identification with bourgeoisie ideology.
Schumpeterian democracy
-he had a pessimistic view of democracy, viewing it as nothing more than just an
institutional arrangement for coming into agreement of political decisions in
which individuals acquire power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for
people’s vote.
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