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4 days ago · Learn the meaning of democratic principle, a general belief that the authority to pass laws should be democratically accountable to the people. See how to use it in sentences from various sources and browse related words.
Democracy is government by the people, with rights and freedoms for all citizens. Learn about the principles and practices of democracy, such as majority rule, minority rights, elections, rule of law, and diversity.
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- Fundamental questions
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Democracy is a system of government in which laws, policies, leadership, and major undertakings of a state or other polity are directly or indirectly decided by the “people,” a group historically constituted by only a minority of the population (e.g., all free adult males in ancient Athens or all sufficiently propertied adult males in 19th-century Britain) but generally understood since the mid-20th century to include all (or nearly all) adult citizens.
Where was democracy first practiced?
Studies of contemporary nonliterate tribal societies and other evidence suggest that democracy, broadly speaking, was practiced within tribes of hunter-gatherers in prehistoric times. The transition to settled agricultural communities led to inequalities of wealth and power between and within communities and hierarchical nondemocratic forms of social organization. Thousands of years later, in the 6th century BCE, a relatively democratic form of government was introduced in the city-state of Athens by Cleisthenes.
How is democracy better than other forms of government?
States with democratic governments prevent rule by autocrats, guarantee fundamental individual rights, allow for a relatively high level of political equality, and rarely make war on each other. As compared with nondemocratic states, they also better foster human development as measured by indicators such as health and education, provide more prosperity for their citizens, and ensure a broader range of personal freedoms.
Why does democracy need education?
The etymological origins of the term democracy hint at a number of urgent problems that go far beyond semantic issues. If a government of or by the people—a “popular” government—is to be established, at least five fundamental questions must be confronted at the outset, and two more are almost certain to be posed if the democracy continues to exist for long.
(1) What is the appropriate unit or association within which a democratic government should be established? A town or city? A country? A business corporation? A university? An international organization? All of these?
(2) Given an appropriate association—a city, for example—who among its members should enjoy full citizenship? Which persons, in other words, should constitute the dēmos? Is every member of the association entitled to participate in governing it? Assuming that children should not be allowed to participate (as most adults would agree), should the dēmos include all adults? If it includes only a subset of the adult population, how small can the subset be before the association ceases to be a democracy and becomes something else, such as an aristocracy (government by the best, aristos) or an oligarchy (government by the few, oligos)?
(3) Assuming a proper association and a proper dēmos, how are citizens to govern? What political organizations or institutions will they need? Will these institutions differ between different kinds of associations—for example, a small town and a large country?
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Democracy is rule by the people, but it has various forms and challenges. Learn about the origins, meanings, and features of democracy from ancient Greece to modern times.
- Participation of citizens. By its very definition, democracy allows the people a voice in charting the course of their government and their future. In direct democracies, this can mean citizens vote directly on the laws they live under.
- Equality. It is not only important but necessary that all people are treated equally in a democracy. This means that they are not discriminated against because of their ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
- Accountability. People entrust powers to those they elect, and they are tasked to use those powers to enrich their communities. Politicians are accountable to the people, must act consistent with their will, and have a duty not abuse their power to enrich themselves and their friends.
- Transparency. In order to make informed choices at the ballot box, voters have to know the score. They have to know if their government is making good decisions or its policies aren’t working, if it's following the rules or plundering public money.
- Popular Sovereignty: Popular sovereignty is a fundamental democratic principle that places power and authority in the hands of the people. It asserts that the legitimacy of government is derived from the consent and will of the governed.
- Rule of Law: The rule of law is a fundamental principle of democratic governance that ensures the fair and equitable functioning of a society. It establishes a system where laws are supreme and apply equally to all individuals, regardless of their social status or position.
- Political Pluralism: Political pluralism is a fundamental tenet of democratic principles that emphasizes the importance of diverse and competing political parties, groups, and viewpoints within a society.
- Protection of Individual Rights and Freedoms: Protection of individual rights and freedoms is a fundamental aspect of democratic principles. Democracies all over the world are built on the premise that all individuals possess inherent rights that must be respected and safeguarded.
What is democracy? Where was democracy first practiced? How is democracy better than other forms of government? Why does democracy need education? Why is Pericles important?
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Jul 25, 2023 · Democracy, which derives from the Greek word "demos," or "people," is defined, basically, as government in which the supreme power is vested in the people. In some forms, democracy can be exercised directly by the people; in large societies, it is by the people through their elected agents.
