Democracy And Democracy 1508 Words | 7 Pages. The file will be sent to your email address. This is a startling new development. Democracy (demokratia), or rule by the people, was an alternative to such traditional governments as monarchy, rule by one, and oligarchy, rule by the few. In an authentic democracy, the citizens or people choose representatives in government by means of free, fair, contested, and regularly scheduled elections in which practically all adults have the right to vote and otherwise participate in the electoral process. These core concepts may be practiced differently among the various countries of our world, but every genuine democracy is based upon them in one way or another. However, if the government is too limited, or insufficiently empowered, it will be incapable of maintaining law and order and protecting individuals against domestic or foreign predators, who could deprive them of their rights to life, liberty, and property. The establishment and maintenance of a democracy depend greatly upon effectively educating the people about the differences between constitutional democracy and various other types of government. The latter one means power or rule, while the former one means people. Ancient Greek democracy afforded citizens equal rights to participate directly in governance for the common good of their community. Tolerance and cooperation build democracy. Related posts. Democracy today is very different from its ancestors in antiquity. A genuine democracy today is constitutional and representative. Thus, liberty in an indirect or representative democracy depends upon constitutionalism, which limits and regulates the power of government in order to guard against tyranny of any kind. ~~ PDF Democracy A Very Short Introduction ~~ Uploaded By Dan Brown, democracy a very short introduction is a short account of the history of the doctrine and practice of democracy from ancient greece and rome through the american french and russian revolutions and of the usages and practices associated with it in the modern In such corrupt regimes, there were constitutions without constitutional governments and guarantees of human rights without the practical protection of them. Converted file can differ from the original. It argues that democracy is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for good government, and that ideas of the rule of law, and of human rights, should in some situations limit democratic claims. If the government’s power is too strong, or insufficiently limited, then it can and probably will be used to oppress certain individuals and deprive them unjustly of their right to liberty. Its apparent imperfections do not invalidate the ideals and principles of democracy. Protecting equal rights to liberty of all persons in a democracy, however, depends primarily upon constitutionalism, the indispensable guarantor of representative government and individual rights. Thus, citizens can participate freely to elect their representatives in government and to hold them accountable during the period between elections. Democracy has its origins in ancient Greece where the Greeks were entitled to selecting their own leaders. So, he bequeathed a wise warning about definitions and uses of words to the defenders of democracy against despotism. Its wisest proponents neither promise nor pursue absolute political and social perfection through democracy. Tocqueville wanted people of the future to realize that if they were unable to tell the difference between an authentic democracy and its counterfeit imitators then government of, by, and for the people would be at risk, an unfortunate circumstance that afflicted many countries during most of the 20th century. And why do citizens of a democracy need to know exactly what it is and is not? We live in an era of democracy. Nonetheless, there is a lot of room for improvement which we must focus on. In England, the political rule of a small elite was challenged during the Civil War by the egalitarian claims of radicals, but the link between property and citizenship remained … If more and more people are able to identify an authentic democracy, then democracy in our time might be more faithfully practiced and its blessings more extensively enjoyed. Among the major claims of its proponents are the propensities of democracy to: Opponents of democracy dispute the claims of its advocates. During the past century, rulers of nondemocratic regimes appropriated the vocabulary of democracy to mask their dictatorial control of the people. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books you've read. Democracy A Very Short Introduction PDF, ePub eBook, Democracy a very short introduction is a short account of the history of the doctrine and practice of democracy from ancient greece and rome through the american french and russian revolutions and of the usages and practices associated with it in the modern world. It is the rule for the people by the people with the people. The acceptance of democracy by countries of diverse histories and cultures—such as Argentina, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, and Sweden—indicates a pervasive desire for freedom and self-government throughout the world. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place oblige it to control itself. This universal problem was discussed in an acclaimed collection of papers written to encourage ratification of the U.S. Constitution, The Federalist, co-authored in 1787–88 by three founders of the United States of America: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. In addition, awareness programs must be held to make citizens aware of their rights and duties. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions [a well-constructed constitution]. Observance of constitutional limitations is the key to meeting this challenge. Nearly every regime today claims to be democratic, but not all "democracies" allow free politics, and free politics existed long before democratic franchises. It seems that, given a choice, people throughout the world political means to fulfilling their needs and aspirations. The government must implement stringent laws to ensure no discrimination takes place. In a democracy, government is only one thread in the social fabric of many and varied public and private insti-tutions, legal forums, political parties, organizations, Characteristics of Democracy An educated citizenry is the best guarantee for a thriving democracy. And members of minority parties are able to criticize and otherwise oppose the ruling party or parties without obstruction in their pursuit of victory in the next electoral contest to control the government. The papers of The Federalist include remedies to the deficiencies of past democracies. This inescapable tension raises a fundamental and universal problem for any people who aspire to achieve or maintain constitutional democracy. Despotic regimes, such as the fallen Soviet Union, the defunct Democratic Republic of (East) Germany, the Democratic Republic of (North) Korea, and the People’s Republic of China, used showcase constitutions that proclaimed governments of the people and the defense of human rights to confound their opponents and justify their existence. A Short History of Fix Democracy First's Work on Money in Politics. Its reason for being is improving public understanding of the words by which democracy is understood and practiced throughout our world today. Constitutionalism provides limited government and the rule of law based in a constitution. In 1920, for example, there were only 15 democracies in the world, and at mid-century fewer than one-third of the world’s people lived in the 22 established democratic countries. What exactly is democracy? The case for democracy has been greatly augmented by the demise in the 20th century of prominent non-democracies, such as the Japanese Empire, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and communist dictatorships in central and eastern Europe.