Democracy

2011-08-22T01:08:33Z

Aliveandwell: fixed title

'''Democracy''' is the government of the people, by the people and for the people (as [[Abraham Lincoln]] defined it). It was invented by the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] and has spread widely in western nations since the [[English Civil War]] in the mid 17th century.

Democracy means the people rule and can do anything they want by majority rule.<ref>http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/america-a-republic-not-a-democracy/</ref> In the U.S. "super majorities" (over 50%) are required for many decisions, such as ratifying a treaty or passing a constitutional amendment. [[Republicanism]] means there is a system of rule of law, or [[inalienable rights]], which no majority can vote out.

==Term==
The origin of the term is Greek, from the words ''demos'' (people) and ''kratos'' (strength).
==Sovereignty==
The defining characteristic of a democracy is that the citizenry of a nation are sovereign. Constitutional monarchies become democratic (as in Britain, Japan and Scandinavia) by narrowing the power of the monarch to ceremonial roles and letting an elected government rule.

The United States Constitution guarantees a [[republican form of government]]. With elected executives (governor/president) and legislatures. In parliamentary democracies, the executive and legislative branches are not separate. In them parties form winning coalitions and the coalition controls both the government and the parliament.
==Greece==
In ancient [[Athens]], male citizens (not women, children or slaves) were allowed to vote in the Assembly which made the laws of the city-state. Citizens did not elect representatives--they acted themselves. This form survives in "town meetings" in small New England villages.

== Debate over the merits of democracy ==

While a [[direct democracy]] in the manner of the Athenians is probably infeasible in a modern [[nation-state]] comprised of millions of citizens, there continues to be debate among conservatives as to whether [[representative democracy]] is a desirable system. [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], who could be considered the father of both modern democracy and [[totalitarianism]], believed that in a democracy the government should be guided only by what he called the [[General Will]]. Other thinkers of the [[French]] [[Enlightenment]] described a [[republic]] as a system in which the law applies equally to the government and the people, a concept abbreviated in the [[21st century]] by the phrase [[rule of law]]. Most contemporary thinkers would identify [[universal suffrage]] and the right of any citizen to argue for a change in existing law as desirable features of democracy; but there is some question as to whether the rule of law can be indefinitely sustained in a system with these features. [[Thomas Jefferson]] believed that it could so long as the people were educated, and thus devoted his post-presidency to founding the [[University of Virginia]]. Nonetheless, property continued to be a proxy for education throughout the [[antebellum period]] and Jefferson's home state of [[Virginia]] only abolished [[property qualifications for voting]] in 1851, years after any other state. Another (probably apocryphal) quote attributed to Alexander Fraser Tytler says that a republic can only last until the people find out that they can vote themselves public funds. This would be considered a [[welfare state]], which most conservatives feel is an abuse of the [[U. S. Constitution]]'s [[Necessary and Proper Clause]].

Democracy may have its problems; an uneducated populace, for example, is the bane of any democracy, since unless people know what they need, they can not properly elect people to serve these needs. Other problems emerge from a capricious electorate, which caused [[Winston Churchill]] to remark that, "Democracy is the worst form of government... except for all the other forms that have been tried," a quote which eloquently notes that, despite its problems, democracy almost universally provides for peace and prosperity.

Majoritarian systems are, however, problematic in that, in theory, they permit a majority to debase the welfare of a minority. [[Socialist]]s argue that a high degree of socio-economic equality is required for real political equality, but also contend that solidarity and fraternity may be sufficient to overcome the distorting effects of unequal wealth and enact pro-labor policies.

Democracy may also create the illusion that [[truth]] belongs to the [[people]], which is not the case because truth only belongs to [[God]]. It should be also noted that democracy allows un-Christian leaders to gain power in a normally Christian nation.

== Evolution of Anglo-American democracy ==
In the [[United States]], the current system of representative democracy evolved as a result of six major reforms:

# The [[American Revolution]] which severed ties with the King of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and endowed the people with the sovereign prerogatives that formerly belonged to the monarchy.
# The [[U. S. Constitution]]'s creation of the [[House of Representatives]], a Federal government entity elected directly by the citizens, and retention of [[federalism]], the right of individual [[States of the United States of America|states]] to govern themselves and make their own laws.
# The abolition of property qualifications for white male voters. This process, which was accomplished at the state level, took between 1820 and 1851 and is also known as [[Jacksonian Democracy]].
# The [[Fifteenth Amendment]], which prevented the use of race as a restriction on voting.
# The [[Seventeenth Amendment]], which caused [[Senator]]s to be elected directly by the citizens instead of the state legislatures.
# The [[Nineteenth Amendment]], which extended the franchise to [[women]].

Historically, the Fifteenth Amendment inspired the most opposition. Indeed, every state of the former [[Confederacy]] circumvented the Fifteenth Amendment between the end of [[Reconstruction]] and the passage of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], considered the ultimate guarantee of that Amendment.
==Britain==
In Britain, there were six major reforms in the direction of democracy:

# The [[1832 Reform Act]], which gave representation to the new [[industrial]] cities for the first time.
# The [[1867 Reform Act]].
# The [[1884 Reform Act]].
# The [[1911 Parliament Act]], which ended the ability of the [[House of Lords]] to rein in spending by the [[Commons]].
# The [[1918 Reform Act]], which made suffrage universal among males and extended it to women 30 years of age or older.
# The [[1928 Reform Act]], which equalized voting ages for male and female at 21.

It is noteworthy that it took the British 84 years to complete the process of abolishing property qualifications for voting (the first three Acts lowered the threshold incrementally) and that they only began to do so after [[Jacksonian Democracy]] emerged in the United States.

While none of these Acts has sustained a serious movement for repeal, historically the one which inspired the strongest opposition was the 1911 Parliament Act. Not surprisingly, this opposition came from the House of Lords, the last body of unelected people to retain any legislative power in the British system. Ultimately, the bill passed only after King [[George V]] promised to create an unlimited number of new [[peers]] in order to pass it.

The United States, Britain, Canada and many other countries mostly utilize a [[first past the post system]] for elections. The highest vote-getter wins. This limits the number of [[political parties]] and helps to stabilize the system, in contrast to democracies which use [[proportional representation]] where a party winning 5% of the vote is guaranteed a seat. [[Italy]], [[Germany]], [[France]], and [[Israel]] have at times had over 10 parties represented in their legislatures.
==Further Reading==
* Dahl, Robert. ''On Democracy'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Yale-Nota-Bene/dp/0300084552/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263246597&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search], by a leading theorist
* Dunn, John. ''Democracy: A History'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Democracy-History-John-Dunn/dp/0871139316/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263246597&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search]
* Held, David. ''Models of Democracy'' (3rd ed. (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Models-Democracy-3rd-David-Held/dp/0804754721/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263246597&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search], useful textbook
* Schumpeter, Joseph A. ''Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy'' (1943) influential conservative interpretation [http://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Socialism-Democracy-Joseph-Schumpeter/dp/0061561614/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263246597&sr=8-13 excerpt and text search]

==References==

'''DEMOCRACY''' - That form of government in which the sovereign power resides in and is exercised by the whole body of free citizens directly or indirectly through a system of representation, as distinguished from monarchy, aristocracy, or oligarchy."
<Ref> Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, P. 432</Ref>

<References/>

==See also==
*[[Pluralism]]
*[[Majoritarianism]]
*[[Democracy and socialism]]

[[Category:Forms of Government]]
[[Category:Republicanism]]

User talk:Aliveandwell

2011-08-21T02:40:20Z

Aliveandwell: /* I'm sorry */

{{welcome|sig=[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 20:55, 20 August 2011 (EDT)}}

== I'm sorry ==

You can't upload that image. You will need a Sysop or someone with uploading privileges to do that for you.--[[User:JamesWilson|JamesWilson]] 21:18, 20 August 2011 (EDT)

:It's alright. Thanks for letting me know! [[User:Aliveandwell|Alive & Well]] 22:39, 20 August 2011 (EDT)

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2011-08-21T02:39:52Z

Aliveandwell: apology accepted

{{welcome|sig=[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 20:55, 20 August 2011 (EDT)}}

== I'm sorry ==

You can't upload that image. You will need a Sysop or someone with uploading privileges to do that for you.--[[User:JamesWilson|JamesWilson]] 21:18, 20 August 2011 (EDT)

It's alright. Thanks for letting me know! [[User:Aliveandwell|Alive & Well]] 22:39, 20 August 2011 (EDT)

User:Aliveandwell

2011-08-21T01:16:15Z

Aliveandwell: added a picture of myself

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