What is Democracy?

Photo by Justin Baeder. (License: Creative Commons Attribution)

Democracy is a word that has been thrown around by many different people, over many different generations, to resolve many different problems. The original form of government it once stood for has been built upon and changed, yet the underlying meaning has stayed relatively the same. What now is considered simply 'democracy' is actually liberal democracy – a representative democracy – yet the core principles remain quite similar, with the methodology used being different. There are also many different manners in which democracy can be defined. To some, it is simply the best form of government – a view which Winston Churchill put a twist on when he commented "[i]t has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried" – and to others it is a form of government which aims to oppress those who disagree with it. Some formulate a definition based upon what democracy aims to be, and others still believe that democracy is simply a majority rule, if that. This is what makes a definition of democracy so interesting, because there are so many variations out there of what people take democracy to be – underneath it all, it begs the question as to if there can be a solid definition as to what all democracies are.

Trying to put all democracy under one umbrella definition would be illogical, but there is still a standard which must be met by a form of government for it to be considered a democracy. The idea which I mention is that democracy is, and must be, a rule by the people – the literal translation of Greek words δῆμος demos, "people", and κράτος kratos, "rule". A democratic government is one which caters to the people's needs according to what the people say, although the format in which they put forth their opinions varies quite a bit for different types of democracy. For example, in a representative democracy the people elect an official based on the ideologies that politician stands for, how the politician feels on certain issues. In this form of democracy, although the people rarely have direct involvement on specific issues, they still have the ability to choose which general philosophy will make the decisions. This differs from the original form of democracy found in ancient Greece which was more of direct democracy. The mechanics of a direct democracy rely on input from the citizens on each individual topic, allowing every citizen the opportunity to directly influence each specific issue rather then have someone make the decisions on their behalf. Although a truer version of democracy, direct democracy is considered an inefficient form due to the larger population which the government is in charge of. Regardless of the form of input the people have in a democratic government, they still must have input which influences the outcome.

Underneath the issue of the rule of the people come many more issues which are where the real divides between forms of democracy occur. One such problem is that of who the "eligible" citizens are when inputting ideas into the political system. Some argue that in order for a government to be considered a democracy, it must promote equality of its population. The idea goes that every citizen is equal, and as such should have an equal say or vote in the running of the government. However, this idea comes into problems of its own when one considers that some should not be able to input equally due to their circumstances. Examples of this are typically age in our society, but in more extreme cases have included gender, race, and social status. Who gets to decide those who are capable to be involved in politics, and the reasoning behind why have been debated far and wide, but for the sake of fairness and efficiency, only an age should be required – the only form of legal discrimination we have today in our western democracies. Nevertheless, a government which allows all ages, genders, and race – every citizen of the state – to have input is still a democracy.

Another sub-issue within different forms of democracy is whether the majority opinion should be binding to all citizens. In a liberal democracy, such as the ones found in the United States, Canada, and Britain, minority rights are guaranteed by the notion of freedom and equality. The idea behind this form of democracy is that although some decisions will be binding on the minorities, most decisions should take the consequences to the minority opinion holders into perspective. The liberal democracy is one which strays from the utilitarian ideology that what is best for the majority is that which should occur. The idea is an admirable one, but still not required for a government to be considered democratic. The decision on if the minorities should be taken into consideration is actually left to the democratic process, and liberal democratic societies have determined that it is important to look out for those who do not agree with the majority. Regardless, a democratic government may still lean towards the utilitarian philosophy of the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. The state may not be the most enjoyable for those in the minority, yet they would still be living in a democratic state.

When it comes down to it, what can be considered a democracy is quite a broad group of governmental forms. With realistically only one standard with which the form must abide by, the possibilities for a multitude of forms to arise is endless. The single requirement is that the people be involved and have a true opportunity to input on how the governments runs, and beyond this anything really goes. Although not all democracies will be seen as "good", and there will always be that perfect form of democracy in the eyes of some, they are all still branches off the same tree. This begs the question as to if the classification really matters, as the differences can be so big. It seems that when people think of a democracy, they immediately think of a single form of government, without realizing all the possibilities that are extended from that term. So in the end, democracy is simply a form of government which extends the right to its citizens to have a substantial ability to participate. Whether they use that ability, however, is another matter entirely.

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