Democracy means people-power or rule by the people. The idea came from the ancient Greeks who combined the words demos (people) and krates (rule) to create the term. The term is typically used in the context of a form of government in which all the citizens have a vote. In a democratic government, the people's views influence the laws and decisions made by the government. The development of democracy can be traced back to ancient times, particularly to ancient Greece.
What is a democracy?
Democracy is a system in which people decide matters as a group. The term is typically used in the context of a form of government in which all the citizens have a vote. It is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body , such as a parliament . It is also reffered as ‘rule of the majority ‘. Here the power cant be inherited . People elect their leaders . Representatives stand in an election and the citizens vote for their representative .The representative with the most number of votes get power . Democracy which the derives from the Greek word ‘demos’ or ‘people’ , is defined basically as the government in which the supreme power is vested in the people . In some forms , democracy can be exercised directly by th people : in the large societies , it is by te people through their elected agents , or in the memorable phrase of President Abraham Lincoln , democracy is government “ of the people , by the people , and for the people”
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Freedom and democracy are often interchanged , but the two are two different concepts and not synonymous . Democracy is indeed a set of ideas and principles about freedom , but it also consists of practices and procedures that have been molded through along , often tortuous history . Democracy is the institutionalization of freedom . It is more than just a set of specific government institutions : it rests upon well – understood group of values ,attitudes and practices – all of which may take different forms and expressions among cultures and societies around the world . Democracies rest upon fundamental principles , not uniform practices .
History of democracy
The concept of democracy started in the 5th century BC, Athens pioneers an experiment in the direct democracy , as opposed to the representative democracy of modern societies . It is copied by her greek allies and colonies at the time , but it has been rarely been attempted anywhere else since . Democracy of this kind has two preconditions . the community must be small enough for citizens to be capable of attending debates and voting on issues , and its economy must give these citizens enough leisure to engage in politics : in the ancient world this means that there must be slaves to do most of the work
Democracy in ancient times Around 2500 years ago in Ancient Greece, the people of the city-state of Athens developed a way of making decisions that was different from the autocratic ways of the past..Ancient Greece Athens was the first city state to allow ordinary citizens access to government offices and courts.
Democracy in the Middle Ages the Middle Ages was a period of European history from fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD) until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. It is also known as the Dark although there was not a democracy directly in place the middle Ages, Christianity was widely followed and so many democratic ideas were understood and followed by many of the people. Christianity taught that all men were created equal.
Evolution of democracy
Democracies developed throughout the 20th century. Democracies have resulted from wars, revolutions, decolonisation and economic circumstances. The number of democracies continues to grow and it has been speculated that this trend may continue in the future to the point where democratic nation-states become the standard form of human society. Throughout history, democracies have been the exception rather than the norm. In the present day world, about sixty percent of the world's nations are democracies. Other nations have rulers assigned by heredity or have used the military to take leadership by force or rule by wealth. Modern democracies , a score o years after it was written , one is impressed by how far from the direction then expected the political currents of the world have to run . Lord Bryce thought that the new states formed by the disintegration of Austria , by the liberation of subject nationalities from Germany and Russia , and by the extension of self government through the system of mandates to peoples hitherto ruled despotically or as dependencies of European countries , would greatly increase the number of democracies in the world . he saw clearly he defects of existing popular governments . but he thought that the new ones could learn much from the experience of the old .
Since the 1990s, scholars of south Asia have played a formative role in discussions about how best to theorise the history of liberal democracy in the subcontinent and beyond . Their work has highlighted the political and intellectual limitations of universalising western experiences o democratisation by bringing to light the particular genealogies of post –colonial democracy in south Asia , many of which lie beyond the colonial state .we now recognise that , in the imperial context , critical markers of democratic politics and popularity the notion of the rights – bearing liberal individual , emerged within the supposedly private sphere of social relationship , rather than the public domain of formal state politics
At the same time , the state and the domain of formal politics in the late colonial period remains considerably under theorised . From 1919 onwards, devolution and the introduction of limited forms of representative government produced a peculiarly hybrid state that gave rise to far more indianised . The papers in this special isuue show how the drive to reshape state structures and build new bureaucratic procedures in the face of te 1919, 1935 and 1950 . Acts were also important and fertile grounds for the production of democratic practices in south Asia
Through their emphasis on different historical moments and processes, the papers trace the emergence and evolution of democratic sovereignty in India. Legg examines the 1919 Government of India Act as a rescaling of Indian sovereignty, from the all-Indian to the local level, through the 'transfer' of certain subjects of governance. This process was informed by wider imperial and international debates about constitutionalism but also delimited by colonial autocracy and nationalist critique. Elangovan's study of the 1935 Government of India Act traces B.N. Rau's endeavour to establish the Act’s constitutional paramount in order to devolve full sovereignty to provincial governments, while Shani shows how the preparation of the rolls for India's first election under universal franchise realised the sovereignty of the Indian people in concrete, bureaucratic terms. In so doing they also reveal an important spatial dimension of constitutionalism. Legg highlights the centrality of the nominalise power of naming for the construction of diarchy’s 'scalar sovereignty', as the 1919 Act redefined local, national and imperial space. Elangovan traces some of the legacies of these developments, showing how the implementation of the 1935 Act rested on the reorganisation.
Democracy has many aspects, e.g. political, economic and social, but it has been proved that if political democracy is practiced for a long time it also leads to social and economic democracy.7 John Dunn has defined democracy as a word, an idea, and has pointed out that there are several manifest and latent practices associated with that idea and word.8 He also opines that democracy is not only associated with liberalism and freedom but with human rights and economic prosperity.9 Georg Sorensen also points out that if one wants to gauge the success or failure of democracy in a country, he/she must look into its economic, social and institutional conditions.10 Robert Dahl presented a comprehensive list of criteria for a successful democracy. These criteria are institutional guarantees for the sustenance of democracy: effective participation of people; voting equality; an enlightened electorate; and inclusion of all adults.
Merits Of Evolution Of Democracy
1. Give people a chance to become personally involved with their government:
The government in a democracy is under the control of the people and their voice , then it is up to each individual to create or decide their fate . People can choose to vote in anyway their morality dictates. Even in some there are options open for not to vote for anyone, people can choose that too and that is what they feel is best way to express their opinion. Whether the opinion is in majority or not, every ballot is an opportunity to express ones opinion. A community won’t object over the failure of a tax levy for a swimming pool, but the judicial system might step in it if the people vote to accept a local ordinance that allows slavery .
2. The structure of a democracy works to reduce with exploitation:
All government formations are sensitive to exploitation because of people who get elected into powerful positions . the ruling documents in this structure create checks and balances to assure that no single person receives supreme power over the legislative process .
3. Encourages equality in positive way:
A structure democracy gives every vote an equal amount of weight during an election . this option gives each person the chance to cast a ballot without jugdement when they register for this process , providing an opinion that despite their social or economic status .
4. It does not create a centralized power base for ruling over the people:
The united states uses a centralized form of governing , but there are equal powers distributed between the executive , legislative , and judicial branches , voters have an opportunity to change their elected officials every 2-6 years as a way to control their destiny .
5. A democracy transitions power smoothly while establishing legitimacy:
Democracy creates an appropriate structure of government for every person because voters select who will be in charge or how policies are made if a direct form of governing is in place . this process demands that each candidate for office declare before their voters the reasons why they are the best person to represent each community .
Demerits of evolution of democracy
1. Democracy is ineffective unless voters educate themselves on governing decisions:
A democracy allows an individual to cast a vote either directly or through a preferred representative on the issues that the government must manage .there is no direction as to how should voters approach this responsibility . although some people will educate themselves or can turn in aballot that is a straight –party ticket with no consideration about the individuals views or needs
2. Democracy can encourage mob rule:
People are migrating toward neighborhoods , employment , opportunities , and even relationships based on how comfortable they are around other people . the prevalence is to have neighbors and friends who have a like –minded perspective because there is a fear present in democracy of being wrong . no one wants to be stuck on the outside looking in when it comes to governing
3. The costs of democracy is something that many people don’t realize exists:
Democracy is one of the least cost efficient forms of governing that exist today . The time and currency resources that are necessary to conduct an election can cost billions of dollars. Even a local election for city council , mayor, or a school board can cost six figures . The presidential elections every four years in the United States are measured in the billions. Although, it is useful to have the people to have power in their voice.
4. Grid lock occurs frequently in democratic structures:
There is no incentive for people to work together when another election can change the outcome in the future. the united states encountered this demerit when a supreme court opening occurred during the final year of president Obama’s term in office . Republicans in congress refused to even hold hearings with his nominee because of the upcoming election
5. The structure of a democracy is a person –first process:
Elections usually involve the opinions or thoughts of each person based on what individuals want for themselves. Instead of looking at what might be useful for the rest f society, most voters gauge what they put on their checking account, taxes or overall cost of living. It is a process which encourages everyone to put their needs before others.
Conclusions
Democracy is a new thing in the world; well-developed forms of it have been in practice less than a century. We are still learning what it is and how to operate it. New features are continually being offered and put on trial; no doubt there is a great deal more to be learned about it. We would best handle it as learners, in the humble spirit of one who seeks to know the truth. There are weaknesses in democracy: it is best to recognize them and cope with them in rational ways. We must learn to submit to discipline, inspection, surveying, and whatever else is necessary to enable a complicated social organization to do its work efficiently. It still has to be improved and be developed in the countries where there is still dictatorship recognized as the government.
The number of contributions comparing the economic performance of democracies and dictatorship in our present world has increased quickly during the last years . though the conclusion of theirs literature is mainly sceptical , this serves to illustrates the vulnerability of democracy to interest groups , as well as the fact that when an autocracy establishes in once democratic countries (usually with the applause of a part of the electorate ), its behaviour may present important differences with that of more traditional autocracies , and resemble that of democracies in many respects.
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