democracy

Examples of democracy in the following topics:

• Theories of Democracy

  • Democracy requires that all citizens have an equal opportunity to express their opinion.
  • In practice, democracy is the extent to which a given system approximates this ideal, and a given political system is referred to as a democracy if it allows a certain approximation to ideal democracy.
  • For Aristotle, the underlying principle of democracy is freedom, since only in a democracy can the citizens have a share in freedom.
  • Deliberative democracy is based on the notion that democracy is government by discussion.
  • Distinguish between parliamentary democracy, minimal democracy, direct democracy, radical democracy and deliberative democracy, and relate them to the concept of "true" democracy and freedom

• Democracy

  • A given political system is referred to as a democracy if it allows a certain approximation to ideal democracy.
  • Democracy is often confused with the republic form of government.
  • In some definitions of republic, a republic is a form of democracy.
  • In other cases, democracy is used to mean direct democracy.
  • Majority rule is often listed as a characteristic of democracy.

• The Spread of Liberal Democracy

  • The United States, Canada, France, and other Western countries are examples of liberal democracies.
  • Liberal democracy is a common form of representative democracy.
  • Liberal democracies also usually have universal suffrage, granting all adult citizens the right to vote.
  • Reforms and revolutions helped move most European countries towards liberal democracy.
  • Defend the notion of liberal democracy using examples from its enlightenment origins

• Democracy

  • The United States is an example of a representative democracy.
  • Even though there is no universally accepted definition of democracy, all definitions include two fundamental principles: First, in a democracy, all citizens have equal access to power.
  • For example, many democracies limit representation.
  • In a full, direct, democracy, every citizen would be able to vote on every law.
  • Different colors indicate different forms of democracy.

• Participatory Democracy

  • The etymological roots of democracy (Greek demos and kratos) imply that the people are in power and, thus, that all democracies are participatory.
  • However, participatory democracy tends to advocate more involved forms of citizen participation than traditional representative democracy.
  • Participatory democracy has been a feature of human society since at least classical times.
  • Political variants of participatory democracy include consensus democracy, deliberative democracy, demarchy, and grassroots democracy.
  • List the key qualities of participatory democracy and some of its historical manifestations

• Monarchies and Liberal Democracies

  • Monarchies, in which sovereignty embodied in a single individual, eventually gave way to liberal democracies.
  • Liberal democracy traces its origins, and its name, to the European 18th century, also known as the Age of Enlightenment.
  • Reforms and revolutions helped move most European countries towards liberal democracy.

• Democratic Socialism

  • Democratic socialism combines the political philosophy of democracy with the economic philosophy of socialism.
  • Democratic socialism combines the political philosophy of democracy with the economic philosophy of socialism.
  • Rather than focus on central planning, democratic socialism advocates the immediate creation of decentralized economic democracy from the grassroots level—undertaken by and for the working class itself.
  • The term has also been used by various historians to describe the ideal of economic socialism in an established political democracy.

• Types of Governments

  • In political theory, democracy describes a small number of related forms of government and also a political philosophy.
  • Even though there is no universally accepted definition of 'democracy', there are two principles that any definition of democracy includes.
  • There are several varieties of democracy, some of which provide better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than others.
  • However, if any democracy is not carefully legislated to avoid an uneven distribution of political power with balances, such as the separation of powers, then a branch of the system of rule could accumulate power and become harmful to the democracy itself.
  • An essential process in representative democracies are competitive elections, that are fair both substantively and procedurally.

• The U.S. Political System

  • The United States is a representative federal democracy driven by elections in which citizens' and lobbyists' diverse interests compete.
  • The United States is a representative democracy.
  • At times, this influence has grown so noticeable that some have called into question whether the U.S. is truly a democracy of the people or something more like an oligarchy of special interest groups.

• Capitalism

  • The relationship between democracy and capitalism is a contentious area in theory and popular political movements.
  • The extension of universal adult male suffrage in 19th century Britain occurred along with the development of industrial capitalism, and democracy became widespread at the same time as capitalism, leading many theorists to posit a causal relationship between them—claiming each affects the other.
  • However, in the 20th century, capitalism also accompanied a variety of political formations quite distinct from liberal democracies, including fascist regimes, absolute monarchies, and single-party states.
  • Examine the different views on capitalism (economical, political and historical) and the impact of capitalism on democracy