DEMOCRACY
In 1992, 2500 years of democracy were enthusiastically celebrated all over the world. This was
an unusual celebration because, while anniversaries of statesmen, revolutions and the founding
of nations are quite commonly celebrated. no other political ideal has ever been celebrated In this
way. Also, democracy in the modern world is quite different from democracy as it with practiced
in ancient Greece 2500 years ago. The democratic ideas and practice with which we are here
concerned belong to the modern world, but it would be useful to briefly note the chief features of
democracy in the city-state of Athens - widely considered to be the most stable enduring and
model form of democracy in Greece - in ancient times.
The word democracy itself is of Greek origin. The Greek word demokratio is a combination
of the words demos (meaning the people) and kratos (meaning rule). This gives democracy its
meaning as a form of government, which the people rule, whether directly - through personal
participation - or indirectly, through elected representatives.
Democracy has been described as one of the "characteristic institutions of modernity", and as
such it was the result of a complex and intertwined processes of ideological, social and economic
change. In Britain, this change was signaled by the Industrial Revolution that began in the
middle of the eighteenth century, while in France and America it was launched by the political
revolutions in the last quarter of the same century.
The concept of democracy may be seen as a part of a. Conceptual cluster or a family of concepts,
in which the concepts of rights, freedom and equality are most central. In classical liberal
political theory, autonomy, freedom and equality form the cornerstone of the liberal theory of
democracy. The principle of autonomy, along with the concept of freedom, suggests the
importance of popular government. As in the writings of John Locke, government must
guarantee the rights and personal liberty of the individual and it is the job of the government to
protect the individual's life, liberty and property from being undermined by other individuals and
the state alike. It asserts that all individuals, by virtue of being human beings, equally possess
these rights.
In large and complex societies, it is not always possible for people to gather together to make
decisions on each and every issue, as they did in the direct democracy of ancient Athens. This is
why modern democracy works through representative institutions. People elect their
representatives to a legislature or assembly, and these representatives are authorized to take
decisions on behalf of those who elected them. Ultimate sovereignty, however, remains with the
people, who can hold their representatives accountable, and refuse to re-elect them when the next
election comes round. Representative government is almost synonymous with the idea of
democracy today
TYPES OF DEMOCRACY
Representative Democracy
Since direct democracy is not possible in large and complex societies, the mechanism through
which people take part indirectly in government is through electing representatives to carry out
their will
