Democracy

Democracy is a system of government by which political sovereignty is retained by the people and
exercised directly by citizens. In modern times it has also be used to refer to a constitutional republic where the
people have a voice through their elected representatives.
There are two principles that any definition of democracy is required to have. The first principle is that all
members of the society have equal access to power and the second that all members enjoy universally recognised
freedoms and liberties.
The Democratic Ideal: Pericles
Pericles was not the founder of Greek democracy, but he was one of its greatest defenders, in word and
deed. Although he was not recognized as a philosopher, his Funeral Oration, as reported by Thucydides in History
of the Peloponnesian Wars, bequeaths us this eloquent and stirring definition of democracy:
"Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than
imitators ourselves. Its administration favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If
we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if no social standing, advancement in
public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again
does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. The
freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. There, far from exercising a jealous
surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbour for doing what he likes, or
even to indulge in those injurious looks which cannot fail to be offensive, although they inflict no positive penalty.
But all this ease in our private relations does not make us lawless as citizens. Against this fear is our chief safeguard,
teaching us to obey the magistrates and the laws, particularly such as regard the protection of the injured, whether
they are actually on the statute book, or belong to that code which, although unwritten, yet cannot be broken without
acknowledged disgrace.
In the speech, Pericles says:
• Democracy allows men to advance because of merit instead of wealth or inherited class.
• In a democracy, citizens behave lawfully while doing what they like without fear of prying eyes.
• In a democracy, there is equal justice for all in private disputes.
This closely resembles the official attitude of those modern nations that favor democracy.
Athenian democracy
Athenian democracy developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of
Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 500 BC. Athens was one of the very first known democracies.
Other Greek cities set up democracies, most but not all following an Athenian model, but none were as powerful or
as stable (or as well-documented) as that of Athens. It remains a unique and intriguing experiment in direct
democracy where the people do not elect representatives to vote on their behalf but vote on legislation and executive
bills in their own right. Participation was by no means open to all inhabitants of Attica, but the in-group of
participants was constituted with no reference to economic class and they participated on a scale that was truly
phenomenal. The public opinion of voters was remarkably influenced by the political satire performed by the comic
poets at the theaters.[1]
Solon (594 BC), Cleisthenes (509 BC), and Ephialtes of Athens (462 BC) all contributed to the
development of Athenian democracy. Historians differ on which of them was responsible for which institutions, and
which of them most represented a truly democratic movement. It is most usual to date Athenian democracy from
Cleisthenes, since Solon's constitution fell and was replaced by the tyranny of Peisistratus, whereas Ephialtes
revised Cleisthenes' constitution relatively peacefully. Hipparchus, the brother of the tyrant Hippias, was killed by
Harmodius and Aristogeiton, who were subsequently honored by the Athenians for their alleged restoration of
Athenian freedom.
The greatest and longest-lasting democratic leader was Pericles; after his death, Athenian democracy was
twice briefly interrupted by oligarchic revolution towards the end of the Peloponnesian War. It was modified
somewhat after it was restored under Eucleides; the most detailed accounts are of this fourth-century modification
rather than the Periclean system. It was suppressed by the Macedonians in 322 BC. The Athenian institutions were
later revived, but the extent to which they were a real democracy is debatable.
Criticism of the democracy
Athenian democracy has had many critics, both ancient and modern. Modern critics are more likely to find
fault with the narrow definition of the citizen body, but in the ancient world the complaint if anything went in the
opposite direction. Ancient authors were almost invariably from an elite background for whom giving poor and
uneducated people power over their betters seemed a reversal of the proper, rational order of society. For them the
demos in democracy meant not the whole people, but the people as opposed to the elite. Instead of seeing it as a fair
system under which 'everyone' has equal rights, they saw it as the numerically preponderant poor tyrannizing over
the rich. They viewed society like a modern stock company: democracy is like a company where all shareholders
have an equal say regardless of the scale of their holding; one share or ten thousand, it makes no difference. They
regarded this as manifestly unjust. In Aristotle this is categorized as the difference between 'arithmetic' and
'geometric' (i.e. proportional) equality. Democracy was far from being the normal style of governance and the
beliefs on which it was based were in effect a minority opinion. Those writing in later centuries generally had no
direct experience of democracy themselves.
Athenian Democracy -vs- Modern Democracy
Most likely the greatest difference between modern democracy and Golden age Athenian democracy is that
of the "men only" policy. In the old age, only men were allowed to vote and take part in assemblies. Today's
democracy allows both eligible men and eligible women are to vote.
The elections back then were also different. In Athenian time, they had their main elections via lottery.
They thought this would help to control campaigning and election corruptions. In today's democracy, when we elect
someone all eligible citizens can vote and the majority wins. Also, unlike now, active military leaders were elected
to governing positions. Back then they believed it created a stronger government.
One major difference is that in the Athenian legal system, is that there were no lawyers. Everyone had to
argue his own case. The accused could hire someone to write their defense speech, but they had to present it
themselves. Wherein today lawyers are everywhere and generally the advice given is "A man who represents
himself has a fool for a lawyer." Another difference between the justice systems was that, unlike earlier Athenian
justice and current democratic justice, the Golden Age democracy did not allow decisions to be appealed.
The Dialectical Forms of Government
Plato spends much of the book narrating conversations about the Ideal State. But what about other forms of
government? The discussion turns to four forms of government that cannot sustain themselves: timocracy, oligarchy
(also called plutocracy), democracy, and tyranny (also called despotism).
Timocracy
Socrates defines a timocracy as a government ruled by people who love honor, and that this form of
government results from the offspring of parents with differing Socratic metal compositions. The honor at the
foundation of this gilded government leads to a desire for possession and wealth.
Oligarchy (plutocracy)
These temptations create confusion between economic status and honor, which is responsible for the
emergence of oligarchy. In Book VIII, Socrates suggests that wealth will not help a pilot to navigate his ship. This
injustice divides the rich and the poor, thus creating an environment for criminals and beggars to emerge. The rich
are constantly plotting against the poor and vice versa.
Democracy
As this socioeconomic divide grows, so do tensions between social classes. From the conflicts arising out
of such tensions, democracy replaces the oligarchy preceding it. The poor overthrow the inexperienced oligarchs
and soon grant liberties and freedoms to citizens. A visually appealing demagogue is soon lifted up to protect the
interests of the lower class. However, with too much freedom, the people become drunk, and tyranny takes over.
Tyranny (despotism)
The excessive freedoms granted to the citizens of a democracy ultimately leads to a tyranny, the furthest
regressed type of government. These freedoms divide the people into three socioeconomic classes: the dominating
class, the capitalists and the commoners. Tensions between the dominating class and the capitalists cause the
commoners to seek out protection of their democratic liberties. They invest all their power in their democratic
demagogue, who, in turn, becomes corrupted by the power and becomes a tyrant with a small entourage of his
supporters for protection and absolute control of his people.
Ironically, the ideal state outlined by Socrates closely resembles a tyranny, but they are on opposite ends of the
spectrum. This is because the philosopher king who rules in the ideal state is not self-centered but is dedicated to the
good of the state insofar as the philosopher king is the one with knowledge.
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the monarch has the power to rule his or
her land or state and its citizens freely, with some laws or legally-organized direct opposition in force. Although
some religious authority may be able to discourage the monarch from some acts and the sovereign is expected to act
according to custom, in an absolute monarchy there is no constitution or body of law above what is decreed by the
sovereign (king or queen). As a theory of civics, absolute monarchy puts total trust in well-bred and well-trained
monarchs raised for the role from birth.
In theory, an absolute monarch has total power over his or her people and land, including the aristocracy
and sometimes the clergy (see caesaropapism). In practice, absolute monarchs have often found their power limited
—generally by one or other of those groups.
Some monarchies have powerless or symbolic parliaments and other governmental bodies that the monarch can alter
or dissolve at will. Despite effectively being absolute monarchies, they are technically constitutional monarchies due
to the existence of a constitution and national canon of law.
Historical examples
One of the best-known historical examples of an absolute monarch was Louis XIV of France. His alleged
statement, L'état, c'est moi (The State, It is me), summarizes the fundamental principle of absolute monarchy
(sovereignty being vested in one individual). Although often criticized for his extravagance, his best-known legacy
being the huge Palace of Versailles, he reigned over France for a long period, and some historians consider him a
successful absolute monarch. More recently, revisionist historians have questioned whether Louis' reign should be
considered 'absolute', given the reality of the balance of power between the monarch and the nobility.
Monarchy
There is no clear definition of monarchy. Holding unlimited political power in the state is not the defining
characteristic, as many constitutional monarchies such as the United Kingdom are considered monarchies.
Hereditary rule is often a common characteristic, but elective monarchies are considered monarchies (the pope,
sovereign of the Vatican City State, is elected by the College of Cardinals) and some states have hereditary rulers
but are not considered republics (such as the stadtholder of the Dutch Republic).[1] A 1914 edition of Bouvier's Law
Dictionary states that "Monarchy is contradistinguished from republic," and gives this definition:
We cannot find any better definition of monarchy than this: a monarchy is that government which is ruled
(really or theoretically) by one man, who is wholly set apart from all other members of the state (called his subjects);
while we call republic that government in which not only there exists an organism by which the opinion of the
people, or of a portion of the people (as in aristocracies), passes over into public will, that is, law, but in which also
the supreme power, or the executive power, returns, either periodically or at stated times (where the chief
magistracy is for life), to the people, or a portion of the people, to be given anew to another person; or else, that
government in which the hereditary portion (if there be any) is not the chief and leading portion of the government,
as was the case in the Netherlands.
• In an absolute monarchy, the monarch rules as an autocrat, with absolute power over the state and
government—for example, the right to rule by decree, promulgate laws, and impose punishments. Absolute
monarchies are not necessarily authoritarian; the enlightened absolutists of the Enlightenment were
monarchs who allowed various freedoms.
• In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch is largely a ceremonial figurehead subject to a constitution.
Sovereignty rests formally with and is carried out in name of The Crown but politically rests with the
people (electorate), as represented by the parliament or other legislature. Constitutional monarchs have
little real political power, and are constituted by tradition and precedent, popular opinion, or by legal codes
or statutes. They serve as symbols of continuity and the state and carry out largely ceremonial functions.
Still, many constitutional monarchs retain certain privileges (inviolability, sovereign immunity, an official
residence) and powers (to grant pardons, to appoint titles of nobility). Additionally, some monarchs retain
reserve powers, such as to dismiss a prime minister, refuse to dissolve parliament, or withhold Royal
Assent to legislation, effectively vetoing it.