DemocracyDefined, pillars of it, quotes, and analysis

Democracy Defined:

Democracy "is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system."

In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Direct Democracy:

In a direct democracy, all “citizens” can participate in making public decisions.

Such a system is clearly only practical with relatively small numbers of people--in a community organization or tribal council, for example, or the local unit of a labor union, where members can meet in a single room to discuss issues and arrive at decisions by consensus or majority vote.

Ancient Athens, the world's first democracy, managed to practice direct democracy with an assembly that may have numbered as many as 5,000 to 6,000 persons--perhaps the maximum number that can physically gather in one place and practice direct democracy.

Representative Democracy:

Today, the most common form of democracy, whether for a town of 50,000 or nations of 50 million, is representative democracy, in which citizens elect officials to make political decisions, formulate laws, and administer programs for the public good.

In the name of the people, such officials can deliberate on complex public issues in a thoughtful and systematic manner that requires an investment of time and energy that is often impractical for the vast majority of private citizens.

Pillars of Democracy: What?

Sovereignty of the people.

Government based upon consent of the governed.

Majority rule.

Minority rights.

Guarantee of basic human rights.

Free and fair elections.

Equality before the law.

Due process of law.

Constitutional limits on government.

Social, economic, and political pluralism.

Values of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation, and compromise.

Citizen responsibilities

Free press

Religious freedom

Federalism

Rule of law

3 branches of government

Homework: part IDefine each of these pillars in the context of a democracy.

Democracy Quotes:

Democracy forever teases us with the contrast between its ideals and its realities, between its heroic possibilities and its sorry achievements.--- Agnes Repplier

If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.--- Aristotle

A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election.--- Bill Vaughan

Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions - it only guarantees equality of opportunity.--- Irving Kristol

The citizen can bring our political and governmental institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable, and keep them honest. No one else can. --- John Gardner

Homework: part IIChoose THREE of the above quotes. Write them down and describe what each means in the context of democracy.

Assignment #3: worth 25 points and should be done by tomorrow.

Democracy Quotes:

To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect, and their oneness.--- Mohandas K. Gandhi

"If this (democracy) were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."---President George W. Bush

In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued - they may be essential to survival.--- Noam Chomsky

I know of no safe repository of the ultimate power of society but people. And if we think them not enlightened enough, the remedy is not to take the power from them, but to inform them by education.--- Thomas JeffersonHomework: part II, continued

Choose TWO of the above quotes. Write them down and describe what each means in the context of democracy.