Democracy


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Democracy

What is democracy? The word democracy comes from the Greek word “Demokratia”. In Greek ‘demos’ means ‘people’ and ‘kratia’ means ‘rule’. According to Abraham Lincoln, ‘Democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people’.

Democracy is a form of government in which a constitution guarantees basic personal and political rights, fair and free elections and independent courts of law.

  • democracy means rule by the people. The name is used for different forms of government, where the people can take part in the decisions that affect the way their community is run. In modern times, there are different ways this can be done.
  • The people meet to decide about new laws, and changes to existing ones. This is usually called direct democracy.
  • The people elect their leaders. These leaders take this decision about laws. This is commonly called representative democracy. The process of choosing is called election. Elections are either held periodically, or when an officeholder dies.
  • Sometimes people can propose new laws or changes to existing laws. Usually, this is done using a referendum, which needs a certain number of supporters.
  • The people who make the decisions are chosen more or less at random. This is common, for example when choosing a jury for a trial. This method is known as sortition or allotment. In a trial, the jury will have to decide the question whether the person is guilty or not. In Europe, trials with a jury are only used for serious crimes, such as murder, hostage taking or arson.
  • Kinds of democracy

  • Democracy may be direct or indirect.
  • In a direct democracy, everyone has the right to make laws together. One modern example of direct democracy is a referendum, which is the name for the kind of way to pass a law where everyone in the community votes on it. Direct democracies are not usually used to run countries, because it is hard to get millions of people to get together all the time to make laws and other decisions. There is not enough time.
  • In an indirect, or representative democracy, people choose representatives to make laws for them. These people can be mayors, councilmen, members of Parliament, or other government officials. This is a much more common kind of democracy. Large communities like cities and countries use this method, but it may not be needed for a small group. Fop example : India, USA.
  • Sample Questions
    (More Questions for each concept available in Login)
    Question : 1

    Which of the following are democratic conditions ?

    Right Option : D
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    Question : 2

    Democracy comes from which greek word ?

    Right Option : A
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    Question : 3

    The most common form that democracy in Today's world is ___________________

    Right Option : B
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