Democracy is known as the form of government that is characterized by making power fall on the people. That is, that the decisions made by the Executive are consulted by a group chosen by the population. Likewise, it is important to mention that it can have different aspects, the most common being direct and participatory democracy. It is composed of a series of ideals which are the democratic principles that govern these are equality, the limitation of power, the control of power, among others.
What is democracy
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It is the form of organization of a State where power is held by the people, that is, citizens can choose their rulers, who will be in charge of taking the reins of the country. In countries where governments are democratic, citizens have the power to raise their voices and express their opinions on issues important to the nation and have them heard by their leaders, because that right is given to them by democracy.
In countries with democracy, as a form of government, there is a very important mechanism for citizen participation such as suffrage, through which citizens can choose their leaders freely, easily and, more importantly, directly. and secret. The periods of government are established by the constitutions and laws of each nation.
To understand what democracy is, it is important to know its etymological origin, this word comes from the Greek words "demos" which translates as people, and from "kratos" which means authority or government, so what does democracy mean ? it is literally " power of the people."
At present the use that is given to this word is to describe a form of government that is characterized by officially proclaiming the subordination of minorities in front of the majorities and at the same time, by recognizing the freedom and equality of the rights of people.
Seen from a philosophical perspective, the definition of democracy also indicates that it can represent much more than just power to the people, since it is a social, political and economic system of equal and free men and women, but not only in the face of laws, but also before society, in daily life.
What are the democratic principles
One fact to take into account when studying what democracy is is the fact that it should be seen as a political system among the various alternatives that have emerged for the ordering of States throughout the history of humanity.
In this way it is established that democracy is in opposition to the possibility that power is exercised by a single individual in an arbitrary and abusive way. For all this to be fulfilled, democracy must be based on certain democratic principles, which are mentioned below:
Equality
This concept accepts the possibility that any individual can exercise political power in a given country. For this reason, it is important to recognize equality among citizens, since in the absence of it, there would not be the indispensable means for both the opposition between the parties and the participation to develop normally.
As a result of these, there is the possibility of two paradigms that condition the growth and development of democracy with respect to the equality of the population.
• The first one is that of redistribution, in relation to the equal rights that all people have towards each other and also before the State, in order to be able to take part in the processes of democratic participation.
• The second is about recognition, regarding the fact that not all those who participate in the process of democracy are in similar factual situations, for this reason the opinions are different from each other, an important fact when analyzing what it is democracy.
The limitation of power
Another of the democratic principles is the limitation of power. This principle indicates that in a democratic country what is sought is the conditioning of power as a guarantee for individuals to participate in national politics, limits that can be identified in three types:
1. Of the state against the citizen: which is guaranteed through the fundamental rights that the Magna Carta issued in favor of the governed.
2. Of the state institutions among them: this is guaranteed through the division of powers, in addition to the establishment of competencies between them.
3. Of the people among themselves: this is achieved through the regulation and inclusion of certain social rights.
It has been proven that democracy, in order to offer a guarantee regarding the minimum conditions necessary for the participation of citizens, limits its exercise to public power, limits that will also help to ensure the interests and rights of The people, in addition to determining the functions of the power itself and in this way divides it, for example into executive, legislative and judicial powers, designating each of them a specific function of authority.
Social Control
This indicates that every ruler or public official who has been elected by the will of the people, has the duty to render accounts; establishing for this control methods that help prevent abuses of power.
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This principle is very important within the concept of democracy since it indicates that within any truly democratic system , the separation and autonomy of public entities must prevail: Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
Elections
The basic principle within what democracy means lies in the Universal and Secret Vote, where all citizens have the possibility to participate and their decisions present an equal value.
Control of power
In the concept of democracy, it must be recognized that in a state of a democratic type the subsistence of centralized power is not possible, if there are no tools that provide guarantees for the regulation of authority actions that have a state nature. All this must be taken into account when understanding the meaning of democracy.
The control of the power and the constitutionality of the actions becomes an axis of the efficiency of the constitution, added to its nature of obligation and the fundamental political decisions embodied, providing balance to the institutional structures and the fundamental rights that are determined by means of the constitutional agreement.
The regulatory means of the constitution are identified as legal resources that were created to verify the correspondence of the actions that are taken by those who serve in power and the constitution, annulling decisions when they are not in accordance with constitutional principles In this way, the corrective nature of the controlling means is also derived, which is why they destroy acts that have already been issued, that is where the importance of control of power lies.
The sphere of the undecidable
The definition of democracy indicates the establishment of a democratic state that gives the possibility that all the actors that make up the society, participate in the decisions that are related to the ordering of the new political entity, this is given by the intervention of the real elements of power when making decisions on the origin of the life of a State.
In a certain way, the decisions that are made by real factors (business organizations, unions, transnationals, international financial organizations and the media) since to a large extent they are those that condition the actions of power and the political and judicial order, are those that will lead the course of that state.
These decisions are known as “fundamental political decisions”, since the total number of de facto powers that region a given State at a time and place are those that chose the fundamental principles that will be the face of the legal and political system of community.
An example of this can be seen in a democratic state when deciding that its economic development is based on the creation and evolution of productive companies in the country, while in other states it is possible to opt for a development free of such decisions. Those ideals are what are called "fundamental political decisions" and as you can see, they are part of the undecidable.
History of democracy
The history of democracy, its origin and the application of the concept of democracy, can be traced back to ancient Greece, specifically between the 7th and 4th centuries BC Athens was a region that was divided into city-states, which were Known as "cops."
In these cities, decisions were not made by a single person, but on the contrary, they were made by assemblies constituted by free citizens, generally by men who had already reached the age of majority, who did not have a status of servant, where they were he left out women, slaves and foreigners.
Only 25% of the population will be able to access the assembly, although, in the public square, all individuals had the right to debate issues of common interest.
It is important to note that during the Greek period there was a law called " graphe paranomon " which arises as a mechanism for the protection of democracy, this law stated that every citizen should be responsible for the laws that they presented before the assembly, that is, if any law It was considered harmful to the "Polis" and could be denounced and frozen, until the assembly decided whether or not the accusation was true.
Characteristics of democracy
The characteristics and values of democracy are outlined below.
1. Equality and Freedom: it can be said that they are two of the most important values of democracy. These values were proclaimed during the French Revolution (in addition to fraternity), and affirm that all men are free to act in their own way and before the law are equal with each other, as long as this does not go against the law.
2. Representativeness: a characteristic feature of democracy is representativeness. The secret and free vote is the tool that allows the representation of a group of individuals in the hands of a minority group of people, since it is impossible for all citizens to be part of the daily decisions that allow a state to function.
3. Constitutionality: another characteristic of democracy is that it is based on the principle of constitutionality. Currently democracies are articulated through a public text, which offers a guarantee of the principles of freedom and equality, said text is the National Construction. The different constitutions of democratic states are responsible for guaranteeing respect for the rights of the people, including minorities as well.
4. Decentralization of decisions: in democracies it is always about avoiding centralized governments, this is done through a decentralization of decisions at the regional, departmental level and so on.
5. Human Rights: in democratic systems, basic and essential human rights are guaranteed. In a democratic government, the opportunity for organization is always offered to be able to participate fully in the political, cultural and economic activity of a country, at the same time that it guarantees freedom of worship and freedom of expression. This is arguably one of the most important characteristics of democracy.
Types of democracy
Among the most frequent types of democracy are: direct, representative and participatory democracy. The reason why there are several types and subtypes is because of the subjective way in which a democracy is managed, which goes hand in hand with the type of government that is in power at that time, and its political ideology..
Direct or Pure Democracy
Direct or pure democracy is the most similar to primitive or "pure" democracy. In this case, all decisions go hand in hand with the population, without there being any intermediary. In fact most of the decisions are made in public hearings, an example of this is Switzerland.
But not only are government decisions subjected to public hearings, but also the people have the power to propose laws.
If it is the case that the people manage to obtain sufficient signatures, said law can be put to a vote and according to this it may or may not be implemented, for this reason it is said that direct or pure democracy is very similar to primitive democracy.
Direct or Representative Democracy
Direct or representative democracy has as its main characteristic that the people have the right to vote to elect the people who will be their representatives within parliament. These representatives are in charge of deciding what they think is most convenient for the country, but always on behalf of the people who elected them.
In direct or representative democracy, the ideal is that the chosen people have sufficient training to be able to act on behalf of the people who elected them.
In this type of democracy certain things are made faster and easier, since it is not necessary to submit everything to popular consultation. But nevertheless, in certain cases the representatives can put aside the interests of the people, which can cause inconvenience.
Participatory democracy
Another type of democracy is participatory, it can be said that it is a bit similar to direct democracy, however in this case there is greater limitation.
In participatory democracy, the people intervene, but in those votes of greater relevance. For example, when there is a reform of a certain law, it is necessary that it be submitted to the popular vote, but on the other hand, an increase in taxes is not submitted to a vote.
One of the most important characteristics of participatory democracy is that it does not matter how big or small the decision to be made, since each person has the opportunity to vote for himself, without intermediaries. This means that there is no higher ranking personality voting on behalf of various communities or individuals.
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There are several forms of democracy which will be explained below:
Liberal Democracy
The fact that characterizes liberal democracy is that the government is elected by popular vote and also all the decisions that the state makes are governed by the constitution of that country. In this variant of democracy, pluralism and political tolerance are quite broad, which offers the possibility of the existence of different political lines, with different thoughts and a healthy alternation of power.
Social democracy
Social democracy is based on the right to a universal democratic vote, combined with a type of State that is called the “welfare state”, due to its notion of social justice.
Social democracy is known as a variation of democracy, which is characterized by the recurrence to the regulation of the State, as well as the development of organizations and programs that are sponsored by it, in order to eradicate social injustices, inequalities, that according to its defenders, would exist in capitalism and in the <a title = ”Free Economy - concept definition.de” href = ”// concept definition.de/free-economy/” target = ”_ blank”> free economy.
This aspect emerged at the end of the 19th century, thanks to a socialist movement, as a moderate and peaceful alternative to what was the revolutionary form of the seizure of power and the implementation of a dictatorship by the proletariat, which was to a sector of the socialist movement, giving rise to a debate, around the terms "revolution" and "reform".
Its efficiency and functioning as a royal form of government has now been demonstrated in most Scandinavian countries, especially Sweden.
Monarchical Democracy
In the case of monarchical democracy, it can be said that it is a form of government characteristic of certain European countries. Some examples of monarchical democracy are: Holland, Spain, Great Britain, in America there are also certain countries with this system, such is the case of Jamaica and Canada, while in Asia there are Japan and Malaysia.
Constitutional monarchies differ greatly from country to country. In the United Kingdom, for example, the current norms of the constitution grant certain powers formally to the nobles and the king, as is the case with the appointment of rulers in the dependencies of the crown, appointment of prime minister, court of last instance suspensive veto, etc., without mentioning the formal powers that derive from those positions.
There is a general tendency to progressively decrease the power of kings and nobles within the constitutional monarchy, which had an increase during the 20th century.
Despite being a monarchy, in these states there is great inequality before the law.
In the case of monarchs and other nobles with respect to the rest of the citizens, the imposing restriction of the judicial and government powers, has generated that their participation in most governmental acts is highly controlled by the rest of the state powers. and they are only present in exceptional cases.
All this has been the reason for the origin of the saying "kings reign but do not rule" referring to the little legal influence that monarchs and later nobles have in daily government acts.
Democracy and Socialism
The concepts of democracy and socialism converge at the same point in what is called democratic socialism, referring to a political objective that establishes democracy and socialism as two elements that must always be united.
The concept of social democracy was developed in the 1920s and to date has been the flag of communist and socialist parties, and to a lesser extent by social democrats, since despite the fact that at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, these politicians sought the establishment of socialism through voting.
Today the social democrats are characterized by defending aspects of capitalism and socialism combined, giving rise to what is known as a mixed economy, without departing from the ideals of social justice that are characteristic of the left.
Democratic socialism is a strand of socialism, which abhorred the authoritarian techniques of transition from capitalism to socialism in favor of grassroots organizations, in order to create rapid decentralization and, at the same time, economic democracy.
Although it is true that it is usually used as a synonym for social democracy, this concept is actually much broader, in the case of democratic socialism, it encompasses various currents grouped in what is called the reformist left.
For its part, social democracy is an ideal that emerged during the second half of the 19th century on the European continent and is characterized by defending the welfare state and the mixed economy.
On the other hand, there are those that are characterized by using a political system based on Marxist communism, which is known as "real socialism", as is the case in Cuba, where there are systems of government that often call themselves " popular democracies. ".
These are characterized by basing their organization on a single political party, which is closely related to the State and, according to those who promote this ideology, argue that all the people can participate and that the representation of the different political variables must also be organized. failing that, most of them.
In today's so-called “people's democracies”, freedom of the press and freedom of expression are limited and controlled by the government, which ends up being one of the different obstacles to democracy.
Democracy in Mexico is characterized by the fact that political power is obtained through free, fair and competitive elections, which has been done since the late 1990s.
However, the possibility of these for making decisions within the public sphere and verifying that it is executed, is not subject to verification by the voters or at least not effectively.
This may be caused by the lack of institutions that ensure accountability, which creates a situation of opacity and opens a space between those represented and representatives.
Examples of democracy
Below are some examples of democracy that can be found in today's society.
Currently there are countries where it is not present, about 50 countries have the dictatorship as their form of government and human rights are violated.
Despite this, there are countries where democracy is applied and works, although it can be more efficient depending on each state. Here are some examples.
Norway: according to the intelligence unit of The Economist, publishes a list that determines the level of democracy in each country, for the year 2017 the Nordic country obtained a score of 9.93 out of 10 possible points.
Some of the items that are evaluated are political culture, political participation, civil liberties and the electoral process. This country has important oil reserves and differs from other European powers by not having a history of being a colonial power.
The struggle to avoid economic inequality represents one of the central issues in its policy, which has been reflected in its birth rates, despite being in one of the places with the lowest demographic density on the continent.
For its part, as far as direct democracy is concerned, the example of the United States can be given, which despite having a direct democracy, federally speaking, most of its states and municipalities, allow its inhabitants to promote the voting of initiatives, also counting on tools that facilitate the promotion of initiatives or in the event of a referendum.
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