Democracy

Democracy is the rule of the majority, usually found within the boundaries of a Nation State. There are many different forms of democracy, such as our modern conception of it (Representative Democracy/Liberal Democracy) to the Ancient Greek form, where major issues where voted on directly by the citizens of Athens.

Etymology

Democracy as a word derives from the Greek demokratia which literally means 'rule by the people'. It is formed by Demos; 'the people' and Kratos - 'rule' or 'power'.

Athens

Athens as a democracy held conflicting and sometimes bizarre contradictions that are easily misinterpreted by the modern conception of what a democratic state should possess. In the constitutional democratic tradition, Athens differed on several counts; such as a lack of legal protections of liberties and rights – the citizen body could vote to take away your rights one day and vote to give them back the next. This naturally caused political instability that led to criticism of the model both from its contemporaries and revisionists in the present.

Opinions differ on the exact origins of Athenian democracy. Some attribute the reforms of Solon in 594 BC as laying the fundamental groundwork’s of the democratic evolution. Others point to the legendary King Thesus and his aspirations for Athens. Further, some believe the reforms of Cleisthenes (508-502 BC) played the major role.

Athens began its history in the archaic period under the control of a king; slowly that power was usurped by The Areopagus, the group of Athenian aristocracy who came to rule the city as oligarchs. This rule by the wealthy however became unstable. The surrounding countryside of Athens produced rich cash crops of olive oil and wine that were farmed predominantly by the wealthy due to the high start up costs of these products. The poorer farmers produced wheat that was badly managed by the average Athenian farmer. Production of wheat plummeted due to malpractice (such as a lack of crop rotation, not leaving fields fallow etc.) at the same time as exports of Wine and Olive Oil and imports of wheat increased. The production of wheat decreased, and so did its price. Pretty soon, the average farmer was losing out and falling into debt with the wealthiest members of Athenian society. To pay for the debt, farmers sold their children, wives, and even themselves into limited slavery both at home and abroad.

Recognising the danger of the situation, in 594 BC, the Areopagus and the people of Athens agreed to hand over all political power to an individual, Solon. His primary aims were the restoration of stability and to prevent the seizure of power by an individual. Some reforms guaranteed certain individual rights: they protected personal liberty of Athenians against enslavement because of debt; permitted anyone to seek redress on behalf of someone who had been wronged; provided for the right of appeal; and he broke the aristocratic monopoly of office holding.

In Progress

Constitutional Democracy

In the modern world, constitutional democracy is the natural opposite of Autocracy. The minimal definition in institutional terms of a constitutional democracy is that it should provide for a regularized system of periodic elections with a free choice of candidates, the opportunity to organize competing Political Parties, adult suffrage, decisions by majority vote with minority rights protection, an independent judiciary, constitutional safeguard of basic civil liberties and so called Natural Rights, and the opportunity to change governmental procedures by popular mandate.

Two features of constitutional democracy require emphasis in contrasting it with totalitarianism: A Constitution and the political party. In most modern constitutional democracies there is a constitutional document providing for fixed limitations on the exercise of power. These provisions usually include three major elements: an assignment of different state functions and organisations to different state offices or organs, and the establishment of arrangements for their co-operation; a list of individual rights or liberties that are protected from the exercise of State power; and a statement by the methods of which the constitution may be amended.

With these provisions, a concentration of political power with one person or party is limited, hence the Lockean notion of Limited Power. Certain areas of political and social life become immune to government intervention, without a constitutional amendment, and peaceful change in the political order is made possible.

The political party is the other chief instrument of constitutional democracy, as it is the agency in which the electorate is involved in the exchange and transfer of power. The political parties of constitutional democracy tend to be decentralised, concerned with the integration of diverse talents and interests, and open to public participation. There is usually some competition from two or more parties; some nations have two party systems, where the electorate is split down along racial, ethnic and economic coalitions readily identifiable with their respective political party, others have broader systems, where smaller parties take in sizeable portions of the vote, ensuring coalition governments need to be formed in order to create a functionable government. The political party in a constitutional democracy serves the function of representing a mass electorate in the exercise of power and also a mechanism that allows the peaceful replacement of one set of power holders with another.

Bibliography

Sinclair, R. K., Democracy and participation in Athens (Cambridge, 1998)