Of Democracy

Did you know that the definition of democracy is not as clear cut as one might think?

Granted, this particular rabbit hole might seem a little bit controversial, but I simply got curious!

Let's start by the Wikipedia definition of democracy: a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose governing officials to do so ("representative democracy").

Alright, so the people decide. It seems easy enough, right?

Well, Wikipedia continues with a couple of tiny caveats.

First, who is considered part of "the people" and how authority is shared among or delegated by the people has changed over time and at different rates in different countries. Second, although democracy is generally understood to be defined by voting, no consensus exists on a precise definition of democracy. So, maybe not that easy, then?

From there, I wondered how did democracy start, and when?

How hard can that be right? Well, we certainly live in an ever-changing world. Until recently, the consensus was that the term democracy appeared in the 5th century BC in Greek city-states and meant "rule of the people" (demos meaning common people and kratos meaning force or might), in contrast to aristocracy, meaning "rule of an elite". In recent decades however, scholars have explored the possibility that advancements toward democratic government occurred independently in the Near East, the Indian subcontinent, and elsewhere before this (yes, also from Wikipedia!). It seems an example of a republic around the 6th century was Vaishali, the capital of the Vajika League in India.

Wait a second, is a republic different from democracy? According to the website Diffen it is. In a republic, a constitution or charter of rights protects certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away by the government, even if it has been elected by a majority of voters. In a "pure democracy," the majority is not restrained in this way and can impose its will on the minority. I understand this as meaning that all republics are democracies but not all democracies are republics. My head is spinning a little!

Alright, let's summarise. We do not really know when it all started, or where, nor what is the actual definition. The western world has spent a good part of the 20th and 21st centuries fighting for it and pushing for the adoption of this type of government globally, but we can't define it. Anybody else find this strange? No wonder one should never talk politics or religion at the dinner table!

Here are a couple of opinions on democracy from big thinkers:

- Aristotle thought that a better form of democracy was for the reigns to be given not to all citizen but to those who were more virtuous, and therefore should have greater power in governance.

- Rousseau thought that democracy came to be associated with popular sovereignty instead of popular participation in the exercise of power.

- Tocqueville believed that democracy had a tendency to degenerate into soft despotism as well as the risk of developing a tyranny of the majority.

A disclaimer before wrapping up, I am not an expert at politics, the intention with this post is to trigger questions and not to impose a truth on anybody. You can interpret the notion of democracy as you see fit because it comes in all shapes and forms. Maybe the question is not so much how we define democracy or what is democracy, but rather what type of democracy would sustain our society while ensuring people have a voice, and there is a healthy balance of rights and obligations. Food for thoughts!

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy;https://www.diffen.com/difference/Democracy_vs_Republic;