what is democracy and is it the best form of government?
106030
Democtic rule  is the constant balancing of 2 great truths of national leadership, as decided by the populace themselves.  \n\nPeople need freedom, and people need discipline.\n\nBut as hightower says...\n\nDiscipline without freedom is tyranny\n\nFreedom without discipline is choas.\n\n\nAll other political systems fall into one or the other of the last two examples, I believe.
430518
There shouldn't be. The Central Government should be respopnsible for ensuring your safety, health and education. Everything else is more effectively dealt with at a local and/or state level.\n\nA strong central government is meant to deal with large issues. Unfortunately, most central governments now micr-manage the minutae of your day-to-day life. That isn't how the founders of democracy envisioned it. Fortunately, democracy allows for the evolution of government. It will mutate to fit our needs.\n\nAs Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst form of government...except all the others that have been tried from time to time."
748332
Democratic. In a republic you have very little say in the laws that are passed and repealed, and the only things you basically vote on are the representatives. A federal government takes power away from the states and by extension the people, and as such is an unwanted unitary force. A democratic government means that the people vote on passing, amending, and repealing laws. For an example of the one true democracy on this planet, take a look at Switzerland.
821533
no one is happy with democracy. everyone fear.\n\nMany forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those others that have been tried from time to time.
107398
This is because there is no system that can ideally order society. Traditionally the purpose of democracy is to prevent tyranny (the accumulation of too much authority in the hands of one or a few). That is, democracy is not intended to give us "good" government, but to put some limits to the abuse of power.\n\nIt is important to recognize that democracy is not morally ideal. At the heart of democracy is the belief that if a majority is in agreement, it is legitimate to harm the minority. While a clear improvement over tyranny (in which the decision of a minority of 1 person makes it legitimate to harm the majority of all others), this coercive power is still cause for concern. For this reason, some countries (such as the USA) have created constitutions that set protect particular issues from majoritarian decision-making. Generally, changes in these constitutions require the agreement of a super-majority. This means a majority can still legitimately coerce a minority (which is still ethically questionable), but as a practical matter it is harder to get a larger proportion of the people to agree to such actions.
166684
Democracy \nA system of government where the people rule.  \n\nRepresentative Democracy \nA democracy where the people elect representatives to rule for them.  \n\nConstitutional Monarchy \nA monarchy where the monarch is a figurehead. The country is ruled through elected Parliment Members. This monarchy also has a constitution.  \n\nMonarchy \nA system of government in which a king/queen/emperor etc. is the sole and absolute ruler. The right to rule was usually passed down to the eldest son, from the current monarch, when he/she died.  \n\nOligarchy \nA system of government in which a few people rule.  \n\nAristocracy \nA system of government in which a few people rule, usually the richest, and higher class. The right to rule was passed down within the family.  \n\nTyranny \nA system of government where a ruler has total power, not limited by a constitution or\nby other officials; especially one in ancient Greece. This ruler seizes power often by force, and rules single-handedly. In ancient Greece a tyrant often ruled fairly and justly and got important things done quickly. Many were very popular.  \n\nDictatorship \nA system of government in which one person has seized power violently, and is the sole ruler for life. (Or until he/she is overthrown).  \n\nTotalitarianism \nA system of government where every single part of an individual's life is controlled and watched by the government. People who support this kind of government, believe that strict order is the key to a society without chaos. Myanmar is run by a military government, often the case in a totalitarian government.  \n\nCommunism \nCommunism is a way of living in which the government owns and runs all the business. There are many forms of communism, the "ideal" form of society. Karl Marx set down the foundation of modern communism. Unfortunately all peaceful attempts to have a communist society have been abandoned early on. Usually the only way to have a communist region, is usually through revolution. These often have a cruel dictator, and are not "ideal." There are also many factions of communism, who usually fight each other. One example is Socialism.  \n\nAnarchy\nAnarchists believe that government is evil, and that it limits individual freedoms. So anarchy is no form of government at all. Its roots can be traced back to the Goths in Europe.
495655
That's a very good question.  I would say the quality of a democratic government depends on how democratic the government actually is and also on how capable of making wise decisions the people of the country are.  The ancient Greeks were among the first people to have democratic governments, and in their literature we can read about democratic governments that were disastrous because of the unwise decisions the people made.  That led some Greek philosophers to theorize that the best form of government would be a benevolent dictatorship by a person so wise that they would have preferred not to be in power, but accepted it as their duty, but that because of the instability of that situation, a democracy was the next best thing.  In modern times, we have seen many governments that claimed to be democracies but in reality were dictatorships of a rather less benevolent kind.  The founding fathers of the United States (by the way, I am from the USA) wisely formed a government of checks and balances, where the people of the country had a voice, but no one institution had absolute authority.  I would say that in our country today, democracy is sometimes in danger of being compromised by the influence of powerful business and special interest groups over corrupt politicians, and by the apathy of many voters who are not as informed about political issues as they could be.  But overall, the institutions are sound and democratic, so I would give the U.S. good grades as a quality democracy overall.
196160
Yes, it is.  (It's also a republic, capitalist, etc.)  It's not a "direct" democracy in the sense of submitting everything to a direct vote of the people, but the people do have ultimate power.  As a practical matter, the people frequently don't exercise the power they have -- they often don't bother voting, or don't educate themselves on issues -- but the power is there if they choose.
67338
It's not.  It's a republic.  In a democracy, all the people would have to vote to pass every law.  In a republic, we elect representatives to do that for us.
486475
If the truth be told - there is no such thing as 'democracy' for all, and there never will be.\nSociety needs rules, the moment you have rules, you interfere with someones freedom - that is not democratic.
264609
What's great about democracy? is there really one? are we really free? freedom is total utopia... in a democracy, the capitalists rule, the politicians desecrate the laws they themselves constructed, the state swings to whomever holds the ball, and the people are taken in for a ride. thats the pitiful scenario everyday, the poison pill we take each day. why?, we will never be free coz, laws should be taken into consideration and if their are laws to govern us, there is no freedom... and without freedom, there is no true democracy.
743908
Democracy is voting,\nVoting is right to choose.\nSo without voting there is no democracy.\nWhat else can be more important then that.
569133
It has freely elected President and the Parliament. \nIts justice system is officially independent (of course there are some unofficial means to influence the courts). \nIt (still) has independent media. \n\nI think these three facts will qualify it as a democracy.
308185
A representative government has proven itself to be the best form of government.  No arguing that.  The US also has capitalism going for it.
804876
Democracy:  Everyone votes for everything.\n\nRepublic:  Voters choose representatives to vote on issues.
331131
Great questions.  He wasn't alone in seeing that democracy isn't perfect; Plato laid out some of the best arguments for and against the various forms of government in his book, Republic.  But I don't read Churchill's quote as being negative about democracy at all, but rather stating that democracy is the best one out there   His actual quote was “Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”  It sounds like Churchill didn't see a better form, even if Plato did offer a few.  Bog, Ante
964857
Well, for one thing, it beat the heck out of living in a state of fear over one's own government.  Beyond that, economic freedom let at least some people escape poverty, and democracies do seem both internally more stable and less warlike than more repressive forms of government (According to some historians, no constitutional democracy has ever attacked another one; this is refered to as "democratic peace.")