Democracy is a form of government characterized by making power fall on the population. This approach means that the directions taken by a social group are based on the will of the majority. From the etymological point of view, the word democracy is made up of formants from the Greek, which mean "government" and "people".
This form of government differs from totalitarianism (such as fascism or Nazism) and dictatorships
In these cases, civil society, that is, citizens in general and their decisions are absorbed by those who govern. All power is in the hands of the government, without the citizen having any right to free expression. Communism is also a clear example of a government contrary to the postulates of democracy.
The most widespread opinion is that democracy has been created or started by Greek civilization, but there are those who affirm that in the tribal organizations of the past this system was already working; It is also true that the democracy observable among the Greeks was exclusive, to the extent that it left out slaves and women.
At present, when it comes to democracy, reference is usually made to its "representative" variant, in which the people elect their rulers through suffrage and for a limited period of time.
The idea that, although a democracy is the power of the people, in representative democracy the citizens, apart from their election through the vote, do not have too many other assigned roles is often questioned.
However, there is also another type of democracy, called “direct”, in which each party can participate and where there are no representatives, because the resolutions to be followed would be those decided directly by consensus; at present, this type of organization is impossible on a large scale. Another form of democracy is called "participatory", and in this sense, it tries to consider an option halfway between the "representative" and the "direct".
In participatory democracy, as its name indicates, the people are assigned to participate in the application of laws, and in debates around issues of national interest, such as the decriminalization of drugs or the implementation of new legal frameworks. in matters of communication media. Like the "direct", this form of democracy has not yet enjoyed its peak, and if this is not the case, much has to do with the real intention of the rulers to grant not only a vote but also a "voice" to citizens to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, opinion and thought.
The confusion between democracy and republic is easily perceptible in many people, concepts that differ remarkably
As we have already said, the idea behind a democracy is that authority resides in the people; Instead, a republic refers to a government that is governed by a division of powers. This distinction leads us to conclude that a republic is not necessarily a democracy.
At present, democratic government is the most rational way of dealing with the ideological differences of different groups who aspire to a position of authority. Thus, in a correct democratic culture, the differences are encompassed by common criteria, those that make the people the source from which power springs.
Strongly defended around the globe, democracy as a form of government is the only one suitable in the societies of the so-called “international community” that has recognized and proclaimed so-called Human Rights. For this reason, democracy and citizen participation is the object of struggle and mobilization of many third sector organizations (known as “non-governmental organizations” or NGOs), such as Democracy Now, which operate at a global level, with headquarters in different countries.
Photos 2, 3: iStock - Lalocracio
