Introduction
The Encyclopaedia Britannica gives an extended definition of the word. It says there are three basic senses in contemporary usage:
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(1)
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a form of government in which the right to make political decisions is exercised directly by the whole body of citizens, acting under procedures of majority rule, usually known as direct democracy;
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(2)
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a form of government in which the citizens exercise the same right not in person but through representatives chosen by and responsible to them, known as “representative democracy;” and
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(3)
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a form of government, usually a representative democracy, in which the powers of the majority are exercised within a framework of constitutional restraints designed to guarantee all citizens the enjoyment of certain individual or collective rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, known as liberal, or constitutional, democracy.
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Once again we can see the clash between the factual definitions (1) and (2) and the conceptual definition in (3)
We can see from definition (3) that the concept of democracy is widened considerably and it is this that creates the greatest argument. For to define it you have to say what restraints are imposed and what rights are given and if rights are given are responsibilities accepted at the same time. This vagueness is exemplified by the definition given by Amazon.com – “The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.” What on earth does that mean?
We can see from definition (3) that the concept of democracy is widened considerably and it is this that creates the greatest argument. For to define it you have to say what restraints are imposed and what rights are given and if rights are given are responsibilities accepted at the same time. This vagueness is exemplified by the definition given by Amazon.com – “The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.” What on earth does that mean?
I started this introduction by quoting the Greek meaning of democracy as “rule by the people”. Abraham Lincoln extended this definition to encompass “freedom” in one of his most famous speeches at Gettysburg on November 19 1863 when he spoke of “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
