Реферат: Direct Democracy Vs Representative Democracy Essay Research

Direct Democracy Vs Representative Democracy Essay, Research Paper

Direct Democracy vs Representative Democracy

The term Democracy is derived from two Greek words, demos, meaning

people, and kratos, meaning rule. These two words form the word democracy which

means rule by the people. Aristotle, and other ancient Greek political

philosophers, used the phrase, `the governors are to be the governed’, or as we

have come to know it, `rule and be ruled in turn’.

The two major types of democracy are Representative Democracy and Direct

Democracy. Clearly the arguments for and against each form of democracy are

plentiful. However, it is my belief that theoretically, Direct Democracy is the

superior form of political rule. Due to problems with in the direct democratic

system, its use as a practical form of government is not even thinkable.

Therefore, in order for any form of democracy to function, Representative

Democracy is the superior form of political rule.

Jean Jacques Rousseau is considered by many to be the `Grandfather’ of

direct the democracy theory. Rousseau’s ideal society would be where the

citizens were directly involved in the creation of the laws which are to govern

their lives. He maintained that, “all citizens should meet together and decide

what is best for the community and enact the appropriate laws. Any law which

was not directly created by the citizens is not valid, and if those laws are

imposed on people, that is equivalent to the people being enslaved.

The citizens of a society must both develop and obey `the supreme

decision of the general will’, which is the society’s determination of the

common good. It is not even thinkable that all citizens will agree on what good

is. Rousseau recognized this and accepted a term of majority rule. Those who

voted against a policy which is found to be the best for the general, must have

been thinking of personal gains, rather than the gains of the entire society.

The feature which distinguishes direct democracy from other forms of

government is the idea of agreement and the key to agreement is discussion. It

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