TEXT 11: ELEMENTS OF DEMOCRACY
All genuine democracies have free and open elections. Free elections give people the chance to choose their leaders and to voice their opinions on various issues. Free elections also help ensure that public officials pay attention to the wishes of the people.
In a democracy, several characteristics mark free elections. First, everyone's vote carries the same weight - a principle often expressed in the phrase "one person, one vote." Second, all candidates have the right to express their views freely, giving voters access to competing ideas. Third, citizens are free to help candidates or support issues. Fourth, the legal requirements for voting, such as age, residence, and citizenship, are kept to a minimum. Thus, racial, ethnic, religious, or other discriminatory tests cannot be used to restrict voting. Fifth, citizens may vote freely by secret ballot, without fear of punishment for their voting decisions.
Political parties are another important element of democratic government. A political party is a group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government, and determine public policy. In the United States, while any number of political parties may compete, a two-party system in which the Republicans and the Democrats have become the major political parties has developed.
Rival parties help make elections meaningful. They give voters a choice among candidates. They also help simplify and focus attention on key issues for voters. Finally, in democratic countries, the political party or parties that are out of power serve as a "loyal opposition." That is, by criticizing the policies and actions of the party in power, they can help make those in power more responsible to the people.
TEXT 12: CHARACTERISTICS OF DEMOCRACY
A true democratic government, as opposed to one that only uses the term democracy in its name, has some characteristics that distinguish it from other forms of government.
The first one may be called 'Individual Liberty'. No individual, of course, can be completely free to do absolutely anything he or she wants. That would result in chaos. Rather, democracy requires that all people be as free as possible to develop their own capacities. This does not mean that all people are born with equal talents or deserve an equal share of material goods. Rather, it means that they should have an equal opportunity to develop their talents to the fullest extent possible. Government in a democracy works to promote that kind of equality.
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Democracy also requires that government decisions be based on majority rule. In a democracy, people usually accept decisions made by the majority of voters in a free election. Representative democracy means that laws enacted in the legislatures represent the will of the majority of lawmakers. Because these lawmakers are elected by the people, the laws are accepted by the people.
At the same time, the American concept of democracy includes a concern about the possible tyranny of the majority. The Constitution helps to ensure that the rights of the majority as well as of the minority will be protected.
Respect for minority rights can be difficult to maintain, especially when society is under great stress. For example, during World War II, the government imprisoned more than 100,000 Japanese Americans in relocation camps because it feared they would be disloyal. In recent years, however, this wartime action has been severely criticized as an unjustified denial of individual rights and as proof that tyranny can occur in even the most democratic societies.
TEXT 13: THE SOIL OF DEMOCRACY
Today relatively few nations practice democracy. One reason may be that real democracy seems to require a special environment.
Democracy seems to have a better chance in countries that do not have extremes of wealth and poverty and that have a large middle class. The opportunity to control one's economic decisions provides a base for making independent political decisions. In the United States this concept is called free enterprise. If people do not have the power to control their own economic lives, they will not likely be free to make political decisions.
Countries with stable, growing economies seem better able to support democratic government. In the past, some politicians who promised citizens jobs and food have toppled many democratic governments during times of severe economic depression. People who are out of work or unable to feed their families often become more concerned about security than about voting or exercising other political rights.
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Democracy also prospers where most people accept democratic values such as individual liberty and equality for all. Such countries are said to have a social consensus. Countries divided by disagreements about basic values may have difficulty supporting democratic governments.
History shows that conditions in the American colonies favored the growth of democracy. Most white people had an opportunity to get ahead economically. The American colonists were among the most educated people of the world at the time. The English heritage provided a general consensus of political and social values.
TEXT 14: OLIGARCHY
Over the centuries, people have organized their governments in many different ways. In Saudi Arabia, for example, the ruling royal family controls the government and its resources. Family members choose the king from among themselves. Thousands of miles away, in Burkina Faso in Africa, a small group of wealthy landowners and military officers governs that country. In Sweden the people elect the Riksdag, the national legislature, which in turn selects the prime minister to carry out the laws. The United States has established a representative democratic government that has served as a model for many other countries around the world. Yet other forms of government outnumber true democracies.
Governments can be classified in many ways. The most time-honored system comes from the ideas of the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle*. It is based on a key question: Who governs the state? Under this system of classification, all governments belong to one of the three major groups: autocracy — rule by one person; oligarchy — rule by a few persons; or democracy — rule by many persons.
An oligarchy is any system of government in which a small group holds power. The group derives its power from wealth, military power, social position, or a combination of these elements. Sometimes religion is the source of power.
Both dictatorships and oligarchies sometimes claim they rule for the people. Such governments may try to give the appearance of control by the people. They might hold elections, but offer only one candidate, or control the election results in other ways. Such governments may also have some type of legislature or national assembly elected by or representing the people. These legislatures, however, only approve policies and decisions already made by the leaders. As in a dictatorship, oligarchies usually suppress all political opposition — sometimes ruthlessly.
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* Aristotle – Аристотель
TEXT 15: AUTOCRACY
Governments can be classified in many ways. The most time-honored system comes from the ideas of the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle*. It is based on a key question: Who governs the state? Under this system of classification, all governments belong to one of the three major groups: autocracy — rule by one person; oligarchy — rule by a few persons; or democracy — rule by many persons.
Any system of government in which the power and authority to rule are in the hands of a single individual is an autocracy. This is the oldest and one of the most common forms of government. Historically, most autocrats have maintained their positions of authority by inheritance or the ruthless use of military or police power. Several forms of autocracy exist. One is absolute or totalitarian dictatorship. In a totalitarian dictatorship, the ideas of a single leader or group of leaders are glorified. The government seeks to control all aspects of social and economic life. In such dictatorships, government is not responsible to the people, and the people lack the power to limit their rulers.
Monarchy is another form of autocratic government. In a monarchy a king or a queen or an emperor exercises the supreme powers of government. Monarchs usually inherit their position. Absolute monarchs have complete and unlimited power to rule their people. Absolute monarchs are rare today, but from the 1400s to the 1700s, kings or queens with absolute powers ruled most of Western Europe. These monarchs based their power on the idea of divine right. This view held that God granted those of royal birth the right to rule their people. Any challenge to or revolt against a monarch was regarded as a sin as well as treason. During the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe, the belief that the people were sovereign replaced this idea. The ruler's power came not from God but from the people.
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* Aristotle – Аристотель
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