Democracy

Democracy

It is a form of government in which the power is held by the people. The power can be either exercised directly by them or by their elected representants chosen through elections.

The term originates in the Greek word dēmokratía, a combination of dêmos="people" and krátos="power". So the word translates as "government of the people".

Direct Democracy

In a direct democracy, which is also called pure democracy the decisions are not taken by representatives. All decisions are voted on directly by the people. When a law needs to be passed it must be approved by the majority of the society through vote.

This form of government is characteristical of Ancient Greek democracy. Modern societies do not take most of their decisions in this way as the size of the population makes it almost impossible.

Representative Democracy

Indirect democracy, or representative democracy, is when citizens elect representatives to make laws on their behalf. An election is the process of choosing representants by voting.

This form of government originated in the Roman Republic and, with some modifications, this is what most modern countries have today.