Varieties of Democracy

Just like the "Nationalist" has many forms,there are also many varieties of democracy.

In general, democracy is often understood to be the same as liberal democracy. This contemporary understanding of democracy to a large degree differs from how the term was originally defined and used by the ancient Greeks in the Athenian democracy political regime.

The word democracy originates from the Greek wrods that means "rule by the people." The term is also sometimes used as a measurement of how much influence a people has over their government, as in how much democracy exists. Anarchism and communism are social systems that employ a form of direct democracy, and have no state independent of the people themselves.

Liberal democracy is sometimes the de facto form of government, while other forms are technically the case. For example, Canada has a monarchy, but is in fact ruled by a democratically elected Parliament.

Although democracy implies only a system of government defined and legitimized by elections, modern democracy can be characterized more fully by the following institutions: (Quote from Wikipedia)

1. A constitution which limits the powers and controls the formal operation of government, whether written, unwritten or a combination of the two.

2. Election of public officials, conducted in a free and just manner.

3. The right to vote and to stand for election (also Universal suffrage),

4. Freedom of expression (speech, assembly, etc.)

5. Freedom of the press and access to alternative information sources Freedom of association

6. Equality before the law and due process under the rule of law

7. Educated citizens informed of their rights and civic responsibilities

There is another definition of democracy. In which the word "democracy" refers solely to direct democracy, whilst a representative democracy where representatives of the people govern in accordance with a constitution is referred to as a "republic".

We have heard about the "democratization" of a nation:xxxxxx. Democratization is the transition from authoritarian or semi-authoritarian systems to democratic political systems, that have essentials of a democratic system: universal suffrage, regular elections, a civil society, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary.

It is interesting to think about what factors affect democratization. I thnk the followings are very relevant to the process of democratization.

1. Wealth. We learned from all those elections that no money means no campaign acivities, and no publicity.

2. Economic system. Fortunately, a true democracy can only be achieved if the the economy is controlled by the people as a whole rather than by private individuals.

3. A large middle class. This is a typical Gaussian Theorem. Majority of middle class acts as a buffer between the upper classes who want political power and the lower classes may want power to lift themselves up.

4. Civil society. A healthy civil society (NGOs, unions, academia, human rights organisations) are considered by some theorists to be important for democratization, as they give people a unity and a common purpose.

5. Homogeneous population. Some believe that a country which is deeply divided, whether by ethnic group, religion, or language, cannot establish a working democracy. The basis of this theory is that the different components of the country will be more interested in advancing their own position than in sharing power with each other. (This is an important factor in Taiwan)

6. Culture. It is claimed by some that certain cultures are simply more conductive to democratic values than others. Typically, it is Western culture which is cited as "best suited" to democracy, with other cultures portrayed as containing values which make democracy difficult or undesirable. This factor may play important role in countries of Asian.

7. A tradition of democracy. Democracy must evolve gradually. This argument is linked with the argument about cultural values. A country with extensive contact with Western countries will absorbing cultural values and ideals faster.

Finally, some like to use foreign intervention. They believe that foreign involvement can actively promote and foster by those countries which have democracy already. I, however, take the opposite stance, and say that democratization must come "from the bottom up", and that attempts to impose democracy from the outside are doomed to failure regardless of other factors --- Raping a woman can produce baby too but we all condem the raping.