Main Advantages of democracy Are to safeguard the integrity and human rights of the individual. Democracy protects its citizens from regimes with only one leader, thus preventing autocracy.
Democracy is the most widely established form of government today and is often taken as a measure to analyze how well a nation works.
Of Greek origin, it comes from the words demo-kratos,"power in the common man", and is born of an ancient system of government of classical Greece where any citizen could participate in decision-making.
Today, the word democracy is synonymous with equity and justice. Usually it is thought like a simple electoral process where the people choose by means of votes; However, democracy is based on the idea that the common man has control over the direction his community will take.
In the 21st century, the democratic process is different from that of that old Greece and its city-states.
In today's democratic societies, representatives with the capacity and experience are chosen to be the ones who see the needs of their constituents.
Likewise, the political and economic processes of a democratic country are managed with transparency and are left available to its citizens.
At present, at least 68 nations are trying to follow the form of democratic government, with 51 authoritarian regimes and 40 nations standing between these two opposites.
Few nations have succeeded in implementing democracy in its entirety, but those who achieve it have in return the benefit of living under the most stable form of government historically.
Why is democracy important?
Democracy in ancient Greece was born as a measure to counteract the abuse of power that existed when one person or a small group made decisions for others.
Now, in addition to democracy there are other forms of government, but all have this characteristic in common: power is centered on an authoritarian leader or a small group that does not seek the common good.
Ancient democracy was not perfect and would hardly triumph with current standards, for of all citizens, only Athenian men of a certain age could participate; Women, young people, foreigners and slaves were left aside and voiceless.
Today, a crucial part of democracy is the just inclusion of all citizens. For these and other measures to be implemented, a path had to be opened based on ideas, actions and struggles.
The influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau was a French thinker of the eighteenth century, who with his work"The Social Contract"delimited the meaning of a new democracy.
In it, the executive, legislative and judicial branches were separated into independent bodies; In addition, citizens had the right to demand a change of government if basic needs were not met by those in power.
As a result, the new essential elements of democracy were basic civil rights for all; Freedom of belief, where religion was no longer imposed by rulers and, above all, separation of church and state, which would end with religious imposition in all aspects of civic, moral and social citizenship.
The strength of the democratic system
In modern society, democracy has prevailed over other forms of government even under the circumstances.
Throughout the twentieth century, wars over different ideologies and political-economic models ended, for example, with the oligarchy (the rule of a small group), monarchy (the rule of a king) and aristocracy (government of a nobleman) Which prevailed in Europe, thanks to the defeat of the central powers in the First World War.
In World War II with the defeat of Germany and Italy, democratic countries overthrew fascism, the new authoritarian model; The last great regime to fall was Communism in the early 1990s with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
After all this, democratic nations prevailed because of their stability and the individual guarantees they provide to their citizens.
Benefits of Democracy for Citizens
The main benefits of democracy lie in safeguarding the integrity and human rights of the individual. Democracy protects its citizens from regimes with only one leader, thus preventing autocracy.
On the other hand, the democratic society works together and is chosen with equity to those who represent their needs.
Democratic nations maintain a better quality of life due to their openness and economic management. In them, human development - measured in education, health, housing and income - is higher, and the confidence and approval ratings towards institutions are greater thanks to the policies implemented to make them work for the benefit of the citizenry.
A very important benefit for today's society is respect for individual guarantees and personal freedoms.
Although taken for granted, these freedoms are not guaranteed in authoritarian regimes, either because they do not have the means to provide this right, or because these freedoms go against the belief or morality of rulers.
Democratic nations in the 21st century
At present, only 19 countries are developing in a complete democracy, where the freedoms of creed and expression, human rights and the political measures necessary to see for the common good are respected.
57 countries are in search of this level, because their democracy has flaws; Whether due to lack of resources or internal corruption problems.
Terrorism, immigration and the inequitable distribution of goods are some of the problems facing democracy in the 21st century. In the past, problems like these were faced and democracy prevailed thanks to a long tradition of thinking and freedoms.
It is hoped that throughout this new century some nations will change their democratic index. After years established as a complete democracy, the US lowered the rate to imperfect democracy with its recent presidential election; In turn, Uruguay became consolidated, after years of dictatorship, into a complete democracy thanks to the guarantees of its new government.
Over the decades, democracy has resurfaced even in times of political, economic or social crisis, so it remains the preferred model to safeguard individual rights.
References
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- Dahl, R. (s.f.) Democracy. Encyclopædia Britannica. Recovered from britannica.com
- Democracy Building (2004) A short definition of democracy. Democracy Building . Retrieved from democracy-building.info
- Harrison, T. (s.f.) Why Ancient Greece's Democracy Was Important. Classroom . Retrieved from classroom.synonym.com
- Schwartzberg, M. [TED-ed]. (2015/03/24). What did democracy really mean in Athens? Recovered from youtube.com
- Stanford (2010) Jean Jacques Rousseau. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Recovered from plato.stanford.edu
- Stewart, R. [TED-ed]. (2013/06/05). Why democracy matters . Retrieved from youtube.com.