Types of Democracy
What is a democracy and what are the types of democracy?
Definition of DemocracyDemocracy is derived from the Greek words demos (people) and kratos (rule). It means a government that is ruled by the citizens of the society. People vote on issues as a group.
Features of Democratic Government :
source: http://mocomi.com/what-is-democracy/
Features of Democratic Government :
- Representatives are elected by the people.
- Every citizen is allowed to vote in the elections.
- Everyone has the same political rights, whatever their income, race, religion, etc
- The majority party makes the decisions but individual rights (freedom of speech) are also protected.
- Certain restrictions are placed on law makers’ powers and they can only be in office for a limited amount of time.
- Each citizen votes on all important matters.
- Switzerland has a direct democratic government. Citizens can accept or reject decisions made by the legislative body.
- This kind of democracy is suitable for small states with few people. Suppose you decide to form a club. You and the other members decide that each one of you will vote on matters concerning the club. This is an example of direct democracy.
- Supposing your club has so many members that you all can’t meet at the same time, to vote on matters. You all hold elections to elect representatives like a Director and a Treasurer to run the club on an everyday basis, on your behalf. This is an example of representative democracy.
- In the federal republic of USA, people elect the government officials who act on behalf of their constituencies.
- Democratic government first came into place in Greece.
- In the Middle Ages, feudalism allowed people to protect their rights in courts.
- Later, the Magna Carta (a British document) had 63 clauses that allowed people to have a fair trial and gave them more power than they had before.
- Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence” in USA in 1776 created a stronger and proper democratic government.
source: http://mocomi.com/what-is-democracy/
Task 1
1. Make a copy of either the Standard (click me) or the Challenge (click me) task.
2. Use the information below (and anything else you find on the web!) to move the statements to where you feel they best fit.
3. Insert the GoogleDrawing into your LiveDoc!
1. Make a copy of either the Standard (click me) or the Challenge (click me) task.
2. Use the information below (and anything else you find on the web!) to move the statements to where you feel they best fit.
3. Insert the GoogleDrawing into your LiveDoc!
First Past the Post
America uses the First Past The Post system of democracy to choose its Presidents.
The two major parties fight over each individual state (or constituency). If they get a majority of votes in a state, it means they win that state - but it doesn't mean they can elect their Presidential candidate! You can only become President if you win a majority of States.
This works efficiently because there is always a clear majority.
However, this does not necessarily represent all viewpoints across the nation! Some states have more people than others, some states are huge, some are small. None of that is considered here- the only thing that matters is the party that wins that state.
The results of the 2012 election.
The Democrats (in blue) won the Election, even though it looks like a greater areas of red (The Republicans) on the map. However, many of these large states have low levels of population - a clear, efficient majority....but is it far?
Proportional Representation
Now, if America wanted to make its democracy a little fairer, it might consider representing ALL views across the entire nation. This would mean the American would not vote as states (constituencies), but have a single ballot paper for the entire country with EVERY party represented.
This would mean that specific interest parties that would have no hope of ever winning a statemight have small amounts of support from the across the entire nation and thus be a part of government. It would mean that more than two parties would have a chance of electing their Presidential choice.
However, it would be hard to show a clear majority in this system - parties would have to join together and make compromises to gain a majority and make a decision!
This system would be extremely fair, but all political decisions might take a long time. This would make it inefficient.
Austria uses Proportional Representation - Look how many views are represented across the nation!
List of Political Parties in Austria;
Social Democratic Party of Austria
Austrian People's Party
Freedom Party of Austria
The Greens – The Green Alternative
Team Stronach
NEOS – The New Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
Citizens' Forum Austria
Communist Party of Austria
Forward Tyrol
List Burgenland
Animal Rights Party
Black-Yellow Alliance
Christian Electoral Community
Christian Party of Austria
Enotna Lista
EU Exit Party
Left
Neutral Free Austria Federation
Party of Labour of Austria
Pirate Party of Austria
Save Austria
Socialist Left Party
The Social Liberals
Young Liberals Austria
America uses the First Past The Post system of democracy to choose its Presidents.
The two major parties fight over each individual state (or constituency). If they get a majority of votes in a state, it means they win that state - but it doesn't mean they can elect their Presidential candidate! You can only become President if you win a majority of States.
This works efficiently because there is always a clear majority.
However, this does not necessarily represent all viewpoints across the nation! Some states have more people than others, some states are huge, some are small. None of that is considered here- the only thing that matters is the party that wins that state.
The results of the 2012 election.
The Democrats (in blue) won the Election, even though it looks like a greater areas of red (The Republicans) on the map. However, many of these large states have low levels of population - a clear, efficient majority....but is it far?
Proportional Representation
Now, if America wanted to make its democracy a little fairer, it might consider representing ALL views across the entire nation. This would mean the American would not vote as states (constituencies), but have a single ballot paper for the entire country with EVERY party represented.
This would mean that specific interest parties that would have no hope of ever winning a statemight have small amounts of support from the across the entire nation and thus be a part of government. It would mean that more than two parties would have a chance of electing their Presidential choice.
However, it would be hard to show a clear majority in this system - parties would have to join together and make compromises to gain a majority and make a decision!
This system would be extremely fair, but all political decisions might take a long time. This would make it inefficient.
Austria uses Proportional Representation - Look how many views are represented across the nation!
List of Political Parties in Austria;
Social Democratic Party of Austria
Austrian People's Party
Freedom Party of Austria
The Greens – The Green Alternative
Team Stronach
NEOS – The New Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
Citizens' Forum Austria
Communist Party of Austria
Forward Tyrol
List Burgenland
Animal Rights Party
Black-Yellow Alliance
Christian Electoral Community
Christian Party of Austria
Enotna Lista
EU Exit Party
Left
Neutral Free Austria Federation
Party of Labour of Austria
Pirate Party of Austria
Save Austria
Socialist Left Party
The Social Liberals
Young Liberals Austria
Task 2
1. Which form of democracy do you think works best for you? Is it more important to be fair or efficient?
Explain as clearly as you can using evidence and phrases like, "this means that...' and "this is important because...".
Keywords
Fair - Treating all people's viewpoints with equal consideration
Efficient - Being as productive as possible wasting no time
First Past The Post - Voting takes place in constituencies. The losers in a constituency get no representation at all. The party with the most constituencies forms a government
Constituency - A group of voters in a specified area.
Proportional Representation - A single voting paper across an entire country showing every political party. The party with the most votes in total across the nation forms a government.
1. Which form of democracy do you think works best for you? Is it more important to be fair or efficient?
Explain as clearly as you can using evidence and phrases like, "this means that...' and "this is important because...".
Keywords
Fair - Treating all people's viewpoints with equal consideration
Efficient - Being as productive as possible wasting no time
First Past The Post - Voting takes place in constituencies. The losers in a constituency get no representation at all. The party with the most constituencies forms a government
Constituency - A group of voters in a specified area.
Proportional Representation - A single voting paper across an entire country showing every political party. The party with the most votes in total across the nation forms a government.