Liberal democracy: definition, essence, characteristics, shortcomings

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:42

Literally, "democracy" is translated as "power of the people". However, the people, or "demos", even in Ancient Greece, were called only free and we althy citizens - men. There were about 90,000 such people in Athens, and at the same time, about 45,000 disabled people (women and the poor), as well as more than 350 (!) Thousand slaves, lived in the same city. Initially, liberal democracy carries a sufficient number of contradictions.

Background

Our ancestors in prehistoric times solved all important issues together. However, this situation did not last long. Over time, some families managed to accumulate material we alth, while others did not. We alth inequality has been known since the beginning of time.

Liberal democracy in the approximate modern sense first arose in Athens, the capital of Ancient Greece. This event dates back to the 4th century BC.

Athens, like many settlements of that time, was a city-state. Only a man with a certain amount of property could be a free citizen. The community of these men decided all the issues important for the city at the national meeting, which wasthe highest authority. All other citizens were obliged to comply with these decisions, their opinion was not taken into account in any way.

These days, democracy is well developed in Canada and the Scandinavian countries. So, in Scandinavia, education and he alth care are free for the people, and the standard of living is approximately the same for everyone. These countries have a system of balances to avoid cardinal differences.

Parliament is elected on the principle of equality: the more people in a given area, the more representatives it has.

Definition of concept

Liberal democracy today is a form of social order that theoretically limits the power of the majority in the interests of individual citizens or minorities. Those people who belong to the majority should be elected by the people, but absolute power is not available to them. Citizens of the country have the opportunity to create various associations expressing their demands. The representative of the association can be elected to the government.

Democracy implies the consent of the majority of the people with what the elected representatives offer them. People's representatives periodically go through the election procedure. They are personally responsible for their activities. Freedom of assembly and speech must be respected.

This is the theory, but practice is very different from it.

Indispensable conditions for the existence of democracy

Liberal democracy implies the following requirements:

• Power is divided into equalbranches - legislative, judicial and executive, each of which performs its functions independently.
• The power of the government is limited, all pressing issues of the country are resolved with the participation of the people. The form of interaction can be a referendum or other events.
• Power allows you to voice and stipulate differences, if necessary, a compromise decision is made.
• Information about the governance of society is available to all citizens.
• Society in the country is monolithic, there are no signs of a split.
• The society is economically successful, the amount of the social product is increasing.

The Essence of Liberal Democracy

Liberal democracy is a balance between the elite of society and its other citizens. Ideally, a democratic society protects and supports each of its members. Democracy is the opposite of authoritarianism, when every person can count on freedom, justice and equality.

For democracy to be real, the following principles must be observed:

• People's sovereignty. This means that the people at any time, in case of disagreement with the government, can change the form of government or the constitution.
• Suffrage can only be equal and secret. Each person has one vote, and that vote is equal to the others.
• Every person is free in his beliefs, protected from arbitrariness, hunger and poverty.
• A citizen has the right not only to his chosen work and its payment, but also to a fairdistribution of the public product.

Flaws of liberal democracy

They are obvious: the power of the majority is concentrated in the hands of a few people. It is difficult - almost impossible - to exercise control over them, and they make decisions on their own. Therefore, in practice, the gap between the expectations of the people and the actions of the government turns out to be huge.

The antagonist of the liberal is direct democracy, in which each person can influence the overall decision without an intermediate link.

The characteristic of liberal democracy is such that elected representatives gradually distance themselves from the people, and over time completely come under the influence of groups that control the financial flows in society.

Tools of Democracy

Other names for liberal democracy are constitutional or bourgeois. Such names are associated with the historical processes by which liberal democracy developed. This definition implies that the main normative document of society is the constitution, or the basic law.

The main instrument of democracy is elections, in which (ideally) every adult who has no problems with the law can take part.

Citizens can take part in a referendum, rally or apply to independent media to express their opinion.

In practice, access to the media can only be obtained by those citizens who are able to paytheir services. Therefore, only financial groups or individual very we althy citizens have a real chance to declare themselves. However, along with the ruling party, there is always an opposition that can win the elections if the government fails.

The theoretical essence of liberal democracy is great, but its practical use is limited by financial or political possibilities. Also, ostentatious democracy is often encountered, when quite specific interests are hidden behind the right words and bright appeals, which do not take into account the needs of the population.