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About democracy

Bits and pieces for educational purposes

Generated by the project team in 2021

Erasmus+ school project “May ICT be with you”

CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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Power ideologies

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Power structure

  • Unitary
    • e.g. Estonia, Finland, Poland
  • Client state
    • e.g. the British Empire, the Soviet Union
  • Federalism
    • e.g. the USA, India, Russia, Germany, Canada
  • International relations
    • e.g. NATO Quint, the G7, the BRICS nations, and the G20

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Basic forms of government

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The origin of democracy

Rule by the people

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  • Derived from the Greek dēmokratia
    • dēmos (“people”) & kratos (“rule”)
    • in the middle of the 5th century BC
    • via the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states (notably Athens)

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Direct democracy

  • Direct participation of citizens in democratic decision making
  • Operating
    • through an assembly of citizens
    • by means of referenda and initiatives
    • citizens vote on issues instead of for candidates or parties
  • A full-scale system of political institutions
  • Specific decision-making institutions within representative democracy

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Switzerland

Switzerland – a modern direct democracy

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Indirect democracy

  • Indirect participation of citizens via elected persons representing a group of people
  • Adopted in nearly all modern Western-style democracies
  • Can function as an element of
    • the parliamentary system of government
    • the presidential system of government
  • Political parties often central to this form of democracy

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The EU is founded on representative democracy

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Fluid (liquid) democracy

  • Combines the advantages of direct and indirect democracy
  • A powerful voting model for collective decision making in large communities.
  • Voters
    • voting on issues directly
    • delegating one’s voting power to a trusted party
  • People affecting the outcome of decisions = better governance

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Virtual platforms have been created in Argentina for people to propose, vote, and debate on different topics.

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“ Why Socrates hated democracy”

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Source: The School of Life

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Hard questions about democracy

  1. Should anyone vote?
  2. Is democracy our birthright?

Socrates concluded that

    • putting uneducated people to vote is irresponsible;
    • teaching how to vote is critical; and
    • voting without wisdom is demagogic.

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After all, who would you cast your vote for – a doctor, or a sweets shop owner?

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“A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing in it and nothing true.”

―Socrates

That was then, but what about now?

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Our democracy no longer represents the people

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A TED talk by Larry Lessig

(2015)

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The current voting system in the USA

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  • A presidential system of government
  • The executive and legislature elected separately
  • Congressional and presidential elections simultaneously every four years
  • Midterm elections every two years

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Hong Kong (2014)

Hong Kong

Nomination

Committee vote

Step 1

(1200 people = 0.02%)

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Election

Citizen vote

Step 2

(7 M people)

Democracy only responsive to China

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“I don’t care who does the electing, as long as I get to do the nominating.”

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—William M. (Boss) Tweed

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Tweedism

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Nomination

“Tweed” vote

Step 1

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Election

Citizen vote

Step 2

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Democracy only responsive to”Tweeds”

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Texas (1923)

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Primary

Whites, only

Step 1

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General

Citizen vote

Step 2

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Democracy only responsive to the White

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Raising money to get nominated

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Green Primary

Funders Vote

Step 1

(57,874 relevant funders - 0.02%)

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General elections

Citizens Vote

Step 2

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Democracy only responsive to the Funders

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Elections in the USA these days

ddd

Money

Primary

Party

Primary

General

Election

“/.../the preferences of the average American appear to have only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”

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Source: Giens & Page as cited by by Larry Lessig

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Ineffective democracy

  • Corruption (the system)
  • Basic inequality

“All animals are equal but the “Tweeds” are more equal than others.”

(G. Orwell, paraphrased by Larry Lessig)

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Discussion questions

  1. What qualities are needed to be a good politician?
  2. How often do you talk about politics with your friends and family?
  3. How have your political views changed during your life?
  4. If you were leader of your country right now, what would you change first?
  5. Do you believe that democracy is the best form of government?
  6. How important is it to vote in a democratic election?

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Web sources

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