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Definitions

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Below you will find some of the varied definitions of democracy which we have organized according to our four main issues.  We have also provided a section for Notre Dame student definitions as well as some miscellaneous conceptions of democracy.  Also the following link provides an example of a group of people who have attempted to undertake the task of "defining democracy"

http://www.monitor.net/democracyunlimited/duhc_html/Democracy_Dictionary.html

 

Liberty

Equality

Property

Participation

ND Student Definitions

Miscellaneous

 

Liberty

A definition of the ideal: "Government by the people, where liberty, equality and fraternity are secured to the greatest possible degree and in which human capacities are developed to the utmost, by means including free and full discussion of common problems and interests." (Pennock, 1979, 7)  

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Equality

"I swear to the Lord
I still can't see
Why Democracy means
Everybody but me."
-Langston Hughes, The Black Man Speaks  

"[I]n a democracy important public decisions on questions of law and policy depend, directly or indirectly, upon public opinion formally expressed by citizens of the community, the vast bulk of whom have equal political rights." (Weale 1999, 14)   

 "As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."
-Abraham Lincoln 

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Property

"Where the law of the majority ceases to be acknowledged, there government ends; the law of the strongest takes its place, and life and property are his who can take them." (Thomas Jefferson to Annapolis Citizens, 1809--discussing democracy)

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Participation

"Democracy is a competitive political system in which competing leaders and organizations define the alternatives of public policy in such a way that the public can participate in the decision-making process." (Schattschneider 1960, 141)  

A ‘democratic regime’ is "first and foremost a set of procedural rules for arriving at collective decisions in a way which accommodates and facilitates the fullest possible participation of interested parties." (Bobbio 1987, 19)  

Democracy is "a state where political decisions are taken by and with the consent, or the active participation even, of the majority of the People. . . . [L]iberalism, though recognizing that in the last resort the ‘legal majority’ must prevail, tries to protect the minorities as it does the civil rights of the individual, and by much the same methods. . . . Liberal democracy is qualified democracy. The ultimate right of the majority to have its way is conceded, but that way is made as rough as possible." (Finer 1997, 1568-1570)  

"Democracy provides opportunities for 1) effective participation, 2) equality in voting, 3) gaining enlightened understanding, 4) exercising final control [by the people--WR] over the agenda, and 5) inclusion of adults." The political institutions that are necessary to pursue these goals are "1) elected officials, 2) free, fair and frequent elections, 3) freedom of expression, 4) alternative sources of information, 5) associational autonomy, and 6) inclusive citizenship." (Dahl)

"The competitive electoral context, with several political parties organizing the alternatives that face the voters, is the identifying property of the contemporary democratic process . . . . [D]emocratic systems [are] . . . characterized by competitive elections in which most citizens are eligible to participate." (Powell 1982, 3)  

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Notre Dame Student Definitions

- a government for the people where citizens are allowed to make their
own decisions on issues and voice their sentiments (Lauren Wons, Junior, Pangborn)
 
-rule by the people (ideally) (Katy Hall, Junior, Pangborn)
 
-government made up of the people in which the rights of all are upheld and
which acts in the interest of the people (Adel Hanash, Junior, St. Eds)
 
-The freedom to vote and have a say in ones government. (Julie LaFleur, Junior, McGlinn)
 
-Democracy is the political structure by which the population makes
decisions and laws for itself. [I'd go into pure vs. representative but I
don't think that's actually what you want] (Katie Spitz, Junior, Pangborn)
 
-Democracy is a form of government where people have the ability to elect
their leaders and more than one party to choose from is available. (Andrew Thagard, Junior, Stanford)
 
-a government that is run by the people, whose views are expressed by representatives (Laura Young, Senior)
 
-A Democracy is a system which places priority on allowing the common individual the ability to express his or her ideas without fear of persecution or arrest. (Paul Cruickshank, Sophomore, Morrissey)
 
-Equality baby- the opportunity to rise (and fall) available to all (Dominika Szreder, Junior, Pangborn)
 
-Democracy - rule by the people; focus on elected officials representing the ideals of the people and gathering their opinions rather than assuming what they would want and acting on his/her own beliefs (Eugene Kang, Senior, Alumni)
 
-a democracy is a type of government that is overseen by a ruler/president
but is created by the people. the laws are created for the common good of all
people involved with the government. (Katie Bufalino, Senior, Off-campus)
 
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Miscellaneous

"I say that democracy can never prove itself beyond cavil, until it founds and luxuriantly grows its own forms of art, poems, schools, theology, displacing all that exists, or that has been produced anywhere in the past, under opposite influences."
-Walt Whitman, Democratic Vistas  

"Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
(Winston Churchill, speech, House of Commons, Nov. 1947)

Democracy: The word democracy stems from the Greek words demos, "people" and kratos, "rule." A democracy is simply a system of government in which the people rule. ~http://www.afrd.org/glossary.htm  

Democracy is "the substitution of election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few." (G.B. Shaw, quoted in Danziger 1998, 155)  

Democracy "The term has three basic senses in contemporary usage: (1) a form of government in which the right to make political decisions is exercised directly by the whole body of citizens, acting under procedures of majority rule, usually known as direct democracy; (2) a form of government in which the citizens exercise the same right not in person but through representatives chosen by and responsible to them, known as representative democracy; and (3) a form of government, usually a representative democracy, in which the powers of the majority are exercised within a framework of constitutional restraints designed to guarantee all citizens the enjoyment of certain individual or collective rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, known as liberal, or constitutional, democracy." - Britannica Online http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/164/95.html 

 
"Democracy [is] not majority rule: democracy [is] diffusion of power, representation of interests, recognition of minorities." (John Calhoun)

"One works best when alone." This adage, commonly attributed to Hitler, perfectly sums up his views of democracy and parliamentary-style government. He believed that individuals operating in a democracy are not brought to their fullest potential due to the ultimatums and compromises (both in principle and practice) that commonly occur: ...democracy will in practice lead to the destruction of a people's true values. And this also serves to explain how it is that people with a great past from the time when they surrender themselves to the unlimited, democratic rule of the masses slowly lose their former position; for the outstanding achievements of individuals...are now rendered practically ineffective through the oppression of mere numbers. (Rauschning-- Adolf Hitler)

"A system of government born of the hopes and aspirations of a people and in the shaping of which the people have a real say and commitment to; a political structure to which people, in consequence, have intellectual, ideological, and emotional attachments; a system of government that is considered by the people as their own and which they are prepared to protect and defend to the hilt. In fine, a government of the people is one that has its roots in the people –in their goals, values, ideals, experiences, and aspirations: thus rooted it is not a type of governmental system the nuances of which can be imposed on the people from outside, though some aspects of those nuances can be influenced – even borrowed—externally; but it is a system of rule that is nurtured, refined, and modified by people to reflect their wishes, desires, and experiences. The lack of all these desiderata makes a people’s appreciation of, and attitude toward, a particular form of democratic practice merely tentative and tinkering." (Kwame Gyekye, Harvard educated Ghanaian Philosopher)

"Democracy is best viewed as a competition for power by means of regular elections. Citizens should not be expected to play a significant role in making complex public policy regarding, say, taxes or missile defense." (Posner-- Harvard Encyclopedia)

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address)
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