Editing Democracy (section)

==Characteristics==
Although democracy is generally understood to be defined by voting,<ref name="Oxford"/><ref name="Brittanica" /> no consensus exists on a precise definition of democracy.<ref name="economist2007" /> [[Karl Popper]] says that the "classical" view of democracy is, "in brief, the theory that democracy is the rule of the people and that the people have a right to rule".<ref>Popper, Karl (23 April 1988). "The open society and its enemies revisited", ''[[The Economist]]'' ([https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2016/01/31/from-the-archives-the-open-society-and-its-enemies-revisited 2016 reprint]).</ref> One study identified 2,234 adjectives used to describe democracy in the English language.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gagnon|first=Jean-Paul|date=1 June 2018|title=2,234 Descriptions of Democracy|url=http://berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/democratic-theory/5/1/dt050107.xml|journal=Democratic Theory|volume=5|issue=1|pages=92–113|doi=10.3167/dt.2018.050107|s2cid=149825810|issn=2332-8894}}</ref>

Democratic principles are reflected in all eligible citizens being [[Equality before the law|equal before the law]] and having equal access to legislative processes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=direct democracy {{!}} Definition, History, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/direct-democracy|access-date=2 February 2022|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> For example, in a [[representative democracy]], every vote has (in theory) equal weight, and the freedom of eligible citizens is secured by legitimised rights and liberties which are typically enshrined in a [[constitution]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dahl|first1=Robert A.|last2=Shapiro|first2=Ian|last3=Cheibub|first3=José Antônio|title=The democracy sourcebook|publisher=MIT Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|year=2003|isbn=978-0-262-54147-3}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=B8THIuSkiqgC Details.]</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hénaff|first1=Marcel|last2=Strong|first2=Tracy B.|title=Public space and democracy|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|location=Minneapolis|year=2001|isbn=978-0-8166-3388-3}}</ref> while other uses of "democracy" may encompass [[direct democracy]], in which citizens vote on issues directly. According to the [[United Nations]], democracy "provides an environment that respects [[human rights]] and fundamental freedoms, and in which the [[Freedom of speech|freely expressed will of people]] is exercised."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nations|first=United|title=Democracy|url=https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/democracy|access-date=2023-08-17|publisher=United Nations}}</ref>

One theory holds that democracy requires three fundamental principles: upward control (sovereignty residing at the lowest levels of authority), [[political equality]], and social norms by which individuals and institutions only consider acceptable acts that reflect the first two principles of upward control and political equality.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kimber|first=Richard|title=On democracy|journal=[[Scandinavian Political Studies]]|volume=12|issue=3|pages=201, 199–219|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9477.1989.tb00090.x|date=September 1989}} [https://tidsskrift.dk/index.php/scandinavian_political_studies/article/view/13057/24875 Full text.] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161017170633/https://tidsskrift.dk/index.php/scandinavian_political_studies/article/view/13057/24875 |date=17 October 2016 }}</ref> [[Legal equality]], [[political freedom]] and [[rule of law]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-eXJMXnraPQC&pg=PA3|title=Assessing the Quality of Democracy|first1=Larry|last1=Diamond|first2=Leonardo|last2=Morlino|year=2005|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-8287-6|via=Google Books}}</ref> are often identified by commentators as foundational characteristics for a well-functioning democracy.<ref name="economist2007">{{cite news|last=Staff writer|url=http://www.economist.com/markets/rankings/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8908438|title=Liberty and justice for some|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|publisher=[[Economist Group]]|date=22 August 2007|quote=Democracy can be seen as a set of practices and principles that institutionalise and thus ultimately protect freedom. Even if a consensus on precise definitions has proved elusive, most observers today would agree that, at a minimum, the fundamental features of democracy include a government based on majority rule and the consent of the governed, the existence of free and fair elections, the protection of minorities and respect for basic human rights. Democracy presupposes equality before the law, due process and political pluralism.}}</ref>

In some countries, notably in the [[United Kingdom]] (which originated the [[Westminster system]]), the dominant principle is that of [[parliamentary sovereignty]], while maintaining [[judicial independence]].<ref name="Kopstein2014" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/sovereignty/|title=Parliamentary sovereignty|publisher=UK Parliament|access-date=18 August 2014|postscript=none}}; {{cite web|title=Independence|url=http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/the-judiciary-the-government-and-the-constitution/jud-acc-ind/independence/|publisher=Courts and Tribunals Judiciary|access-date=9 November 2014}}</ref> In [[India]], parliamentary sovereignty is subject to the [[Constitution of India]] which includes [[judicial review]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Daily Express News|url=http://newindianexpress.com/nation/All-party-meet-vows-to-uphold-Parliament-supremacy/2013/08/02/article1713808.ece|title=All-party meet vows to uphold Parliament supremacy|date=2 August 2013|access-date=18 August 2013|work=[[The New Indian Express]]|publisher=Express Publications (Madurai) Limited|archive-date=27 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327161524/http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/All-party-meet-vows-to-uphold-Parliament-supremacy/2013/08/02/article1713808.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref> Though the term "democracy" is typically used in the context of a [[state (polity)|political state]], the principles also are potentially applicable to private organisations, such as clubs, societies and [[firm]]s.

Democracies may use many different decision-making methods, but [[majority rule]] is the dominant form. Without compensation, like legal protections of individual or group rights, [[minority group|political minorities]] can be oppressed by the "[[tyranny of the majority]]". Majority rule involves a competitive approach, opposed to [[consensus democracy]], creating the need that [[elections]], and generally [[deliberation]], be substantively and procedurally [[wikt:fair|"fair"]]," i.e. [[wikt:just|just]] and [[wikt:equitable|equitable]]. In some countries, [[freedom (political)|freedom of political expression]], [[freedom of speech]], and [[freedom of the press]] are considered important to ensure that voters are well informed, enabling them to vote according to their own interests and beliefs.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3HX7mAbjGOYC&pg=PA27|title=The Judge in a Democracy|first=Aharon|last=Barak|year=2006|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-12017-1|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kelsen|first=Hans|s2cid=144699481|title=Foundations of democracy|journal=Ethics|volume=66|issue=1|pages=1–101|doi=10.1086/291036|jstor=2378551|date=October 1955}}</ref>

It has also been suggested that a basic feature of democracy is the capacity of all voters to participate freely and fully in the life of their society.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nussbaum|first=Martha|author-link=Martha Nussbaum|title=Women and human development: the capabilities approach|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge New York|year=2000|isbn=978-0-521-00385-8}}</ref> With its emphasis on notions of [[social contract]] and the [[general will|collective will]] of all the voters, democracy can also be characterised as a form of political [[Collectivism and individualism|collectivism]] because it is defined as a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in [[lawmaking]].<ref>{{citation|last1=Snyder|first1=Richard|last2=Samuels|first2=David|contribution=Devaluing the vote in Latin America|editor-last1=Diamond|editor-first1=Larry|editor-last2=Plattner|editor-first2=Marc F.|title=Electoral systems and democracy|page=168|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8018-8475-7|postscript=.}}</ref>

[[Republic]]s, though often popularly associated with democracy because of the shared principle of rule by [[consent of the governed]], are not necessarily democracies, as [[republicanism]] does not specify ''how'' the people are to rule.<ref>[[R. R. Palmer]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=YGqYDwAAQBAJ ''The Age of the Democratic Revolution: Political History of Europe and America, 1760–1800''] (1959)</ref>
Classically the term "[[republic]]" encompassed both democracies and [[Aristocracy|aristocracies]].<ref>Montesquieu, ''Spirit of Law'', Bk. II, ch. 2–3.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Everdell|first=William R.|title=The end of kings: a history of republics and republicans|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|year=2000|orig-year=1983|edition=2nd|isbn=978-0-226-22482-4|url=https://archive.org/details/endofkingshistor00ever}}</ref> In a modern sense the republican form of government is a form of government without a [[monarch]]. Because of this, democracies can be republics or [[constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarchies]], such as the United Kingdom.