Advantages and Disadvantages of Democracy

Democracy - the best government system Democracy- the best way to govern. The term ‘democracy’, like many other political terms, was first discovered in Ancient Greece. It consists of two short words: ‘demos’ which means either ‘a citizen in a particular city-state’ or ‘the lower orders’, and ‘kratos’ which means either ‘rule’ or ‘power’ - but these two are not of the same meaning. The original meaning of democracy is the rule by the poor or by the rabble. Aristotle had a clear argument stating that a rich majority would not be able to govern fairly (Arblater, 2002). This essay aims to identify advantages of modern democracy-based governments, such as equality for men and women, free press and media and totalitarianism as well as provide criticism in terms of the two systems. Democracy has become the subject of various debates, with the supporters claiming that it is the most appropriate form of government nowadays because it guarantees constitutional rights for people. Moreover, democracy can create a positive structure for economic development as it provides free trade relationships between countries. The main purposes of democracy are presented in the way of core constitutional rights, such as a right to vote, equality of rights for men and women, freedom of speech and expression and, last but not least, personal sovereignty. All these elements are required for the modern society. For this reason, a democratic government aims to meet these requirements in order to satisfy its people. A governmental structure based on the principles of democracy, which is established well enough in the Western countries and Europe, has been developing for more than four centuries and has been absorbing and leaving essential requirements, for instance constitutional rights for all citizens, for further evolution of democracy. Today, democratic countries, for example Great Britain, provide sovereignty to all citizens regardless of their religion, race or social status.