Democratic Party

The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States. The basis of the Democratic Party is liberal and is considered center-left in the political spectrum. Center-left is defined as a political term that characterizes individuals, political parties or organizations whose ideology rests between the center and the left on the political spectrum (excludes far left stances.) The principal ideologies of the center-left are progressive, social democracy, social liberalism, as well as green politics. (Charles Funderburk, Robert G. Thobaben (1989). Political ideologies: left, center, right. Harper & Row.) Liberal democracy is a particular form of democracy which is based upon a fundamental set of assumptions about the individual, the state and society. Liberal democracy assumes that the individual has both human rights and civil rights. Human rights are considered above man-made law and derive from the concept of natural law, they generally include equality and usually private property. Along with this concept of rights goes the idea of a limited state. Liberal democracy assumes that the state should interfere as little as possible with the individuals life but restrain the individual enough not to interfere with the freedom of others. Lastly, another major assumption of liberal democracy is that of popular participation.
“Democrats believe in rights of the individual citizen. These rights include life, liberty, security, equality of opportunity, justice, privacy, and private ownership of property. Democrats believe that each American citizen should have the right to all of the above things without interference from other citizens or the government. Democratic beliefs also honor the freedoms of the individual – freedom to worship as he or she may choose, freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, freedom of assembly, freedom of inquiry, freedom of expression, and freedom to participate in the political process. The Democratic point of view