Most people live under democratic rule.  Democracy means ‘rule by the people’.  The term ‘democracy’ is used to describe both a system of government and an ideal. Democracy as a system of government is based on popular participation and governing in the interest of ‘the people’.  As Abraham Lincoln stated, democracy is ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people’.  Democracy is also seen as an ideal to be achieved and countries are categorised as being more or less democratic.  This is because many principles have been attached to democracy, such as equality of opportunity and the protection of minorities in society.

Direct democracy

The first democracy was a direct democracy.  In the birthplace of democracy, ancient Athens, citizens gathered to discuss issues and to make collective decisions for themselves. The fundamental democratic principle, as stated by the philosopher Aristotle (384 - 322BC), was ‘each to rule and be ruled in turn’.  Thus, the Athenian model was an example of direct democracy – government by, and not just of or for, the people.

In ancient Athens, due to the relatively small number of citizens participating in politics, it was possible to have direct democracy with deliberation.  This involves decision makers meeting and discussing the issues before making decisions and having the debate affect the decision making.  In Athens the government was also the governed; what existed was popular self government including deliberation.  The real value in the Athenian model was not simply that the public was making the decisions, but more that they participated in debate, and were exposed to differing viewpoints which they were expected to take account of before making those decisions.

Marae decision making follows this pattern with an emphasis on deliberation and participation by all who wish to have their say.  Issues for consideration are discussed at length with an expectation that all will express their views and then listen to the views of others in order to collectively reach a decision that is acceptable to all.  Such discussion can take a long time but this is appreciated as an acceptable cost in order to have a consensual decision and to allow all to express their views.

Some people see referendums as a form of direct democracy but others do not.  The difference relates to which of the two aspects of traditional direct democracy is given prominence.  For those who emphasise the fact that all take a part in the decision then referendum are a form of direct democracy because all may vote.  Those who think that deliberation is the core of direct democracy do not include referendums because discussion and debate is not a core part of the referendum process.

Direct democracy has many advantages:

• It allows the public to express for itself, and unfiltered, what it wants.
• It should create a better informed public, especially because it expects the public’s participation in the deliberation of policy.
• It provides for citizen control on a daily basis rather than just at election time.
• It heightens the legitimacy of government in that people make decisions for themselves.

Representative democracy

Now, we elect representatives to make decisions for us.  Given the size of modern democracies – India, for example, has over one billion people – the Athenian model of citizens acting for themselves at assemblies is no longer feasible.  Modern democracies therefore are representative rather than direct, and the underlying democratic principle has shifted from self government to elected government – we elect representatives who deliberate in assemblies and then make decisions on our behalf.  In this sense, representative democracy is indirect – we do not exercise power ourselves; rather, we elect representatives to do it for us.

In a democracy, decision making is subject to the control of all members of society equally.  Democracy rests, then, on the twin principles of popular control and political equality.  Political equality embodies the notion that all people possess equal political rights and therefore equal power and influence in politics.  In modern representative democracies, this political equality is not achieved through an equal say in decision making but, rather, through having an equal say in electing the decision makers.  Each individual is meant to have an equal voice, namely through the concept of ‘one person, one vote; one vote, one value’.  Moreover, in representative democracies conditions should exist so that each voice is equally strong, and each member should have an equal right to stand for public office.  This is often called ‘formal’ political equality – the equal distribution of political and legal rights based on the assumption that all people are ‘born equal’.

Access to formal political equality is often dependent on being recognised as a citizen.  Citizenship is the relationship between the individual and the state in which the two are bound together by mutual rights and responsibilities.  In modern democratic states all citizens are equal and their rights are defined by law.  Citizens possess the right and perhaps the obligation to participate in the state’s affairs, such as voting.  The ‘duty’ of citizenship can also extend to defending one’s country at time of war; in fact bearing arms was how citizenship and the vote was earned in some historic settings.

Also vital to representative democracy is the notion of popular control.  In modern representative democracies this popular control is maintained by checking the decision makers rather than controlling decision making directly.  At elections, not only do we choose representatives to make decisions on our behalf; we also have the opportunity to hold them accountable for their past decisions.  The democratic character of representative democracy therefore depends on free, open and competitive elections which empower the public to hold representatives accountable.