Democracy is a government where citizens have input, either directly or indirectly. Representative democracies elect officials to run government, while participatory democracies allow all eligible citizens to vote on issues. Participatory democracies work best in localized regions with small populations. They allow citizens to prioritize issues and lead to a more active and interconnected community.
A democracy is a type of government run with input from its citizens, either directly or indirectly. Contrast with other types of government run by individuals or small groups of high-ranking people. Many governments have adopted democracy in various forms and to varying degrees. Most of these governments are representative democracies, where citizens elect representatives to run government on their behalf and vote on issues such as passing laws. The difference between representative democracies and participatory democracies is that in participatory democracies all eligible citizens can vote on these issues by themselves.
representative democracies
In a representative democracy, certain people are established as eligible to vote based on their age or other qualifications. Eligible voters then elect representatives to serve as government officials, such as members of a house, senate, or parliament. These officials are typically elected by voters in a certain area, such as a region of a country. An elected official represents the citizens of his area and tacitly agrees to serve their interests. Often a representative must balance competing interests in his jurisdiction and will seek to please as many of his constituents as possible.
To help meet the needs of their constituency, representatives who serve in national government typically maintain regional offices so their constituents can communicate with them. Individual voters often contact their representatives to encourage them to vote a certain way on a bill or to pass a specific piece of legislation. Some of these measures could be voted on directly by citizens, in the form of proposals in the ballot. Furthermore, many representative democracies also allow referendums, legislative acts proposed directly by the people. If citizens can get enough signatures on a referendum to indicate a certain level of public interest, it could be entered into the ballot during an election.
participatory democracies
In a participatory democracy, also called direct democracy, every citizen plays an active role in government. Many people believe that for this type of government to be successful, it must be in a localized region with a relatively small population. This is because large numbers of eligible citizens could clog up the functioning of government, sparking endless debates and votes, but never getting anything done. Citizens must also have an active interest in the success of their governments for participatory democracies to work as intended.
A nationwide participatory democracy might be difficult to manage, although many people hope that modern technology will enable citizens to have greater participation in government. Many small towns within representative democracies use a form of direct democracy in their town meetings. Enabling every citywide citizen a vote and role in government is believed to lead to a more active, caring, and interconnected community.
The model of participatory democracy also allows citizens to prioritize what is important to them, rather than relying on representatives to address issues and decide what is important. For example, citizens in one area may place higher priority on funding schools and libraries, while citizens in a neighboring area may place higher priority on building better roads. When an elected representative decides what is most important, there is the possibility that he will make a decision contrary to the wishes of the majority of his constituents, perhaps because of her beliefs or for political reasons.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
