What do you mean by democracy? Explain its different forms.

Democracy is the most popular form of government in the world. Today most of the countries in the world are democracies. The word ‘democracy' is derived from two Greek words- demos and kratia meaning public and power respectively. Thuls the word democracy implies giving the power to the people of the country. It can be defined as the government that is for the people, of the people and by the people.

Thus, democracy is the form of governance in which the public has the ultimate power in decision making. There are three inherent meanings to the concept-

• Democracy is a method of decision making.

• The decision making is based on a set of principles, moral values, etiquettes and rules.

• The decision making is related to ideologist values and morals.

Democracy can take many forms. In the modern world where democracy is in operation in many parts, it may take different forms to portray itself in the society. The various forms of democracy can be summarised as:

• Political democracy- It involves giving independence and power to the citizens on the basis of political power. In the modern times after the political renaissance and reforms, it can be called as a liberal democracy. Liberal democracy can be democracy as a kind of state and democracy as a kind of government. Democracy as the kind of state involves the public having the ultimate and absolute authority and power related to the formation of the government and their rule. Democracy as a kind of government involves the maintenance and reinforcement of democratic rule throughout the country. In both the ideologies, the people possess the ultimate power and authority in the system. The democratic rule can be direct or pure democracy or indirect or representative democracy. Direct democracy involves literally the participation of each and every citizen in decision making. This is rarely followed in countries as it has many impractical issues. In contrast, the representative democracy involves assigning the power of decision making to a select few through the democratically constituted election process. It can result in a parliamentary or a presidential form of government. In all these forms, the ultimate authority of political decision making vests with the sovereign citizens of the country.

• Social democracy- It involves giving power and authority to the people to have a socially equitable livelihood. It ensures the fulfillment of social equality whereby everyone is treated equally in the country. Fundamentally, it means that the citizens should not be discriminated on the basis of religion, region, caste, language, gender or other perspectives. Every person should be treated equally and respected in the country without giving any special preference for any select few. It involves breaking the taboos associated with religion, caste and other social factors and ensuring that everyone enjoys equal opportunities and rights.

• Economic democracy- It involves giving the citizens power on an economic basis. It aims to end the economic inequalities prevailing throughout the country and ensuring the equitable distribution of income and wealth. The idea of economic democracy was presented and popularised by Karl Marx and other socialist thinkers. It involves the removal of all economic barriers posed to the citizens and giving them economic power and opportunities.

• Moral democracy- It involves considering democracy as having a moral and spiritual perspective. It considers democracy as a spiritual form of living. The human morals, values, etiquettes and other philosophical views are considered as the basis of democracy. The best expression of moral democracy was during the French Revolution by raising the slogan of ‘freedom, equality and brotherhood’. Thus, here the moral values are considered as the basis of governance.

These are the four basic forms of democracy present throughout the world. But for the efficient functioning of the social and political system of the world, a form of governance that co-ordinates all the perspectives should be adopted.