Definitions of Democracy
Etymology: "people" + "rule" (Greek): opposed to monarchy (rule of one) and aristocracy (rule of
best). A form of government in which the people rule. Note that the definition does not make clear
who the "people" are or what constitutes effective "rule."
A. a form of government: in which the "people" elect public officials who will govern
them and draft the laws.
B. a popular government: in which the "many" or the "masses" or the "poor" govern at the
expense of the values and interests of the "few" or the "elite" or the "rich."
This pejorative definition of democracy was popular until the early in the 19th century.
Plato, Aristotle, and other antidemocratic thinkers associated democracy with popular tyranny, class
conflict, and political instability. To them, it connoted rebellion, social levelling, insurgency,
defiance, and a lack of respect for wealth, breeding, and merit.
C. a revolutionary impulse: an anti-authoritarian, anti-monarchist, and anti-aristocratic
crusade for a community dedicated to freedom, toleration, equality, popular sovereignty, and
opportunity.
D. an understanding of power: in which power must be distributed equally among all
citizens. This definition offers a critique of hierarchy and oppressive social orders, and supports the
use of power in its various forms (persuasion, manipulation, authority, coercion, force) to
overthrow them.
E. a political style: that opposes deferential social relationships and social caste systems. It
often favors candidates of humble origins or those who dress informally, shake hands, court voters,
and behave in a rough-and-ready manner. It can be employed in egalitarian societies as well as in
those with great inequities in wealth, power, status, etc.
F. a critique of the binary oppositions that define the character of the polity: It reveals the
antidemocratic potential of distinctions between property and persons, honor and dishonor, citizen
and noncitizen, etc.