Part(1) Priniples for a Free Society DEMOCRACY

[William M. Finley]

Principles for a Free Society
Democracy
Democracy
“Many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world
of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed
it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all
those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
Winston Churchill
What is democracy?
Democracy is now the wave of the future, as more and more nations
adopt democratic systems. This is a development to be welcomed.
However the word democracy did not always have positive connotations.
‘Democracy’ comes from the ancient Greek, ‘rule by the people’, and
they used the term as a system to be avoided. Democracy was contrasted
with monarchy (rule by one), oligarchy (rule by a few) and aristocracy
(rule by the best). For the Greeks, democracy was associated with three
major defects: the majority could use their power to oppress the minority;
the people could easily be swept along in a wave of emotion and passion,
and not guided by reason; and the people might be motivated by
their own special interests at the expense of the interests of society as a
whole. A specific form of democracy, called liberal, representative democracy,
therefore was developed to seek to combine the advantages of
democracy whilst avoiding or minimising the potential dangers. It is this
form which is sweeping the world.
Abraham Lincoln provided the classic definition of democracy in his
famous Gettysburg address during the American Civil War. Democracy
was “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” His
definition raises four questions, which liberal democracy answers in a
particular way.
Who are the people?
The obvious answer is everyone in a society. The ideal therefore would
be that decisions should require the agreement of everyone. However
this would be extremely difficult to achieve, would be very time con-
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suming, and would give a great deal of veto power to one person.
Liberal democracy usually adopts the principle of majority rule, that the
people are best represented by the votes of a majority, 50% plus one. In
liberal democracies certain major decisions may require supermajorities
(such as two thirds). However there is a recognition that simple majorities
could be oppressive to minorities, so some form of protection for
minority rights usually exists. Liberal democracy has sometimes been
described as ‘majority rule and minority rights.’