The first thing to note is that “the people” has never included all the people in a particular society – children for example are generally excluded. The question is how to define the limit of who has the right of participation in the ruling, and who is to be excluded.
representative democracy
Voting: A Brief Look
Democracy is fundamentally “rule by the people”, and is based upon total and complete sovereignty residing in “the people”.....Representative democracy is when representatives are chosen by the people in order to exercise that sovereignty on their behalf.... Voting for a candidate in a representative democracy is therefore the process of selection to choose someone to exercise the sovereignty of the people on your behalf.
Democratic Theory (1): What makes a democracy ‘democratic’?
Given the many varieties and claims to democracy today and throughout history, it is important to have a clearly defined understanding of what the core differentiating characteristic of democracy is, if the word is to have any meaning - i.e. what defines it distinctively from other potential forms of government. Our objective here is to … Continue reading Democratic Theory (1): What makes a democracy ‘democratic’?