Democracy - " A System of Government for the Ages"

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Democracy as defined by the textbook refers to a type of political system where the people rule themselves, or “rule by the many”, rather than being ruled by a King or Queen as in a monarchy or by the few as in an oligarchy such as Sparta. The main idea pushing democracy is that ordinary people have the need and want to govern themselves and are completely capable of doing so. Democracy over the years has gained extreme popularity the world over. From corner to corner of the globe examples of democracy can be found more and more each day. Many foundations of democracy originated from Ancient Greece as well as the word democracy. The Greek roots of the word democracy are “demos and Kratein” which mean “ The people and To Rule”. History accounts that Athens 5th Century (b.c.e.) was the earliest and purest form of democracy where all Athens policies were decided by an assembly of people or Athenian citizens which was comprised of all Athenian males, not to include women, slaves, or immigrants. The textbook The Struggle for Democracy states (p.6) that “Some political thinkers believe t...

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