democracy

name

1. The Democratic Party.

   “I so adopt it because it furnishes a precise and an agreed starting point for a discussion between Republicans and that wing of the Democracy headed by Senator Douglas.”

noun

Etymology: From Middle French democratie (French démocratie), from Medieval Latin dēmocratia, from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (dēmokrătĭ́ā). By surface analysis, demo- (“people”) + -cracy (“rule”).

1. Rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly or through elected representatives (representative democracy).

   “And the essential value and power of Democracy consists in this,—that it combines, as far as possible, power and organization ; THE SPIRIT, MANHOOD, is at one with THE BODY, ORGANIZATION. [....] Democracy is Government by the People.”

   “The period, that is, which marks the transition from absolutism or aristocracy to democracy will mark also the transition from absolutist or autocratic methods of nomination to democratic methods.”

2. A government under the direct or representative rule of the people of its jurisdiction.

   “Of course, the Russians think it is something else because they say the Russians have a democracy and it is plain that their government is not what the Americans regard as a democracy.”

   “Since the wisest and most moral would not necessarily be the choice of the majority of people, Plato's Republic is not a democracy.”

3. A state with a democratic system of government.

   “Some countries which were originally monarchies, like the UK, have maintained their status as monarchies whilst also becoming democracies in the modern era; others, like France, completely disposed of their monarchies when they became democracies.”

   “After almost four decades of authoritarian rule, South Africa became a democracy in April 1994.”

4. Belief in political freedom and equality; the "spirit of democracy".

   “As states of the human spirit democracy, righteousness, and faith have much in common and may be cultivated by the same means...”

   “It must further be admitted that he provided a successful interpretation of democracy in its philosophic aspects when he conceived democracy as a general outlook on the universe... In Bakunin's conception of democracy as religious in character we trace the influence of French socialism.”