The modern form of representative democracy is a system of party competition that operates through regular and popular elections.
Can the modern representative democracy be seen as a system adhering to the principles of original form of democracy? Does is protect the interests of the people?
The answer to this question entirely depends on how we define “the people”.
People can be defined as the people who vote/have the voting right or they can be defined as a majority of the population. If we use the latter definition, the current system of representative democracy does protect the interests of the people. The majority, through the ballot system, elects their representative, which looks up to their demands and fulfills their interests.
However, if we define the people as the people who are allowed to vote/have the voting right, the current system does appear to be moving away from the true form of democracy. This is because it does not always protect the interests of all the people who vote or have the voting right. The majority ends up making a wrong collective decision and selects a person, for selfish interests, who is not the true representative of all the people. The interests of the majority are safeguarded at the cost of the minorities’ interests.
Therefore, whether or not representative democracy a true form of democracy is a question that could be answered either way depending on the definition of who the ‘people’ are.
Can the modern representative democracy be seen as a system adhering to the principles of original form of democracy? Does is protect the interests of the people?
The answer to this question entirely depends on how we define “the people”.
People can be defined as the people who vote/have the voting right or they can be defined as a majority of the population. If we use the latter definition, the current system of representative democracy does protect the interests of the people. The majority, through the ballot system, elects their representative, which looks up to their demands and fulfills their interests.
However, if we define the people as the people who are allowed to vote/have the voting right, the current system does appear to be moving away from the true form of democracy. This is because it does not always protect the interests of all the people who vote or have the voting right. The majority ends up making a wrong collective decision and selects a person, for selfish interests, who is not the true representative of all the people. The interests of the majority are safeguarded at the cost of the minorities’ interests.
Therefore, whether or not representative democracy a true form of democracy is a question that could be answered either way depending on the definition of who the ‘people’ are.
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