02 How are societies governed?
Left wing vs. Right wing
How Trumpian are you?
Assessing democracy
How does democracy work?
Democracy is a system of government where citizens are allowed to participate in the proposal and creation of laws. Throughout history, different places have had different forms of democracy. Two of the most common forms of democratic government are direct democracy and representative democracy. In a direct democracy, citizens are directly involved with creating laws, and in a representative democracy, citizens elect representatives who create laws on their behalf.
Democracy in Ancient Greece
Democracy first appeared as a form of government in Ancient Greece around 800 B.C.E. In Ancient Greece, all native born males, regardless of how much money they had or what family they were born into, could vote regarding the government of the polis, or Greek city-state.
The polis was a tight-knit, small community of citizens who agreed on certain rules and customs. Usually, a polis was centered on a small town and the countryside that surrounded it. The low number of citizens allowed Greek voters to vote in person on any issue involving the government of their town.
This type of democracy is called a direct democracy because citizens have the ability to vote on an issue in person rather than having an elected representative who votes on their behalf, as many modern democracies do.
In some places, several poleis would gather together and create leagues of city-states. Each city-state remained independent in its internal affairs, but they would band together to fight off invaders.
One of the major problems of the Greek democracy was the extreme individuality of the each city-state. Since each polis was unique, it was difficult for a league of city states to remain united for long. In addition, it was common for several city-states to battle with one another over land or other resources. Because each city-state was unique and independent in its internal affairs, Greek city-states had difficulty with maintaining a cohesive league of city-states. Without a clear leader, many leagues were ultimately unsuccessful.
Democracy is a system of government where citizens are allowed to participate in the proposal and creation of laws. Throughout history, different places have had different forms of democracy. Two of the most common forms of democratic government are direct democracy and representative democracy. In a direct democracy, citizens are directly involved with creating laws, and in a representative democracy, citizens elect representatives who create laws on their behalf.
Democracy in Ancient Greece
Democracy first appeared as a form of government in Ancient Greece around 800 B.C.E. In Ancient Greece, all native born males, regardless of how much money they had or what family they were born into, could vote regarding the government of the polis, or Greek city-state.
The polis was a tight-knit, small community of citizens who agreed on certain rules and customs. Usually, a polis was centered on a small town and the countryside that surrounded it. The low number of citizens allowed Greek voters to vote in person on any issue involving the government of their town.
This type of democracy is called a direct democracy because citizens have the ability to vote on an issue in person rather than having an elected representative who votes on their behalf, as many modern democracies do.
In some places, several poleis would gather together and create leagues of city-states. Each city-state remained independent in its internal affairs, but they would band together to fight off invaders.
One of the major problems of the Greek democracy was the extreme individuality of the each city-state. Since each polis was unique, it was difficult for a league of city states to remain united for long. In addition, it was common for several city-states to battle with one another over land or other resources. Because each city-state was unique and independent in its internal affairs, Greek city-states had difficulty with maintaining a cohesive league of city-states. Without a clear leader, many leagues were ultimately unsuccessful.
Student Assessments: The advantages and disadvantages of different systems of governments
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The Monarchy of Japan |
The Monarchy of the U.K |
How are laws passed and made in Japan?
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How are laws passed and made in the USA? |
Capitalism and Socialism
In industrialized countries during the 19th century, a wide gap opened up between the rich and the poor. Business leaders believed that governments should stay out of business and economic affairs. They favoured a free market system and were known as “capitalists”. Reformers, however felt that governments needed to play an active role to improve conditions for the poor and were known as “socialists”.