What is a democracy (3)

 Democratic civic culture

democratic culture and the system is not just the sum of its internal. A healthy democracy depends on the development of democratic civic culture. Diane. Leiwei Qi pointed out that, in this sense , democracy does not refer to art, literature or music, but to define the ability of people who self-government practices, customs and norms.
she wrote: regime to create a docile obedient citizens, on the contrary, democratic society, civic culture by individuals and groups choose the activities of the decision. a free society citizens to pursue their own interests, exercise their rights and for their own life responsibility. They decided to do their own type of work, where to live, whether to join a particular political party and read what books and so on. These are private decisions, not political decisions. and film performance of social and cultural art forms are also independent of the Government. democratic social support or encourage artists writers, but will not set standards for the arts will not make efforts to assess the value of art or the art review of methods of expression. The artist is not State employees or servants. democratic society is the main contribution to the freedom of artistic freedom to create,UGG boots clearance, test, and explore the world of human thought and spirit.

of education for democracy and education are important to any part of society, For the democratic society in particular. As Thomas. as Jefferson wrote: there will be something. analytical ability and understanding of laws and practices of democracy. Vanderbilt Professor of little Chester. Finn to educators, speech in Nicaragua, said: not born knowing that they and their children can receive a free society and political system, h, and learning that they must master the knowledge. force regime indoctrination and teach people the values of political neutrality is not enough. It is impossible: because all education, whether intentional or unintentional, will transmit values. the spirit of open questions is itself an important democratic values, In that spirit can indeed teach students the principles of democracy. Meanwhile, democratic education system to encourage students to use a reasonable and prudent research points to challenge traditional thinking, which may lead to heated arguments, but a textbook democracy should not ignore the unpleasant or controversial events or facts.
Finn said: ability to maintain and improve the system of government relies heavily on the education they have experienced the quality and performance. We can fairly say that in a democratic country, freedom of education can make to grow over time. and consensus
has all kinds of human desires, they are sometimes contradictory. people want security, but adventurous; they want personal freedom, but requires social equality.
democracy, too, recognize the many pressures and even contradictory exist in every democratic society is very important. Larry. Diamond But is it a set of rules for handling conflicts. At the same time, the conflict must be resolved within the limits specified in order to reach a compromise. biased towards any party may destroy the balance of the whole community. If each group to fight for their democracy as a merely requirements of the forum, then, the society may be divided from within. If the government imposed a consensus too much pressure, suppress the voice of the people, then social pressure can be crushed from above.
conflict resolution and There is no single or easy way. democracy is not one to enter the correct principles and procedures for the operation automatically after the machine. democratic society requires the support of citizens, need them to recognize the inevitable conflict and the necessary tolerance.
democratic society Many conflicts are not clear For example: to allocate a certain percentage of the work has been discriminated against minority groups correct? countries have the right to buy someone strong residential land to the laying of a much-needed road? when the society in the name of the protection of wild forest logging ban, at the expense of timber industry for a living rely on the livelihoods of small communities and undermine its economy, whose rights should prevail? If the police stop and search people at random to combat drug trafficking, which is a violation of the rights of citizens or to protect the social rights?
These are not easy to deal with the problem, only the broad principles of democracy and the analysis of these issues are described in the guide. In fact, the answer may change over time. It is for this reason, the development of a democratic culture is very important. individuals and groups must be at least willing to tolerate their differences, have solid understanding of each other's rights and legal point of view. debate parties, whether in local neighborhoods or national parliaments, should meet the spirit of compromise, to seek a based majority rule and minority interests to take care of the general principle of specific solutions, in some cases, a formal vote is necessary, but very often, groups achieved through debate and compromise or settlement of an informal consensus. These program also have the advantage of helping the parties to establish the trust needed to solve future problems.
Diane. Leiwei Qi pointed out that to negotiate, compromise and cooperation. differences of opinion through a partnership of groups, you can learn how to argue in a peaceful manner, the method of how the pursuit of democratic goals, and ultimately learn how to live in a pluralistic world. Democracy is not a constant revelation of truth, but a mechanism to seek the truth. Since this mechanism, it is thought through conflict and compromise, and personal conflict and compromise with the institutions to find the truth, though may not be perfect to do to this point. Democracy is pragmatic. perspectives and solutions to problems not by rigid ideology to test, but in the real world test, in this world, you can view and discussed ways to solve the problem, change , accepted or rejected.
autonomy can not guarantee that the people do not make mistakes, not the end of ethnic conflicts, there is no guarantee of economic prosperity, but in any case, it is wrong to allow that debate to identify and validate, to allow groups meet to resolve differences, and provide reform and investment opportunities, which is the driving force of economic growth.

democracy and democratic government for authoritarian power
and critics, they all share a common democratic misconception that It lacks the ability to suppress, but also the lack of rule of power. This view is fundamentally flawed: the democratic system by asking the Government to limit the power, rather than the weakened. Throughout the long process of history, although in the past decade of democracy recovery to create an advantage, but the fact of democracy is still fragile and small. democratic system can not free from the impact of tide of history; they collapsed due to political failure, internal division and decline, or the subversion of the invasion of foreign enemies. But history has also proved stubborn resilience of democracy, shows commitment to the people and knowledgeable as the contribution of democracy to overcome the serious economic difficulties, to reconcile the split between social and ethnic, if necessary, can be neutral in the war in an invincible position.
is often asked about the critics of democracy at all levels, given the resilience of democracy. Some people noted that the debate, dissent and compromise the democratic system and other processes are weak, in fact, they are the potential power of democracy. Of course, no one argues that democracy is the process of consultation in its particularly efficient: in a large and complex society, make decisions through democratic means can be a tangled, It is tired and when Hao long way. But in the end get a government in the consent of the governed, can faith and authority to speak and act, which is a weak trepidation rely on an army or a non- The election of the party's lack of regime.
the four basic types of democracy
(selected number of countries or regions as an example)
presidential
first past the post parliamentary

Philippines

U.S., Canada, Australia


India Malaysia New Zealand
Jamaica


proportional representation in UK
Latin < br> Western Europe
been on the charts and John. Johns Hopkins University Press agreed, reproduced from Arendt. Li Fate with: Winter Edition, the first year of The Seventh fourteen volumes.
on the power of
democratic system of the United States contribution to one of the most important is the creation of a system of checks and balances to ensure the separation of government and Decentralization: the system based on a firm belief, that is, when the possibility of a government abuse of power is suppressed, and as close to the People, is the ideal government.
as a general term, checks and balances there are two layer of meaning: federalism and the separation of powers.
federal government should play is divided into national, state or provincial, and local and other levels. For example, the United States is a federal republic, each state has independent legal status of the federal government and power. It has a single political structure of other countries (such as Britain and France), the political division is different, because the federal government can not repeal or change states. Although in the twentieth century, the U.S. national level of government and state government in its power relations have been greatly increased, but the state government is still in education, health, transport and law enforcement areas such as shoulder important responsibilities. in the centralized or the responsibilities of each state, generally follow the federal model, the number of positions, such as the operation of schools and police departments, commissions of various local organizations. federal constitutional division of powers is not clear - federal, state and local agencies can several areas (such as education) have repeated or even conflicting agendas - but the federal system is indeed greatly increased opportunities for citizen participation, which is the operation of a democratic society is essential.
meaning of the second layer of checks and balances is separation of powers, it is the drafters of the Federal Constitution in 1789 painstakingly created, not from the government to ensure a particular focus on the national government departments. James. Madison, the principal drafter of the U.S. Constitution, and later became the fourth president, he wrote: In one sense, the separation of powers is a misleading term, because the Madison and other drafters of the Constitution established a system like that is the separation of powers, as it is power sharing. 〔For example, the legislative power belongs to the Congress However, the bill passed by Congress can be vetoed by the president and Congress must both houses a collection of two-thirds majority can override a presidential veto. the president can appoint ambassadors and cabinet members, and the negotiation of international treaties - But to be approved by the Senate. In addition, the President selected the Union; Justice is to be approved by the Senate. As another example, the Constitution clearly stipulates, only Congress has the power to declare war, but the president is commander in chief of the armed forces - in sixties to early seventies during the Vietnam War and lasting, and 90-9 year short of the Persian Gulf conflict, this has obviously become the executive and legislative source of tension between the two departments. As President of the platforms have to be approved Congress was passed, the political scientist Richard de. Neustadt described the U.S. president's power check the contents of some practices and precedents from evolved. Perhaps the most important thing is in 1803 a court case established judicial review in the theory, which gives the Supreme Court power to rule unconstitutional laws of Congress .
separation of powers within the American political system often leads to low efficiency, but it provides an important dikes, to ensure that dark will not protect the government abuse of power - this is every democratic government must face. < br>
Prime Minister and the President of the democratic system is one of the most important decisions the way the election officers and members. elections are generally divided into two. Under the parliamentary system, legislative bodies of the majority party or parties Union, can form a government to lead by a Prime Minister. parliamentary system of government originated in the United Kingdom, today most countries in Europe, the Caribbean, Asian countries, Canada, India and many countries in Africa and Asia (half and half of them former British colonies) have implemented this system. The other main way is to directly elect a president, the election has nothing to do with the legislature. Today, many countries in Latin America, the Philippines, France, Poland and the United States presidential system in the implementation of this .
The main difference between parliamentary and presidential system is that between the legislative and executive branch relations. in the parliamentary system, legislative and executive branches are basically each other one, because the Prime Minister and Cabinet members are drawn from Parliament. In general words, the Government's term of office has a designated period (such as four or five years), unless the Prime Minister lost a majority in Congress, in this case, the Government will come to fall, Congress also re-election. Another Election is, by the head of state (president or constitutional monarch, whose role is mainly symbolic) to give the other party leaders the opportunity to organize a new government.
the parliament is the highest ruling body, so characteristics of the lack of power as the U.S. presidential system separation. parliamentary system must rely on their own internal political dynamics Council to carry out checks and balances on government power. They are usually single, the form of organized opposition to competition checks and balances of power.
under the presidential system, the president, who is also head of government and heads of state from office. the President and Members of Parliament elected directly by the people, and have the specified term. as an integral part of the separation of powers, President's cabinet members are usually not members of Congress .- In general, only committing a serious crime or malfeasance in office, the President will be dismissed before the expiry of his term. If the President of his party a majority in the legislature, and its program can be easily passed, but different with the Prime Minister, the President can not rely on their own political party and remain the majority party.
representative democracy
Another important decision is how to organize the elections. There are two basic choices: vote up the post system or proportional representation. first past the post system is sometimes referred to as ten, but more than other competitors) or due to win a majority (more than fifty percent). The president is also elected in the same way, but elections are held across the country. If no one in the first round of elections the majority, some systems will be arranged by the greatest number of votes for the final two candidates. first past the post system would usually have a broad-based and manipulate the two political parties as incentives.
the contrary, proportional representation system (practiced by most countries in Europe), the voters usually vote for parties rather than to individual candidates. party in the national representation within legislative bodies, depends on each party in the elections in the the proportion of votes won. In a parliamentary system, the majority leader will become prime minister and cabinet members elected in Parliament. If no party achieved a majority, the political parties will conduct frequent consultations to form a coalition of parties dominated by . proportional representation system would help to promote multi-party system, although each party can only get the small percentage of voters, but they are regular referees, to the coalition government a seat inside.
parliamentary and presidential
Today most governments have adopted parliamentary democracy, the main requirements of the parliamentary system is responsive and flexible. parliamentary system of government (particularly elected by proportional representation) tend to multi-party system, even relatively small political groups also to obtain seats in the legislature. Therefore, the minority parties still at odds with each other to participate in the government's most high-level political decision-making process. When the parties try to form a dominant coalition, this diversity of real help to promote dialogue and compromise . If the collapse of the coalition government, or rule of the ruling party lost power, the prime minister will resign, and then set up a new government or new elections - this will not harm or threaten democracy itself.
Council is the major shortcomings flexibility and power-sharing arising from the dark side; instability. in the event of political crisis, may be vulnerable to multi-party alliance and the collapse of the ruling that the government can only maintain a relatively short period of time. coalition government may find themselves either by the mercy of small parties of extremism, the threat of these small parties can withdraw from the ruling coalition and force the government to resign, and thus make a special government policy requirements. In addition, the Prime Minister is the party's leaders, their lack of directly elected by the people the powers conferred by .
Another issue of concern is the supreme authority of parliament and a lack of formal constraints of the system. For example, a majority of seats in parliament have enough political parties to develop a far-reaching and even anti-democratic platform, and its Action will not be any effective limit, resulting in the possibility of the dictatorship of the majority party.
the other hand, the main requirements of the presidential system is the direct responsibility of continuity and strength. the president is elected by the people, have a fixed term , regardless of their political party status in Congress, they can obtain power from the direct elections. through the establishment of separate but equal theory, government departments and strive to establish a strong presidential system the executive and legislative institutions, each agency can to get people voting powers, and checks and balances. Those who fear the dictatorship of the executive branch may be people who tend to emphasize the role of Congress, the legislative body for those worried about the dominant majority party at the moment who may abuse their power, then will maintain the power of the president.
presidential and legislative elections were the weaknesses of the deadlock may occur. the President may not have enough votes to pass its program, but through the exercise of the veto, the president can also prevent the legislation in its own Parliament agency program to replace its own program.
the president is elected by direct election, they seem to have the power than the Prime Minister. But regardless of whether the legislature is controlled by the opposition, because it has an independent outside President electorate, so the president had to contend with the legislature. Thus, the presidential system of party discipline and much more vulnerable than parliamentary system. For example, the president usually do not like as Prime Minister, dismiss or punish members of the party defections. one in the Parliament has its feet in the majority of the prime minister to ensure his government's legislative program passed; and the President in dealing with a jealous of their privileges of Parliament, the often lengthy negotiations, to ensure its passage.
which system best meet the requirements of constitutional democracy, parliamentary or presidential system? The answer is the political scientists and politicians continue to debate the subject, partly because each system has its unique strengths and weaknesses. However, it should be noted that Although presidential and parliamentary system failed to ensure the full realization of constitutional democracy, but both are consistent with the constitutional democracy.
political, economic and civic pluralism in
not have to participate in the political process, they can refusing to participate freely express their dissatisfaction. But if there is no such source of strength for civic activities, democracy will begin to weaken. democratic society citizens have the opportunity to participate in many private organizations, associations and voluntary groups, most of these organizations are concerned with public policy issues , but there is still a small part by government control or funding. individual right to freely join or organize their own different non-governmental organizations, which is the basic principle of democracy. When people with common interests together, their views will be able to been heard, and they influence the political debate to also increase. nineteenth century the great French political observer Ahlers. de Tocqueville wrote: to prevent the party dictatorship or monarchy hegemony. (eg chambers of commerce, professional bodies or trade unions) are usually related to its advocacy of the policy interest in the economy, although they may also be discussion of the issue away from their areas of expertise to take the same position with the public.
the so-called public interest groups (such as environmental and social welfare organizations) are the eyes of the public to pursue their interests or the common good. but this does not make them public to the private interests of interest groups than other groups even more brilliant and more moral. In their public issues position behind is often followed their own interests. The two interest groups are active in any democratic system of government, both close attention to public opinion, to expand its mass base of support, while also trying to educate the masses, influence government policy. interest groups can be used as an intermediary force to coordinate the isolated individual and the large and distant relationship between the government. Through the interaction of these groups (through public debate between conflict, process of compromise and consensus, etc.), in a democratic society can make decisions affecting their people's welfare.
vote for government officials to vote
is the most obvious modern democracy, the most common, but also the most basic forms of participation. have the ability to hold free and fair elections, an exercise in a community is called the key to a democratic society.
the motivation to vote like they represent the interests of society and, as numerous. voters apparently can represent to the candidate to vote their interests, but other factors also affect the choice of voters. they want the political party is a factor: there is a strong relationship with political parties than independent or non-partisan people have a greater willingness to vote. In fact in the proportional representation system, voters can only vote for a political party, not to vote for individual candidates.
made a number of other political scientists can influence the voters and the turnout rate orientation factor. For example, in using the national system of proportional representation, because every vote will affect the representation within the legislature, so in a constituency with a simple majority wins or who gets the most votes won the first prize in the country compared to the former tend to have higher voter turnout . socio-economic status, relatively simple procedures for voter registration, political party system, the power of the media image of the candidates and the election of the amount of times - these will affect the number and the number of voters. in a democratic election, the struggle often is not to decide which candidates can win the most public support, but who is the most effective to promote the views of supporters into votes. voter indifference is not the public of potential danger vacant, no one to fill a vacancy, but officials will be the more to less qualified voters.
party
party by seeking the nomination and election to elect the government officials; if they are a majority, then the government will be drafting the platform; if they are the opposition, then it will criticize and make another set of policies; in the interests of different groups for their support of public policy; to the concerns of the public to educate the masses; and the social structure and rules of political debate. In some of the political regime, ideology, party members may be absorbed and incentives is an important factor; in other political systems under the same economic interests or social views may be more than ideological commitment is more important.
organization and procedures of political parties can have quite different. in various types of one end of the political parties, the multi-party parliamentary system in Europe, those who are disciplined party organizations, nearly all full-time party led by people earth. The other side is the United States, where competing Republican and Democratic parties are decentralized organizations, mainly in the role of Congress and state level. This situation changed once every four years, Republicans and Democrats rely on the national organization is the participation of volunteers, they will work together to organize presidential campaign.
parties with society in which they operate, like, all kinds and so forth. They are often organized campaign charges evil thoughts, time-consuming and tedious, and sometimes even a little boring. but the role of it is very serious: to provide a peaceful and just manner so that citizens of a democratic society can elect their leaders and determine their own destiny to play a meaningful role.

in a protest action democratic society, citizens have the right to peaceful assembly and through demonstrations, marches, petitions, boycotts, strikes and other direct means of action of citizens to oppose government policies or actions of other groups.
democratic society, every citizen can involved in direct action, but traditionally it is oppressed, poor living conditions or methods used by minority groups because they feel they have been excluded in other ways outside of government policy. These protests have always been a democratic society components. Today, the non-violent protest to attract media attention, has also touched a wide range of issues, including environmental pollution, nuclear weapons, foreign policy issues, and racial and ethnic discrimination. direct action in a special way the trade unions right because at the negotiating table to resolve disputes with their employers failed to strike.
protests a proving ground for any democracy. When we all get along with gift ideas and basic questions remain the same, the freedom of expression and citizen participation The ideal is easy to maintain. But opponents - and their goal - not a consensus on basic issues, these debates become heated and angry, the. The problem is to strike a balance: on the one hand safeguard the rights of freedom of speech and assembly, the other is to maintain public order and against the other side attempts to intimidation or violence. to maintain order in the name of repression of peaceful protest action will only lead to repression; but to allow uncontrolled violent protests action will lead to anarchy.
to strike a balance between the two there is no recipe for good ideas in the final analysis, depending on the majority of people take responsibility, to maintain the democratic system and the motto of individual rights . democratic society have the ability to withstand the most intense disputes among citizens - unless the arguments involving the legitimacy of democracy itself.
media will convey the message to rule
. As more and more large and complex modern society to convey the field of information and public debate has become increasingly dominated by the mass media: radio and television, newspapers, magazines, books, and even computerized database is true. In a democratic society, the media, although there are some features The overlap, but have their own characteristics. One task is to convey, and education. People want to make informed public policy decisions need to have accurate, timely and unbiased information. As always there are differences of public opinion, so they need to listen to a wide range of opinions. In that role is especially important during the election campaign, because voters saw the candidates rarely have the opportunity to chat with them and even fewer opportunities. Instead, they have to rely on newspapers and television reports, to analyze issues and determine the position of the various candidates and their parties.
The second task is the media as government and other authorities in society watchdogs. the media in line with independent and objective criteria (though not perfect), able to reveal the truth behind the Government's statement and urged officials accountable for their actions.
media can also choose to play a more active public debate the role of an editorial or through investigation reports, as they believe a specific policy should be adopted and reform for publicity. the media can also serve as a forum for institutions and individuals, and through the written editorial articles published in different points of view, to express their views.
other media commentators play an increasingly important role: the development agenda. understanding of the problems of heavy. with those who control the media by the government in different countries, in a democratic society, the media can not arbitrarily manipulate or ignore the problem, after all their competitors and the government itself could each list a series of important issues, arouse public concern at any time.
media in the performance of these tasks has been very responsible, very few people will have doubts. news reporters and television interviewers will seek to meet the criteria for objective reporting, but inevitably the news They will be individuals or institutions serving bias and sensitivity of the filter to become sensational, superficial, interference of others, does not match the facts and full of provocative. The solution is not to make laws to force or to define the scope of responsibility of journalists issuing a permit, but to improve the level of public opinion, so that citizens have a strong ability to tell the false and exaggerated and erroneous reports of the text, and to find out the truth. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver outstanding. Wendell . Holmes in 1919, said: does not contain the specific economic principles. democratic government can accept the loyalty of the Socialist Party and the free market business. In fact, many disputes of modern democratic society in the economic field with the Government to be related to the role played by the right. However, it is fair to that the pro-democracy people usually consider economic freedom a key factor in any democratic society. This does not exclude the fact that our economic problems today and define the political divide, stressed the need to equality and social welfare as the government's economic policies. In the past, such an argument prompted the Government to control the national economy's major sectors (such as telecommunications, transportation, and some heavy industries) of the title. They also called on the government for those in need provide medical, unemployment and other social benefits. Instead, centrist and conservative parties are not subject to government control or intervention emphasized the free market economy, as to achieve economic growth, technological development and common prosperity of the most effective way.
In fact, the debate on the economy, the parties have a lot in common than their heated political debate is more likely to make concessions. For example, the left and the right people soil are independent of the Government to accept the freedom of workers movement played an important role. In a free society, the workers have the opportunity to organize or join trade unions to represent their interests, and employers on wages, health care and retirement benefits, working conditions and appeal process and other issues extended negotiations.
a modern democratic state is not the economic system is completely state-owned or government completely out of control. They are private businesses and a mix of government regulation, a high degree of relying on free market, in this market, prices are not set out by the government , but by millions of consumers and producers through the daily transactions ...