Direct Versus Representative Democracy
In Athens, Greece, citizens vote on every issue themselves, which is known as direct democracy. In the United States of America, citizens elect representatives to vote on laws on their behalf, a system of government called representative democracy. Because citizens could vote on Athens’ laws, while elected officials vote could the people’s laws in the United States, this means that the representative and direct democracy contrasts by who votes. Direct democracy originated in Ancient Greece, in the Capital City of Athens, and all citizens that were adult male were able to vote during that time. They would gather at the capital to debate and politically participate. The word democracy that we use today is from the Greek word demokratia, meaning rule by the people. Democracy government is characterized by ensuring people rights and freedoms are respected. People can pursue their own goals give they do interfere with other people’s liberty and adhere to the rule of law.
The representative democracy originated in Rome Republic when leaders from different regions of the empire were relied upon to be the voice of the people (2020). Both types of democracies were developed due to their societies’ structures. For instance, the Roman empire being more diverse and extensive. In contrast, Greece valued their central power of the capital and are well educated. Monarchy once ruled Rome and Ancient Greece until they overthrew the monarchial rule at separate times before becoming direct or indirect democracy. Since today’s population is massive compared to ancient times, representative democracy is used for most countries worldwide, and direct democracy is rare. For example, France and United Kingdom is a representative democracy, and Switzerland is one of the rarest countries to have direct democracy. As the population continues to grow over the years, there are chances that direct democracy will be gone in the future.