Study the text and answer the questions

DEFINING DEMOCRACY

1. In the dictionary definition, democracy «is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system». In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government «of the people, by the people and for the people».

2. Democracies fall into two basic categories, direct and representative. In a direct democracy, all citizens, without the intermediary of elected or appointed officials, can participate in making public decisions. Such a system is clearly only practical with relatively small numbers of people - in a community organization or tribal council, for example, or the local unit of a labor union, where members can meet in a single room to discuss issues and arrive at decisions by consensus or majority vote. Ancient, the world's first democracy, managed to practice direct democracy with an assembly that may have numbered as many as 5.000 to 6.000 persons - perhaps the maximum number that can physically gather in one place and practice direct democracy.

3. Modern society, with its size and complexity, offers few opportunities for direct democracy.

4. Today, the most common form of democracy, whether for a town of 50,000 or nations of 50 million, is repre­sentative, democracy, in which citizens elect officials to make political decisions, formulate laws and administer programs for the public good. In the name of the people, such officials can deliberate on complex public issues in thoughtful and systematic manner that requires an investment of time and energy which is often impractical for the vast majority of private citizens.

5. How such officials are elected can vary enormously. On the national level, for example, legislators can be chosen from districts that each elect a single representative. Alternatively, under a system of proportional representation, each political party is represented in the legislature according to its percentage of the total vote nationwide. Provincial and local elections can mirror these national models, or choose their representatives more informally through group consensus instead of elections. Whatever the method used, public officials in representative democracy hold office in the name of the people and remain accountable to the people for their actions.

6. Majority Rule and Minority Rights. All democracies are systems in which citizens freely make political decisions by majority rule. But rule by the majority is not necessarily democratic: no one, for example, would call a system fair or just that permitted 51 percent of the population to oppress the remaining 49 percent in the name of the majority. In a democratic society, majority rule must be coupled with guarantees of individual human rights that, in turn, serve to protect the rights of minorities – whether ethnic, religious or political.

7. Democratic Society. Democracy is more than a set of constitutional rules and procedures that determine how a government functions. In a democracy, government is only one element coexisting in a social fabric of many and varied institutions, political parties, organizations and associations. This diversity is called pluralism, and it assumes that the many organized groups and institutions in a democratic society do not depend upon government for their existence, legitimacy or authority.

8. Thousands of private organizations operate in a demo­cratic society, some local, some national. Many of them serve a mediating role between individuals and the complex social and governmental institutions of which they are a part, filling roles not given to the government and offering individuals opportunities to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens of a democracy.

9. These groups represent the interests of their members in a variety of ways - by supporting candidates for public office debating issues and trying to influence policy decisions. Through such groups, individuals have an avenue for meaningful participation both in government and in their own communities. The examples are many and varied: charitable organizations and churches, environmental and neighborhood groups, business associations and labor unions.

11.2. Answer the following questions:

1) What is democracy according to A. Lincoln?

2) What categories do democracies fall into?

3) What communities is a direct democracy practical with?

4) How do citizens make political decisions?

5)What role do they fulfill?

11.3. Complete the following sentences:

1) In the phrase of A. Lincoln, «democracy is a government of the people ...».

2) In a direct democracy all citizens elect officials to ....

3) Ancient Athens practiced ... .

4) In a representative democracy citizens elect officials to ... .

5) Under a system of proportional representation each political party is represented in the legislature according to.

6) Public officials hold office ... .

7) In a democratic society majority rule must be coupled with ... .

8) Pluralism assumes that ... .

9) Private organizations represent the interests of their members by ... .

11.4. Insert the English equivalents of the words in bold used in the text:

1) In democracy the supreme power осуществляется directly by people or by their elected agents.

2) The methods of electing officials can vary очень сильно.

3) Whatever the method used public officials in a representative democracy занимают должность in the name of the people.

4) Public officials in a representative democracy remain подотчетны to the people for their actions.

5) Majority rule must be coupled with гарантиями прав человека.

6) Democracy is more than набор of constitutional rules and procedures.