Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Direct Democracy, Oligarchy, Aristocracy
15 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Political power is the power to issue and enforce binding commands. Democracy attempts to answer the question how should this power be distributed? . Monarchy - rule by one in interest of governed. Tyranny - rule by one in interests of governor. Polity - rule by the many in the interests of everyone. Democracy - rule by many in their own interests. It is commonly agreed upon that political power should be distributed equally and every citizen should have the right to an equal say. Democracy: rule (kratos) by the many (demos) > people power, collective self rule. Democracy is government of, for, and by the people. It is a historically unpopular view that originated in athens between 508-322 b. c. The idea is that decisions are made by a majority vote of all the citizens, where everyone is entitled to speak and vote. There was open debate and subsidized participation (paid attendance) to promote public spirited citizens (polites).
