What Is Democracy?

Cornel West

The concept of democracy is presented in light of democratic societies being under attack in present day. Academics and historians discuss the ancient Greek origins of the concept, which in its broadest terms means, "for the people, by the people". A wide range of people, from politicians, academics to a diverse array of the general public, discuss the concept from their own perspective. Those in the former two groups generally see issues in present day democracy in the imbalances in society, where those in authority or who control the flow of money, such as banks, have more power, while those who don't may fall prey to demagogues who twist the concept for their own political self interests. They also state that anyone can use the concept for their own personal benefit as opposed to democracy being seen somewhat inherent to a greater good. While democracy more closely equates to either the notion of one person/one vote or majority rule, many, if asked, mistakenly equate it with other aspirational concepts, such as justice, equity, freedom or specifically for Americans what they have coined "the American dream". Some of those academics and politicians argue that majority rule is an outdated ideal in that if that be the case, things like slavery would still exist. They therefore argue whether people really want a truly democratic society in its purest form, and if a pure democracy really is workable in any society.—Huggo