DEMOCRACY

Democracy recognizes the rights of the individual and strives to maintain

and protect those rights, for instance freedom of speech and religion.

The word democracy comes from the Greek "demokration', from

"demos", the people, and "kratos", rule. The concept of rule by the
people for the people undoubtedly goes back to prehistoric times but, in
western political tradition, we associate it with the city-states of ancient
Greece.

There it was a form of government known as direct democracy. Decision was made by all the
citizens, acting under the procedure of majority rule. However, we must remember that not
everyone was a citizen. Women were not allowed to vote and there were many slaves who
had no rights at all.

It is easy to see how difficult this system would be to organize in a large-country and indeed
there was a gap of about 2,000 years before the idea of representative democracy arose. This
is a form of government where the citizens exercise the same rights as in direct democracy,
but through representatives chosen by and responsible to them.

Nowadays, most countries in the world are democracies, in name at least. That is, they claim a
form of government, elected by the people, whose powers are limited by a constitution.
Theoretically this means that although the majorities are in power, they are bound by law to
guarantee individual and collective rights to those who are in the minority.

But in many countries theory does not always conform to practice. We also use the word
democratic to describe any political or social system which is attempting to bring about
equality among the people.
 Use the context of the selections to help you choose the correct meaning of each
boldfaced word.

1. In a democracy, the people choose their government. In order to make intelligent

choices, the people need to know what those who are running the government are doing.
They must be able to get news that is not controlled by the government. Newspapers
and other news organizations must be able to report all the news. Freedom of the press
is a very important part of any democracy.

a. to push
b. a strong forward movement
c. to keep asking
d. news reporting organizations

2. Freedom of speech is just as important as freedom of the press. That means that all
citizens should have the right to inform others of what they know and express their
opinions. That doesn’t mean being able to lock yourself in a closet and whisper. It
means being able to get your thoughts out to as many people as possible. Beware of
politicians who want to repress that right.

a. control, or hold down

b. push again
c. fight to protect
d. say again

3. In a free society, people can practice their religious beliefs without fear. They may
also elect to belong to no religion at all. Freedom of religion is safest in democratic
nations.

a. vote
b. ask
c. find
d. choose

4. In order for people to be able to exercise their rights, they must be able to work
together. They must be able to form groups to give strength to their causes. That right is
known as freedom of assembly.

a. a concert
b. speaking
c. listening
d. joining together