Understanding Democracy: Requirements, Types, and Limitations
The Current State of Democratic Requirements
For a state to be considered democratic, it must meet certain requirements:
- A state law where no one is exempt from obeying the laws.
- Power is divided into a tripartite system:
- Legislative branch: Drafting and passing laws.
- Judicial branch: Monitoring compliance with the law.
- Executive branch: Running the government itself.
- Political elections are planned to allow for changes in the legislature and executive branches, often with limits on the time a person may remain in power.
- Complete guarantee of individual rights and freedoms.
These conditions can exist in different forms of government, whether a monarchy or a republic.
Types of State
Depending on the concentration of power, states are classified as:
- Centralized state: Territories have limited competence.
- Decentralized state: Regions have broad powers in areas like education and health. Examples include Länder, which are legally unions of states with broad powers.
The existence of a federation does not diminish the importance of national unity.
Forms of Government
Greek philosophers classified governments based on the number of those who wield power, including their degenerate forms:
- One ruler:
- Good: Monarchy
- Bad: Tyranny
- Several rulers:
- Good: Aristocracy
- Bad: Oligarchy
- All the people:
- Good: Democracy
- Bad: Demagoguery
There are primarily two forms of government: republics and monarchies. A monarchy can be democratic, constitutional, autocratic, or even tyrannical. The existence of a republic does not guarantee a democratic form of government.
Additionally, material freedoms are important, ensuring citizens have the means to survive. A system of formal freedoms alone is insufficient.
Value and Limitations of Democracy
Democracy is often considered the best system because power resides in the people. When direct decision-making is impractical, representatives chosen by political parties make decisions. These choices are often made through closed lists decided by the parties.
There is a current movement advocating for open lists, allowing voters to add names they prefer. In many ways, democracy is partially influenced by the interests of political parties.
Democracy is an imperfect political system, potentially encouraging hidden oligarchy. Another limitation is the consolidation of power outside of social control.
Justice
Plato considered justice the essential condition of good political order, defining it as each person fulfilling their duty. Justice encompasses both public and interpersonal aspects.
Justice is threefold:
- Commutative justice: Governing bilateral relations.
- Distributive justice: Governing the fair distribution of public goods and offices.
- Legal justice: Leading people to enforce laws for the good of all.