DIMENSIONS OF

DEMOCRACY
1. THE PEOPLE
• Source of the sovereign power of the
State
• Ones who rule in a democracy
• Does not refer to just a single group of
individuals making up a tribe, political
party or a religious denomination
• Collective group of individual who
freely decided to live together in a
particular geographical area and
mutually consented to form a
democratic nation
1. THE PEOPLE
• Simply referred to as “citizens of the
nation”
• Central in any discussion of
democracy
2. EQUALITY
• Moral Equality- everyone is equal in
the eyes of the law
• Legal Equality- everyone is governed
fairly and receives equal protection
of the law
• Political Equality- everyone is given
equal right to rule and an equal right
to vote
2. EQUALITY
• EVERYONE is giving the right, power
and authority to the State.
“We, the SOVEREIGN FILIPINO PEOPLE”

“We, the RICHEST AMONG THE

FILIPINOS”
“We, the MEMBERS OF THE LABOR
FORCE”
3. COMMON GOOD
• Every action done by public servants,
in relation to their respective offices,
should be done for the well-being of
the people and not only for the
benefit of a particular majority
• Issues on the interest of:
Majority and minority

We matter!
3. COMMON GOOD
• Ensure the protection of the minority from being
overwhelmed, overpowered and bullied
• Aggregate- combined well-being of all the
members of the group
Example: Individual stays healthy and fit as his/her
contribution to the group
• Non-aggregate- what is good for the group
regardless of the individual well-being of its
members
Example: Individual being risked to contribute to
the group
4. REPRESENTATION
• Representatives are the ones who are
authorized to take appropriate and necessary
actions within the government that would be
beneficial for the common good of the
people
• Issues:
a. Elected representatives have
minds of their own
b. Relatively little information for citizens to
use in evaluating the performance of
their representatives
4. REPRESENTATION
c. Citizens do not have control over their
elected representatives
d. Representatives are able to do many
things that the citizens do not know and
cannot continuously monitor
e. Lack of alternatives to choose from
• Representation, although a very important
dimension of democracy, cannot be
guaranteed by democracy