Matheus Espindola W8A

What is Democracy?

We know that the word "democracy" was born in Greece,

specifically in the city-state of Athens, in the classical period,
being composed by the radicals "demos" and "kratos", which
mean, respectively: "people" and "government". In general
terms, democracy is defined, since ancient Greece, as "people's
government", or "popular government", in contrast to other
forms of government, which also date back to the Ancient Age,
such as aristocracy, monarchy, diarrhea, tyranny, oligarchy,
among others. However, when we think of democracy in the
contemporary world, some nuances must be made.

Modern democracy, as we conceive it today, that is, based on

solid legal systems and political institutions, which represent
the three powers (Executive, Judiciary and Legislative), only
became possible after the overthrow of the Old Absolutist
Regime, in the transition of the 18th century to the 19th
century. With the French Revolution and, later, the Napoleonic
Era, some of the foundations of what would become our model
of democratic regime emerged in Europe: the formation of large
population centers, due to the Industrial Revolution; the notion
of people associated with a nation; the nation's political
sovereignty came to be linked to that people, and no longer to
the king; and the institution of voting, or universal suffrage, as
part of the direct representative system.

The democracy developed in Athens was not considered the

best possible government (as our model of democracy is today),
and this for a reasonably simple reason: only a minimal fraction
of the “free men” was part of the political life of Athens. Women,
slaves, foreigners and other social categories were not entitled
to participate in the Assembly's deliberations (Ekklesia). The
experience of Athenian democracy was primarily concerned
with avoiding tyranny - the worst form of government at the
time. Likewise, the form of aristocratic government also fulfilled
this role.