Democracy History

Democracy, (from Greek: "δημοκρατία") or "rule of the commoners", was originally conceived in Classical Greece, whereby political representatives were chosen by lot (as in a jury) from amongst the male citizens: rich and poor. In modern times it has become equated to elections or "a system of government in which all the people of a state or polity....elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly", as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary. Democracy is further defined as (a:) "government by the people; especially : rule of the majority (b:) "a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation ...."

According to political scientist Larry Diamond, democracy consists of four key elements: (a) A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections; (b) The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life; (c) Protection of the human rights of all citizens, and (d) A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

民主，（希腊：“δημοκρατία”）或“平民的规定”，建立的初衷是在古希腊，即政治代表是由很多来自男性公民之间选择（如陪审团）：穷人和富人。在近代它已经成为等同于选举或“政府在其中一个国家或政体的所有的人....选出代表议会或类似组件的系统”，由牛津英语词典的定义。民主进一步定义为（A :)“政府由人民，尤其是：大多数（B :)规则”，其中最高权力是人民直接或间接归属及行使，由他们通过代表制政府....“

根据政治学家拉里·钻石，民主包含四个关键要素：（一）选择和通过自由和公正的选举更换政府的政治制度; （二）人民的积极参与，作为公民，在政治和公民生活; （c）保护所有公民的人权，以及（d）法律的规则，在法律和程序同样适用于所有公民。