Core Meaning of Democracy
There are common elements entailed in all types of democratic decision-making. They involve:
- debate
- participation in decision-making
- respect for alternative views
- protection for minority interests
- a willingness to work towards understanding and agreement.
It is important to realise that ‘democracy’ has a range of meanings, but the list of elements above comprises the ‘core’ meanings which should be present every time the word is used.
In reality, various states have called themselves democratic even when they appear to practice all sorts of things that contradict some, occasionally all, the elements of this core meaning. The ancient Greeks invented the concept of democracy, yet they had slaves in their city states! Therefore, you have to be careful about the word being used as an ideological term to persuade you that a state or group is more democratic than it actually is, and attempting in this way to prove its ethical and political credentials.