1. What Is Democracy?

Question 1

What is power?

Answer 1

Power is the ability to make people do something (that they might not want to do)
e.g. a criminal with a gun

Question 2

What is authority?

Answer 2

Authority is the given right to influence other people’s behaviour and actions
E.g. a police officer has both power and authority because they have been hired to protect the laws of a country and influence people in a certain way

Question 3

What is a ‘legitimate’ government

Answer 3

A government that is fit to govern and has been elected fairly and justly

Question 4

What is democracy?

Answer 4

Democracy is the idea that key decisions should be made by the people (or their representatives) and not just a single figure, and that everyone has equal opportunity.

Question 5

What is direct democracy?

Answer 5

All citizens could attend mass meetings to vote on key issues instead of having an elected group or single figure

Question 6

What is representative (indirect) democracy ?

Answer 6

When the public votes for representatives to vote for them in the house of parliament

Question 7

Advantages of direct democracy

Answer 7

-the people get to vote directly
-no need for elected politicians
-encourages participation and educates the public on key issues
-the people must take responsibility for their actions
-prevents power from being concentrated in the hands of a group of elites

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of direct democracy?

Answer 8

-population size: difficult and expensive
-public may not have time or interest, and may not understand the issues
-wealthy groups can distort the debate
-public might be unwilling to make unpopular but necessary decisions
-tyranny of the majority - the majority can vote to oppress minority groups

Question 9

What are the advantages of representative democracy?

Answer 9

-More practical - time/ population
-Elected representatives may have greater expertise and experience
-representatives can implement unpopular, but necessary policies
-if a representative is unpopular they can be voted out at the next election
-avoid tyranny of the majority - all groups should be represented

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of representative democracy?

Answer 10

-representatives might not always represent the views of the public
-parties can have great influence over the actions of representatives
-low public interest and participation can leave decisions to a small elite
-our elections make it difficult for smaller parties to win, meaning many views can go unrepresented