Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible
citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy
allows eligible citizens to participate equally either directly or through
elected representatives in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It
encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and
equal practice of political self-determination. The term originates from the
Greek δημοκρατία "rule of the people", which was coined from δῆμος "people" and κράτος
"power" in the 5th century BCE to denote the political systems then
existing in Greek city-states, notably Athens; the term is an antonym to ἀριστοκρατία "rule of an
elite."
While theoretically these definitions are in opposition, in
practice the distinction has been blurred historically. The political system of
Classical Athens, for example, granted democratic citizenship to an elite class
of free men and excluded slaves and women from political participation. In
virtually all democratic governments throughout ancient and modern history,
democratic citizenship consisted of an elite class until full enfranchisement
was won for all adult citizens in most modern democracies through the suffrage
movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. The English word dates to the 16th
century, from the older Middle French and Middle Latin equivalents.
