1. A democracy is a way of governing in which ……………..…
a) the government takes charge of its own affairs.
b) the citizens take charge of their own affairs.
2. Democracy came into use during the 5th century BC in ……
a) Greece.
b) Italy.
3. Direct democracy means a government in which political
decisions are made by ………………………………………..
a) representatives of all the citizens.
b) all the citizens.
4. Women in ancient Greece ……………………………………
a) did not participate in government.
b) had equal rights with males.
5. In New England women and slaves …………………………..
a) took active participation in government.
b) were denied participation in government.
6. In the United States women received the right to vote ……….
a) in the 20th century.
b) in the 19th century.
7. Britain became a genuine democracy …………..…………….
a) after 1900.
b) before 1900.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
D Match these verbs and nouns as they occur together in the text.
| verbs | define come acquire make grant decide deny |
| nouns | decisions the kind of society public policies suffrage a number of meanings into use participation |
E Complete these sentences using an appropriate phrase
From Exercise D.
1. Democracy means that people can freely.............. about what is best for them.
2. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln.............. he wanted the United States to preserve.
3. As a term for a type of government democracy ……......... during the 5th century BC in Greece.
4. Since then democracy has ………........ most of which have common elements.
5. In the United States women were not................ until the 20th century.
6. All the townspeople gathered at one time and place to..........
7. In ancient Greece women were.................. in government.
F Choose the most suitable word in each sentence.
1. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln defined the kind of society he wanted the United States to keep / preserve / possess.
2. The word democracy is descended / derived / divided from two Greek words.
3. A democracy is a track / means / way of governing in which the whole body of citizens takes charge of its own affairs.
4. A true democracy, as Lincoln was defining it, means a society in which all the people are citizens with the same rights / votes / positions to participate in its government.
5. Direct democracy was the government assumed / adopted / proposed by some ancient Greek city-states.
6. Democracy has acquired a number of different meanings, most of which have general / total / common elements.
7. Political decisions are made straight / directly / immediately by all the citizens.
G Replace the underlined items with words and phrases from the text that have a similar meaning.
1. Lincoln was depicting an ideal which became realized in the next century. (para 1)
2. The ideal was grounded on a basics concept of the Declaration of Independence. (para 1)
3. The most fundamental and original sense is direct democracy. (para 3)
4. Women and slaves were refused participation in government. (para 5)
5. To the extent that some people are excluded from citizen participation, a government doesn’t succeed to be a true democracy. (para 6)
6. In the United States women were not granted vote until the 20th century. (para 6)
H Learn the active vocabulary.
a basic concept to make decisions; an original sense to take charge of; public policies to deny participation; suffrage to participate in; inalienable rights to pay taxes
DISCUSSION
What is your idea of a true democracy?
Types of Democracy
Democracy is a system of government by which political sovereignty is retained by the people and either exercised directly by citizens or through their elected representatives. There are several varieties of democracy, some of which provide better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than others. Though the term “democracy” is typically used in the context of a political state, the principles are also applicable to private organizations and other groups.
Some types of democracy existing in modern world are:
Defensive democracy, a situation in which a democratic society has to limit some rights and freedoms in order to protect the institutions of democracy.
Democratic centralism, an organizational method where members of a political party discuss and debate matters of policy and direction and after the discussion is made by majority vote, all members are expected to follow that decision in public.
Direct democracy, implementation of democracy in more pure forms; classically termed pure democracy.
Illiberal democracy, a type of representative democracy where there are no or only weak limits on the power of the elected representatives to rule as they please.
Liberal democracy, a form of representative democracy with protection for individual liberty and property by rule of law.
Parliamentary democracy, a democratic system of government where the executive branch of a
parliamentary government is typically a cabinet, and headed by a prime-minister who is considered the head of government.
Republican democracy, a republic which has democracy through elected representatives.
Totalitarian democracy, a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little or no participation in the decision-making process of the government.
Modern direct democracy is characterized by three pillars:
Initiative
Referendum
Recall
Switzerland provides the strongest example of modern democracy at both the local and federal levels. Another example comes from the United States, where, despite being a federal republic where no direct democracy exists at the federal level, the vast majority of the states have either initiatives and/or
referendums.
Liberal democracy is a form of government, a political system. A liberal democracy has elections, a multiplicity of political parties, political decisions are made through an independent legislature, and an independent judiciary. A liberal democracy may take the form of a constitutional republic or a
constitutional monarchy.
READING PRACTICE
A Which paragraphs describe:
a) the types of democracy;
b) the country which is the strongest example of modern democracy;
c) the forms a liberal democracy can take.