Direct Democracy

Merits of Direct Democracy: It gives the control of the government in the hands of the people who are better informed and do not need to depend on the self-serving politicians. The legitimacy is at its zenith as the people have to accept their own decisions.

Greek Democracy as Direct Democracy: In the 4th century BC, the democracy of Athens was a classic direct democracy in which there was the Assembly called Ecclesia to which all people belonged and made all their major decisions. The assembly had an executive body in the form of a council of 500 people and a committee of 50 people which made proposals to the council.

Athenian Democracy: Reason its Fame: Athenian democracy enfranchised the whole citizenry which was very new to the political culture of that period. The citizens regularly participated in the meetings of the assembly and a large number of them were ready to take up the responsibilities of public office. The system had a general commitment to civic values and the private life was subordinated to the public affairs. According to Robert Dahl, in this democracy the politics was a natural social activity not sharply separated from the rest of life.

Aristotle’s ‘The Politics’: The work of Aristotle, The Politics (written between 335-323 BC), gives a detailed account of the ancient democracy. He says that liberty and equality are closely related concept in a democracy. He mentions two criteria of liberty in which one is to rule or being ruled and second is living as one chooses. He talks about numerical equality and believes equality to the basis of liberty and morality.

IGNOU SOLVED ASSIGNMENT 2017-18