Among the most relevant and important “inventions” of the Greeks is democracy. Word of Greek origin, demo means people, while cracia comes from Kratos, which means government, power. Therefore, democracy means a condition in which power belongs to the people because everyone is equal.
Despite the fact that democracy as an institution was born in Greek culture, more specifically in Athens, it is worth mentioning that political participation was in fact not so democratic, but was restricted to one group - more specifically to the group of men. In this way, not only women would be excluded from debates and discussions, but also a huge portion of the population made up of slaves, freedmen and foreigners.
For the Greeks there were three types of political regimes: monarchy, republic and democracy, and what differentiated them was the number of individuals who held power. According to Renato Janine Ribeiro (2012, s/p.), on a website that bears his name, “Monarchy is power (in this case, archy
) of only one (mono). Aristocracy is the power of the best, the aristoi, excellent. They are the ones who have arete, the hero's excellence. Thus, democracy is not only distinguished from the power of a single person, but also from the power of the best, who stand out for their quality. Democracy is the regime of the common people, in which everyone is equal”.Thus, it appears, Athens practiced what is called direct (participatory) democracy, as the citizens themselves were responsible for the city's destinies. Direct democracy was only possible because the exercise of citizenship was restricted, so it was possible to hear and count the votes of each citizen in each public consultation. The descriptive meaning of the term has not changed over the centuries since its creation by the Greeks – power emanates from the people and they have that right. However, as pointed out by Norberto Bobbio (1995), what has changed is the way to exercise this right.
Throughout history, we see how societies (mainly those linked to Western culture) have become more complex, such as the industrial society that would emerge in the 19th century. Part of the explanation for this complexization would lie in the development of capitalism (leveraged by the Industrial Revolution) and the valorization of freedom as universal right of men in all senses, that is, freedom of expression, religious and especially political (as developments of the Revolution French). Thus, unlike the Greek city-states, urban and industrial societies would be composed of thousands of people (citizens) and social relations (based on a class society) would take place under another logic, requiring another type of organization politics. Thus, direct or participatory democracy as an instrument for decision-making and political debate would become impossible.
Thus, representative democracy would be an alternative for better deliberation in very large States, with many individuals, who would be, in a disorganized way, willing to fight for a multitude of interests private individuals. In representative democracy, the duty to make laws does not rest with the whole people, but with a restricted group of elected representatives. (aldermen, deputies, senators) by the people themselves, from whom they receive the political rights to defend and govern the society. Therefore, the responsibility of politicians as representatives would be to watch over and fight for the demands of the whole society and not just of a group or an individual.
Hence the importance of civil society participation in politics, as well as the understanding of voting as one of the main mechanisms for this. Unfortunately, in Brazilian politics, in addition to the apathy and disinterest of a large part of the population with political issues, not rarely some representatives invested in their public positions become involved in cases of corruption, distorting the meaning of the representation of the people.
References:
BOBBIO, Norberto. Liberalism and democracy. São Paulo: Brasiliense, 1995.
Renato Janine Ribeiro. direct democracy. Available in: http://www.renatojanine.pro.br/FiloPol/democracia.htmlAcessado on 02/20/2012.
Paulo Silvino Ribeiro
Brazil School Collaborator
Bachelor in Social Sciences from UNICAMP - State University of Campinas
Master in Sociology from UNESP - São Paulo State University "Júlio de Mesquita Filho"
Doctoral Student in Sociology at UNICAMP - State University of Campinas
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/sociologia/da-democracia-direta-participativa-democracia-indireta-representativa.htm
