Democracy - Representation, Equality, Participation

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At the end of the 18th century, the history of the terms whose literal meaning is “rule by the people”—democracy and republic—left the answer unclear. Both terms had been applied to the assembly-based systems of Greece and Rome, though neither system assigned legislative powers to representatives elected by members of the dēmos. As noted above, even after Roman citizenship was expanded beyond the city itself and increasing numbers of citizens were prevented from participating in government by the time, expense, and"/> <meta property="og:type" content="ARTICLE"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Democracy - Representation, Equality, Participation | Britannica"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Democracy - Representation, Equality, Participation: Is democracy the most appropriate name for a large-scale representative system such as that of the early United States? At the end of the 18th century, the history of the terms whose literal meaning is “rule by the people”—democracy and republic—left the answer unclear. Both terms had been applied to the assembly-based systems of Greece and Rome, though neither system assigned legislative powers to representatives elected by members of the dēmos. 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text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy">democracy</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/topic/democracy">Introduction & Top Questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref233826"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy#ref233826">Fundamental questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref233827"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Democratic-institutions">Democratic institutions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233828"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Democratic-institutions#ref233828">Prehistoric forms of democracy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233829"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Democratic-institutions#ref233829">Classical Greece</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233830"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-Roman-Republic">The Roman Republic</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233831"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-Roman-Republic#ref233831">The Italian republics from the 12th century to the Renaissance</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233832"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-Roman-Republic#ref233832">“Constitutional oligarchies”</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233833"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-Roman-Republic#ref233833">A democratic dilemma</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233834"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-Roman-Republic#ref233834">Toward representative democracy: Europe and North America to the 19th century</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233835" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-Roman-Republic#ref233835">Regional developments</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref233836"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-Roman-Republic#ref233836">Continental Europe</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref233837"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/England">England</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref233838"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/England#ref233838">The United States</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233839"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Democracy-or-republic">Democracy or republic?</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233840"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Democracy-or-republic#ref233840">Solving the dilemma</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233841" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Democracy-or-republic#ref233841">New answers to old questions</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref233842"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Democracy-or-republic#ref233842">Suffrage</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref233843"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Factions-and-parties">Factions and parties</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref233844"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Factions-and-parties#ref233844">Majority rule, minority rights, majority tyranny</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233845"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century">The spread of democracy in the 20th century</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233846"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233846">Failures of nondemocratic systems</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233847"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233847">Market economies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233848"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233848">Economic well-being</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233849"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233849">Political culture</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233850"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233850">Contemporary democratic systems</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233851"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233851">Presidential and parliamentary systems</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233852"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233852">Unitary and federal systems</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233853"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233853">Proportional and winner-take-all systems</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233854"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233854">Two-party and multiparty systems</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233855"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-spread-of-democracy-in-the-20th-century#ref233855">Majoritarian and consensual systems</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref233856"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-theory-of-democracy">The theory of democracy</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233857"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-theory-of-democracy#ref233857">Democratic ideas from Pericles to Rawls</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233858"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-theory-of-democracy#ref233858">Pericles</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233859"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-theory-of-democracy#ref233859">Aristotle</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233860" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-theory-of-democracy#ref233860">Locke</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref233861"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-legitimacy-of-government">The legitimacy of government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref233862"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-legitimacy-of-government#ref233862">Answers to fundamental questions</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233863"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-legitimacy-of-government#ref233863">Montesquieu</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233864"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-legitimacy-of-government#ref233864">Hume</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233865"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Rousseau">Rousseau</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233866"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Rousseau#ref233866">Mill</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233867"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Rousseau#ref233867">Dewey</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233868"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Rousseau#ref233868">Habermas</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233869"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Rousseau#ref233869">Rawls</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233870"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Rousseau#ref233870">“Ideal democracy”</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233871"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Features-of-ideal-democracy">Features of ideal democracy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233872"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Features-of-ideal-democracy#ref233872">Ideal and representative democracy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref233873"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/Features-of-ideal-democracy#ref233873">Actual democracies</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref233874"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-value-of-democracy">The value of democracy</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref357705"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-value-of-democracy#ref357705">Problems and challenges</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref357706"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-value-of-democracy#ref357706">Economic insecurity and inequality</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref357707"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-value-of-democracy#ref357707">The costs of identity politics</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref357708"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-value-of-democracy#ref357708">Democracy and clientelism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref357709"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-value-of-democracy#ref357709">Authoritarian threats</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref357710"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/democracy/The-value-of-democracy#ref357710">Technological developments</a></li></ul></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/democracy">Related Topics</a> </div> <div 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Democracies and Democratization</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-government-and-civics/us-gov-foundations/us-gov-types-of-democracy/a/types-of-democracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Khan Academy - Types of democracy</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/thegreeks_ep2_clip04/thegreeks_ep2_clip04/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">PBS LearningMedia - The Birth of Democracy | The Greeks</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.princeton.edu/~macedo/Papers/Mansbridge%20Macedo%20Populism%20AnnRevLawSocSci%2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Princeton University - Populism and Democratic Theory</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/11/03/when-democracy-meets-aristocracy/573c73b8-f54e-4921-924d-153c0ec4b93d/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The Washington Post - When Democracy Meets Aristocracy</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://en.unesco.org/courier/novembre-1992/what-democracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The UNESCO Courier - What is democracy?</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Democracy</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1093&context=faculty-articles" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Emory Law Scholarly Commons - Ostracism and Democracy</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://web.pdx.edu/~gilleyb/DemocracyVsTechnocracy_Gilley.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Portland State University - Technocracy and democracy as spheres of justice in public policy</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/dccirp/pdfs/articlesforresourc/Article_-_Aragon_Trelles,_Jorge_2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Loyola University Chicago - Political Legitimacy and Democracy</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/democracy/352935" target="_blank" rel="noopener">democracy - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/democracy/273962" target="_blank" rel="noopener">democracy - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/david-froomkin/12874110" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">David Froomkin</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> David Froomkin</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Robert-A-Dahl/6115" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Robert A. Dahl</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Yale University. Author of <em>Democracy and its Critics </em>and others.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Robert A. Dahl</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-12-11T00:00:00CST" >Dec 11, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Pericles-Athenian-statesman" topicid="451685">Pericles</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Solon" topicid="553609">Solon</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi" topicid="43227">Aung San Suu Kyi</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Cleisthenes-of-Athens" topicid="120922">Cleisthenes of Athens</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Ephialtes-Greek-politician" topicid="189581">Ephialtes</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/democratization" topicid="157304">democratization</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/challenges-to-democracy" topicid="2227608">challenges to democracy</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/direct-democracy" topicid="164879">direct democracy</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/deliberative-democracy" topicid="1918144">deliberative democracy</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/e-democracy" topicid="1918147">e-democracy</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/11/03/when-democracy-meets-aristocracy/573c73b8-f54e-4921-924d-153c0ec4b93d/" target="_blank">The Washington Post - When Democracy Meets Aristocracy</a> (Nov. 29, 2024)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/democracy"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/157129/5e6dea85b147b4f53da000cef813b996" rel="nofollow">Manchin, Sinema prevent Democrats from locking in majority on labor board through 2026</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Dec. 11, 2024, 7:44 PM ET (AP) </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="3" id="ref233839">  <span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Is <em>democracy</em> the most appropriate name for a large-scale representative system such as that of the early United States? At the end of the 18th century, the history of the terms whose literal meaning is “rule by the people”—<em>democracy</em> and <em>republic</em>—left the answer unclear. Both terms had been applied to the assembly-based systems of Greece and Rome, though neither system assigned legislative powers to representatives elected by members of the <em>dēmos</em>. As noted above, even after Roman citizenship was expanded beyond the city itself and increasing numbers of citizens were prevented from participating in government by the time, expense, and hardship of travel to the city, the complex Roman system of assemblies was never replaced by a government of representatives—a parliament—elected by all Roman citizens. Venetians also called the government of their famous city a republic, though it was certainly not democratic.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">When the members of the United States <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Constitutional-Convention" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Constitutional Convention</a> met in 1787, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="terminology" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/terminology" data-type="EB">terminology</a> was still unsettled. Not only were <em>democracy</em> and <em>republic</em> used more or less interchangeably in the colonies, but no established term existed for a representative government “by the people.” At the same time, the British system was moving swiftly toward full-fledged parliamentary government. Had the framers of the United States Constitution met two generations later, when their understanding of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/constitution-politics-and-law" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">constitution</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Britain</a> would have been radically different, they might have concluded that the British system required only an expansion of the electorate to realize its full democratic potential. Thus, they might well have adopted a parliamentary form of government.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Embarked as they were on a wholly unprecedented effort to construct a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/constitutionalism" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">constitutional government</a> for an already large and continuously expanding country, the framers could have had no clear idea of how their experiment would work in practice. Fearful of the destructive power of “factions,” for example, they did not foresee that in a country where laws are enacted by representatives chosen by the people in regular and competitive elections, political parties inevitably become fundamentally important institutions.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="181803" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/166248-050-D4D2CB94/oil-James-Madison-wood-Gilbert-Stuart-National-1821.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/157129/181803"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/166248-050-D4D2CB94/oil-James-Madison-wood-Gilbert-Stuart-National-1821.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/166248-050-D4D2CB94/oil-James-Madison-wood-Gilbert-Stuart-National-1821.jpg?w=300" alt="James Madison" data-width="1017" data-height="1116" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/166248-050-D4D2CB94/oil-James-Madison-wood-Gilbert-Stuart-National-1821.jpg" data-href="/media/1/157129/181803">James Madison</a><span>James Madison, oil on wood by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1821; in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 65.3 × 54.3 cm.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Given the existing confusion over terminology, it is not surprising that the framers employed various terms to describe the novel government they proposed. A few months after the adjournment of the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="Constitutional" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Constitutional" data-type="MW">Constitutional</a> Convention, <span id="ref796531"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Madison" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">James Madison</a>, the future fourth <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/presidency-of-the-United-States-of-America" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">president of the United States</a>, proposed a usage that would have lasting influence within the country though little elsewhere. In “Federalist 10,” one of 85 essays by Madison, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-Hamilton-United-States-statesman" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alexander Hamilton</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Jay" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">John Jay</a> known collectively as the <span id="ref796532"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Federalist-papers" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Federalist papers</a>, Madison defined a “pure democracy” as “a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person,” and a republic as “a government in which the scheme of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/representation-government" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">representation</a> takes place.” According to Madison, “The two great points of difference between a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="democracy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy" data-type="MW">democracy</a> and a republic, are: first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number of citizens elected by the rest; secondly, the greater the number of citizens, and greater sphere of country, over which the latter may be extended.” In short, for Madison, <em>democracy</em> meant <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/direct-democracy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">direct democracy</a>, and <em>republic</em> meant representative government.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Even among his contemporaries, Madison’s refusal to apply the term <em>democracy</em> to representative governments, even those based on broad electorates, was aberrant. In November 1787, only two months after the convention had adjourned, <span id="ref796533"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Wilson-United-States-statesman" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">James Wilson</a>, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, proposed a new classification. “[T]he three species of governments,” he wrote, “are the monarchical, aristocratical and democratical. In a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/monarchy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">monarchy</a>, the supreme power is vested in a single person; in an aristocracy…by a body not formed upon the principle of representation, but enjoying their station by descent, or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/election-political-science" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">election</a> among themselves, or in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/right" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">right</a> of some personal or territorial qualifications; and lastly, in a democracy, it is <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="inherent" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inherent" data-type="MW">inherent</a> in a people, and is exercised by themselves or their representatives.” Applying this understanding of democracy to the newly adopted constitution, Wilson asserted that “in its principles,…it is purely democratical: varying indeed in its form in order to admit all the advantages, and to exclude all the disadvantages which are incidental to the known and established constitutions of government. But when we take an extensive and accurate view of the streams of power that appear through this great and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="comprehensive" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprehensive" data-type="MW">comprehensive</a> plan…we shall be able to trace them to one great and noble source, THE PEOPLE.” At the Virginia ratifying convention some months later, <span id="ref796534"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Marshall" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">John Marshall</a>, the future <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/chief-justice-of-the-Supreme-Court-of-the-United-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">chief justice</a> of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Supreme-Court-of-the-United-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">U.S. Supreme Court</a>, declared that the “Constitution provided for ‘a well regulated democracy’ where no king, or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/president-government-official" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">president</a>, could undermine representative government.” The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-party" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">political party</a> that he helped to organize and lead in cooperation with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Jefferson" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Thomas Jefferson</a>, principal author of the Declaration of Independence and future third president of the United States, was named the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democratic-Republican-Party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Democratic-Republican Party</a>; the party adopted its present name, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democratic-Party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Democratic Party</a>, in 1844.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="14835" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/9012-050-1DC777E4/Alexis-de-Tocqueville-detail-oil-painting-Theodore-1850.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/157129/14835"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/9012-050-1DC777E4/Alexis-de-Tocqueville-detail-oil-painting-Theodore-1850.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/9012-050-1DC777E4/Alexis-de-Tocqueville-detail-oil-painting-Theodore-1850.jpg?w=300" alt="Alexis de Tocqueville" data-width="1210" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/9012-050-1DC777E4/Alexis-de-Tocqueville-detail-oil-painting-Theodore-1850.jpg" data-href="/media/1/157129/14835">Alexis de Tocqueville</a><span>Alexis de Tocqueville, detail of an oil painting by T. Chassériau; in the Versailles Museum.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Following his visit to the United States in 1831–32, the French political scientist <span id="ref796535"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexis-de-Tocqueville" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alexis de Tocqueville</a> <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="asserted" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/asserted" data-type="EB">asserted</a> in no uncertain terms that the country he had observed was a democracy—indeed, the world’s first <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/representative-democracy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">representative democracy</a>, where the fundamental principle of government was “the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/sovereignty" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">sovereignty</a> of the people.” Tocqueville’s estimation of the American system of government reached a wide audience in Europe and beyond through his monumental four-volume study <em><span id="ref796536"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democracy-in-America" class="md-crosslink ">Democracy in America</a></em> (1835–40).</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="3" id="ref233840"> <h2 class="h3">Solving the dilemma</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Thus, by the end of the 18th century both the idea and the practice of democracy had been profoundly transformed. Political theorists and statesmen now recognized what the Levelers had seen earlier, that the nondemocratic practice of representation could be used to make democracy practicable in the large nation-states of the modern era. Representation, in other words, was the solution to the ancient dilemma between <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="enhancing" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enhancing" data-type="MW">enhancing</a> the ability of political associations to deal with large-scale problems and preserving the opportunity of citizens to participate in government.</p><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">To some of those steeped in the older tradition, the union of representation and democracy seemed a marvelous and epochal invention. In the early 19th century the French author <span id="ref796537"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antoine-Louis-Claude-Comte-Destutt-de-Tracy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Destutt de Tracy</a>, the inventor of the term <em>idéologie</em> (“<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ideology-society" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ideology</a>”), insisted that representation had rendered obsolete the doctrines of both <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Montesquieu" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Montesquieu</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Jacques-Rousseau" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a>, both of whom had denied that representative governments could be genuinely democratic (<em>see below</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy/The-legitimacy-of-government#ref233863" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Montesquieu</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy/Rousseau#ref233865" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rousseau</a>). “Representation, or representative government,” he wrote, “may be considered as a new invention, unknown in Montesquieu’s time.…Representative democracy…is democracy rendered practicable for a long time and over a great extent of territory.” In 1820 the English philosopher <span id="ref796539"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Mill" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">James Mill</a> proclaimed “the system of representation” to be “the grand discovery of modern times” in which “the solution of all the difficulties, both speculative and practical, will perhaps be found.” One generation later Mill’s son, the philosopher <span id="ref796540"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Stuart-Mill" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">John Stuart Mill</a>, concluded in his <em><span id="ref796541"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Considerations-on-Representative-Government" class="md-crosslink ">Considerations on Representative Government</a></em> (1861) that “the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ideal-type" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">ideal type</a> of a perfect government” would be both democratic and representative. Foreshadowing developments that would take place in the 20th century, the <em>dēmos</em> of Mill’s representative democracy included women.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="3" id="ref233841"> <h2 class="h3">New answers to old questions</h2> <section data-level="4" id="ref233842"> <h2 class="h4"><span id="ref796542"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Suffrage</a></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Representation was not the only radical <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="innovation" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innovation" data-type="MW">innovation</a> in democratic ideas and institutions. Equally revolutionary were the new answers being offered, in the 19th and 20th centuries, to some of the fundamental questions mentioned earlier. One important development concerned question 2—Who should <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constitute" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constitute" data-type="MW">constitute</a> the <em>dēmos</em>? In the 19th century <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/property-legal-concept" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">property</a> requirements for voting were reduced and finally removed. The exclusion of <span id="ref796543"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">women</a> from the <em>dēmos</em> was increasingly challenged—not least by women themselves. Beginning with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Zealand" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">New Zealand</a> in 1893, more and more countries granted women the suffrage and other political rights, and by the mid-20th century women were full and equal members of the <em>dēmos</em> in almost all countries that considered themselves democratic—though <span id="ref796544"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Switzerland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Switzerland</a>, a pioneer in establishing <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/universal" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">universal</a> male suffrage in 1848, did not grant women the right to vote in national elections until 1971 (<em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">woman suffrage</a>).</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="124036" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/128661-050-78810DB8/Nineteenth-Amendment-right-women.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/157129/124036"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/128661-050-78810DB8/Nineteenth-Amendment-right-women.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/128661-050-78810DB8/Nineteenth-Amendment-right-women.jpg?w=300" alt="Nineteenth Amendment" data-width="1034" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/128661-050-78810DB8/Nineteenth-Amendment-right-women.jpg" data-href="/media/1/157129/124036">Nineteenth Amendment</a><span>The Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in the United States.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="139229" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/136088-050-17171BF5/Pres-Lyndon-B-Johnson-others-Martin-Luther-July-2-1964.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/157129/139229"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/136088-050-17171BF5/Pres-Lyndon-B-Johnson-others-Martin-Luther-July-2-1964.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/136088-050-17171BF5/Pres-Lyndon-B-Johnson-others-Martin-Luther-July-2-1964.jpg?w=300" alt="Civil Rights Act of 1964" data-width="1600" data-height="1062" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/136088-050-17171BF5/Pres-Lyndon-B-Johnson-others-Martin-Luther-July-2-1964.jpg" data-href="/media/1/157129/139229">Civil Rights Act of 1964</a><span>U.S. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King, Jr., and others look on, Washington, D.C., July 2, 1964.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Although the United States granted women the right to vote in 1920 (by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nineteenth-Amendment" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nineteenth Amendment</a>), another important exclusion continued for almost half a century: <span id="ref796545"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/African-American" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">African Americans</a> were prevented, by both legal and illegal means, from voting and other forms of political activity, primarily in the South but also in other areas of the country. Not until after the passage and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="vigorous" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/vigorous" data-type="EB">vigorous</a> enforcement of the <span id="ref796546"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Civil-Rights-Act-United-States-1964" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Civil Rights Act</a> of 1964 were they at last effectively admitted into the American <em>dēmos</em>.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Thus, in the 19th and 20th centuries the <em>dēmos</em> was gradually expanded to include all adult citizens. Although important issues remained unsettled—for example, should permanent legal foreign residents of a country be entitled to vote?—such an expanded <em>dēmos</em> became a new condition of democracy itself. By the mid-20th century, no system whose <em>dēmos</em> did not include all adult citizens could properly be called “democratic.”</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> </section> </section><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":5,"pagesTotal":12,"pageId":157129,"pageLength":1459,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-131/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.131.7"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-131/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.131.7' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":5,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Democracy - Representation, Equality, Participation | Britannica