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  • The term democracy has taken on many different meanings throughout history. Today, the term

  • is so broad that even countries with seemingly undemocratic political structures still call

  • themselves democracies. So then, what is a democracy?

  • Well, simply put, a democracy is a system of governance where everyone IN the group

  • gets an equal say in what happens TO the group. That’s why the roots of this word aredemos

  • - Greek forpeople”, andkratia” - Greek forpower”. The people hold the

  • power. The ancient Greeks from around the 5th century BC are generally credited with

  • officially establishing this as a political philosophy, but it may have emerged even earlier.

  • The concept of democracy is simple, fair, and pretty much common-sense. Except when

  • it’s not.

  • Take for instance, the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, AKA North Korea. Or the

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite their names, they are among the least democratic

  • nations worldwide, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. Both of these countries

  • have long standing authoritarian rulers, not elected by popular vote.

  • Even the United States, a famous beacon of democracy, does NOT reportedly give all people

  • equal power in the government. A recent Cambridge Journal report found that theeconomic

  • elitecall most of the shots, and that the popular majority does NOT rule. Political

  • commentator, Noam Chomsky, also says that that thelower 70%” haveno influence

  • on policy whatsoever”, and that America is not a democracy, but a “plutocracy”,

  • AKA a government by the wealthy.

  • The worddemocracydoesn’t really have a definite meaning anymore. Because the

  • spectrum of governments to which the term is applied is SO broad. And essentially no

  • major government actually fits the bill of a true democracy. Instead, many nations have

  • democratic aspectsto their government. Scandinavian nations, like Norway, Sweden

  • and Iceland, are usually considered the most democratic in the sense of government accountability

  • to the people.

  • In general, democracy is important to every nation’s political system. When people have

  • a voice in the government, they have more trust in it. This can reduce social unrest

  • and civil wars. The EIU reports that progress towards democracy worldwide continues with

  • globalization, increasing education rates, and the growing middle class.

  • If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you subscribe to TestTube. Were going to be

  • looking into other forms of government soon, and want your input! Chime in with your suggestions

  • in the comments below, and if you want to check out our new channel Seeker, check out

  • this video about how the board game monopoly was originally created as propaganda. Thanks

  • so much for watching! Well see you in the comments.

The term democracy has taken on many different meanings throughout history. Today, the term

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