Democracy means that a government is chosen by the people. (It comes from two Greek words: "demos" meaning people and "kratia" meaning power).

The first Parliaments in Britain

Before the 1800s, Britain was ruled by the King and Queen, together with the rich landowners, known as the nobility or aristocracy. Although the first Parliaments were set up in the 1200s, the monarch had nearly all the power until the 1600s. Two key events changed that. Firstly, the Civil War in the 1640s led to the execution of King Charles I. Then, the "Glorious Revolution" of 1689 guaranteed that the Monarch and Parliament would share power and that the King or Queen couldn't rule without Parliament.

More people get to vote

After the 1850s, ordinary people started to be given the vote. Middle-class and wealthy working-class men were given the vote in 1867. Then, in 1918, all men and most women over 30 were allowed to vote (see pages on Votes for Women). Finally, all adult men and women were given the vote in 1928, making Britain a true democracy. This is known as universal suffrage, where every adult gets to vote.

Advantages of Democracy:

It's equal - everyone gets a say.
Corrupt or incompetent leaders usually get removed from power. As a result, there has never been a famine in a democracy in peacetime. (Google the economist Amartya Sen for more on this).
Democracies are often liberal democracies where the people enjoy various freedoms (e.g. free spech) and rights (e.g. the right to a fair trial).

Disadvantages of Democracy:

Minority groups can be treated badly by the majority.
Modern government is complex. Voters will not always understand all of the issues.

The threat of Populism

Since the mid 2010s, many Western democracies have seen the rise of populist leaders who promise simple solutions to a nation's problems. Most are right-wing (e.g. Trump in the USA, Bolsanaro in Brazil or Johnson in the UK). Right-wing populists tend to be nationalist and anti-immigrant. Left-wing populists (e.g. the Syriza party in Greece and arguably Corbyn in the UK) tend to focus their anger on the rich.
Populists claim to be the only ones that speak for the people. Therefore they do not recognise other points of view as being legitimate and consequently they try to undermine democratic values.

Democratic Value	Examples of it under attack
Free and fair elections	Trump's inaccurate claim to have won the 2020 US presidential election was believed by over 40% of US voters (in Jan 2022).
Independent Judicary	UK government's criticisms of 'activist' lawyers; also the UK media describing judges as 'enemies of the people' after they ruled against the government regarding the process of Brexit.
Respect for truth	Many voters now access the news via social media which contains many mistruths; some politicians also deliberately lie for their own advantage.

Democracy is therefore fragile and needs defending. Recently populists have seen setbacks in the USA, Brazil, Australia and the UK, although the populist Giorgia Meloni became Prime Minister of Italy in October 2022.

Year 9 Challenges and Change

Democracy