Briefly explain the four democratic concepts and/or principles you selected.
This paper gives an insight of two concepts of democracy and two principles of democracy. The two concepts that are explained include the necessity of compromise and the individual liberty. The concept of the necessity of compromise involves avoiding some activities with an aim to improve the welfare of the society. For instance, the North Korean government let down their atomic program for the perfection of society. The individual liberty on the other hand is the concept that provides an individual a condition of being free; an individual gains the power to speak or think or act without externally imposed restraints (Axtmann, 2003).
On the other hand, the two principles of democracy involve rule of law and equality under law. The rule of law stipulates that the law is above everyone including its creators. Equality under the law requires that everyone should be equal in the eyes of law.
Explain which concepts and/or principles you think are fundamental and essential to democracy and why.
In my point of view, I think the necessity of compromise and the equality under law are the essential concepts and principles of the democracy. According to philosophy, democracy is defined as “a method of group decision making characterized by a kind of equality among the participants at an essential stage of the collective decision making.” This implies that the success of the democracy goes hand in hand with the society being given freedom and equality in order to achieve effective decision making (Tilly, 2007). The necessity of the compromise is significant because the democracy is able to achieve public or majority agreement instead of completely dismissing a thought or an idea. In addition, democracy is in need of the equality of all persons implying that it does not consider what color, gender, race or region one belongs. Democracy is all about the people, and when the people are treated equally, the fairness and efficiency in the decision making regarding society is anticipated.
Explain which concepts and/or principles you think are related and desirable but not essential to democracy and why
The individual liberty and the rule of law are the principle/concept that I believe they are related and desirable but not essential to the democracy. Although the democracy requires that anyone should not be above the law and everyone should be given freedom as long as it does not harm the others, these conditions are not necessary for the democracy. This is because democracy entails form of government where the participation of the eligible citizens is equally distributed (Tilly, 2007). This condition is therefore satisfied by the equality under the law. Under this principle, the democracy is able to achieve the equal practice of political self-determination without necessarily involving rule of law and individual liberty.
Based on your analysis, draw at least one conclusion about democratic concepts and principles as they relate to democratic governance
According to the principles and concepts of democracy, it is clear that the democratic governance is the best that can be attain and meet the need of the people effectively. This is because the principles and concepts of the democracy allow the government to govern under the laws which protects the rights of the citizens and restricts the powers of the people who govern the citizen (Axtmann, 2003). As a result, these principles and concepts guide the democratic governance in accomplishing public support for action, hence satisfying the “government by the people for the people” notion.
References
Axtmann, R. (2003). Understanding democratic politics: An introduction. London: SAGE.
Tilly, C. (2007). Democracy. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press.
