Direct democracy

Direct democracy, also called pure democracy, is a way that people can make decisions together without choosing leaders to make choices for them. In this system, everyone gets to decide on important policies and laws directly. This is different from what many countries use today, called representative democracy, where people choose leaders to make decisions for them.

A Landsgemeinde, "cantonal assembly", in the canton of Glarus on 7 May 2006, Switzerland. Landsgemeinden are public voting gatherings, and are one of the oldest examples of direct democracy.

Many smart thinkers and leaders have talked and written about direct democracy. People like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, and G.D.H. Cole believed that when people work together and share decisions, it can be very powerful.

Direct democracy lets the electorate, meaning all the people who live in a place, decide on initiatives by themselves, instead of relying on elected representatives to make choices. This idea is important because it helps everyone feel part of making big decisions that affect their lives.

Overview

In direct democracy, people make decisions about laws and policies themselves, without voting for leaders to make those decisions for them. This is different from what many countries use, where people choose representatives to make decisions.

Direct democracy can include many ways for people to have a say. For example, citizens can vote directly on new laws, suggest changes to laws, or even remove leaders from office before their term ends. Some countries allow people to start a vote on a law by collecting signatures from many citizens. This gives people a way to challenge laws made by elected leaders.

One type of direct democracy is called a popular assembly, where everyone in a community can meet to discuss and decide on issues together. This method was used in ancient times and still exists in some places today. However, it is usually only practical for small groups because it is hard to gather very large numbers of people in one place.

History

Antiquity

One idea says that direct democracy was common in societies before countries existed.

The earliest well-known example of direct democracy was in Athens in the 5th century BC. In Athens, important decisions were made by groups of citizens. Only men who were older than 18 and had special family ties could join. Even then, only a part of the people could take part in deciding laws.

Ancient Rome also had parts of direct democracy during its time as a republic, starting around 509 BC. Romans voted on laws and leaders in public meetings.

Modern era

In Switzerland, people have been making laws directly since the 1300s. In 1848, they added a rule so that people could vote on big changes to their rules. In 1891, they let people suggest new rules too. Since then, many ideas have been voted on by Swiss citizens.

Some people think the Internet could help everyone take part in government more easily. This idea is called e-democracy or open-source governance.

Examples

Further information: Referendums by country

Early Athens

Main article: Athenian democracy

Athenian democracy began in the Greek city-state of Athens around 600 BC. Athens was one of the first known democracies. In Athens, citizens voted directly on laws instead of choosing representatives to vote for them. Famous leaders like Solon, Cleisthenes, and Ephialtes helped shape this democracy.

Liechtenstein

Direct democracy is an important part of politics in Liechtenstein. If at least 1,000 citizens request it, a referendum can be held on any law. These referendums can change laws or even the constitution, but they need enough votes to pass.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, with no need to register, every citizen receives the ballot papers and information brochure for each vote and election and can return it by post. Switzerland has various directly democratic instruments; votes are organized about four times a year. Here, the papers received by every citizen of Berne in November 2008 about five national, two cantonal, four municipal referendums, and two elections (government and parliament of the City of Berne) of 23 competing parties to take care of at the same time.

Main articles: Politics of Switzerland and Voting in Switzerland

Further information: Landsgemeinde and Federal popular initiative

Switzerland uses a mix of direct and representative democracy. Citizens can propose changes to laws or the constitution and vote on them regularly. Switzerland is known for giving citizens a strong voice in decision-making.

United States

Main articles: History of direct democracy in the United States and Initiatives and referendums in the United States

In some parts of the United States, like New England, towns use direct democracy to make local decisions. This method was used long before the United States was founded. However, the writers of the United States Constitution preferred representative democracy for the whole country, thinking it was better for large nations.

Direct democracy by country

Main article: Referendums by country

The strength of direct democracy can be measured in different countries. Countries with higher scores allow citizens more ways to vote directly on laws and decisions.

Democratic reform trilemma

Democratic thinkers have noticed a challenge in creating an ideal system of direct democracy. They want three important things: lots of people to join in decisions, careful discussions where everyone’s ideas are heard, and fairness so everyone has an equal say.

But it’s hard to have all three at once. If everyone joins in, it might be hard to make sure everyone’s ideas are treated equally. If we pick a small, random group to discuss, it might not include everyone who wants to join. Some experts suggest using random sampling to choose a fair group from the public. However, they admit that solving this challenge would need big changes to how politics usually work.

Relation to other movements

For a more comprehensive list, see List of direct democracy parties.

Practicing direct democracy – voting on Nuit Debout, Place de la République, Paris

In schools

Main article: Democratic school

Democratic schools modeled on Summerhill School solve problems and decide school rules through full school meetings. In these meetings, students and staff have equal say in voting.

Criticism

People sometimes worry that direct democracy might not work well because they think ordinary people may not be able to handle important decisions. However, there are examples like the Petrograd Soviet where direct democracy worked without big problems.

Some believe that letting everyone decide everything can lead to problems, and they think it might cause confusion or bad decisions. But places like MAREZ and FEJUVE showed that they could manage well with direct democracy until outside forces caused trouble.