Democracy
Democracy is derived from the Greek words “demos” and “kratia” to form demokratia, meaning the people rule. Cambridge Dictionary defines Democracy as “the belief in freedom and equality between people, or a system of government, based on then that power is held, either by elected representatives, or directly by the people themselves.” Socialism on the other hand is more of an economic and social system. Boyle (1912) described socialism as, “the collective ownership and control of the means of production, distribution and exchange, which can be operated “socially” for the equitable good of all.” This paper we will tour both ideologies to derive perspectives about the role of the state, in terms of its relationship to the citizenry, and determine which ideology requires a strong central government to play a larger role in society.
Democracy, as an ideology, represents the idea that the majority decides on the issues by voting. As a form of government it often describes a process of voting, on elections or referendums, through which laws are passed, representing the entire populace (Biorseth, 2013). This direct democracy or majority rule, as described above, is only capable of representing a very small population; and to the framers of the American Constitution, looked very similar to mob rule. To avoid this direct democracy, or “tyranny of majority” as they called it, Americas founding fathers decided on a Constitutional Republic, and as designed, was meant to put