The first people who defined democracy as a governmental form through which the population of a country can use their own voice and influence the political circumstances were the Greek philosophers. Therefore, the word democracy derives from the Greek words demos, meaning people or population, and kratos, which means rule. Even though the Greek philosophers did not favour democracy as their governmental foundation, they defined the term democracy as it can be understood today.
Nowadays, different forms of democracy exist. To be exact, there are four variations: direct democracy, representative democracy, constitutional democracy, and monitory democracy.
They all have in common that the population can take an active part in the politics of their country directly or through elected representatives. As the name reveals, in a direct democracy, citizens can vote directly on a specific topic or issue. This is possible when countries use questions that can be answered with yes or no. After the voting, there will be counting, and whatever decision wins will be realized directly without any other confirmation.
Representative democracies enable the inhabitants to vote for representatives or parties who discuss issues and measures for them.
In a few countries, this is added by a constitution which envolves royal families in the reign. This type of democracy is called constitutional democracy and can be seen in Great Britain.
A monitory democracy is a special form of democracy which makes it possible for the population to gain an insight into what the government is doing through specific monitoring instruments.
Generally speaking, the citizens of a country can use their voice and influence the political circumstances due to different forms of democracy. In addition, it gives citizens a chance to trigger change in their society. This way, one can influence the future focus of a country in favour of its population. For that reason, we should cherish the existence of democracy more. Most people are preoccupied with what they do not have but desire, rather than appreciating how fortunate they are to have what they have. Only 21 countries are fully democratic. For that reason, living in a democracy is a privilege and should definitely be acknowledged.
However, it is not due to the hesitation of their citizens that other states do not have a democracy. The reason is mostly an incooperative government or dictator who does not tolerate the wishes of their citizens. These government-citizens-relationships are not uncommon nowadays. Take, for instance, Afghanistan, where the radical group called "Taliban" violently took over the country even though a great part of the population does not agree with them. Using a democratic point of view, this is totally unfair, but it is hard to establish a democracy if groups like the Taliban do not follow moral rules. Another example is Syria, where civil wars took place for over a decade and a vast majority wanted a revolution in political power. Still, the top executives oppressed different opinions. So here we are today; there are still wars going on in Syria, Afghanistan, and so many more countries, and people have to flee from their homelands. No one can hold this against them when democratic countries like Greece, Germany, France, and many more offer a political system which provides a more secure and stable environment. This also leads to better living conditions in Western countries.
Factors like the economy and resources of a country also contribute to the wealth of the citizens. Nonetheless, democracy is connected to the living standards of humans who live in it since it focuses on social engagement, fairness, and equality but also puts attention on including every single person in society no matter how wealthy they are. So it is fair to say that democracy plays into the reasons for higher living standards in Western countries.
Maria Eleonora Kieffer