Despite the common misconception, Athens was not the first, or only, ancient city-state to dabble with democracy; but credit is given to Athens more often than not, possibly due to the extremist way in which democracy was established. From around 500 to 320 BCE, Athens institutionalized direct democracy in its most literal sense: giving power directly to the people (as long as the people were free adult males). Currently, there are no direct democracies and few countries that overly limit voting accessibility; most countries have a representative democracy and voting rights available to a large percent of the majority, but the base principles of democracy have remained the same. Democracy, as eloquently written in the US Declaration of Independence, is “the consent of the governed”- basically what Athenians practiced. But more than just a base for government, democracy has come to represent a wider view point. In the US and other countries, being a democrat is equated with more liberal views on controversial subjects while still maintaining a relatively traditional stance- a very fine line to walk on. On a more global sense, even oppress countries call themselves democracies or republics to try and keep in favor with the rest of the world. Some examples are: the People’s Republic of China, a communist state; the Democratic Republic of Congo, a terribly horrifying war-zone; and maybe the most infamous example being the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea- North Korea, that is. This clearly comes from the want to represent the comparatively liberals views that democracy
Despite the common misconception, Athens was not the first, or only, ancient city-state to dabble with democracy; but credit is given to Athens more often than not, possibly due to the extremist way in which democracy was established. From around 500 to 320 BCE, Athens institutionalized direct democracy in its most literal sense: giving power directly to the people (as long as the people were free adult males). Currently, there are no direct democracies and few countries that overly limit voting accessibility; most countries have a representative democracy and voting rights available to a large percent of the majority, but the base principles of democracy have remained the same. Democracy, as eloquently written in the US Declaration of Independence, is “the consent of the governed”- basically what Athenians practiced. But more than just a base for government, democracy has come to represent a wider view point. In the US and other countries, being a democrat is equated with more liberal views on controversial subjects while still maintaining a relatively traditional stance- a very fine line to walk on. On a more global sense, even oppress countries call themselves democracies or republics to try and keep in favor with the rest of the world. Some examples are: the People’s Republic of China, a communist state; the Democratic Republic of Congo, a terribly horrifying war-zone; and maybe the most infamous example being the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea- North Korea, that is. This clearly comes from the want to represent the comparatively liberals views that democracy