Democracy concept form elements. Information about the concept of democracy, the emergence and forms of democracy, the development and principles of democracy

People, universally recognized rights and freedoms of man and citizen. Democratic state - essential element democracy of a civil society based on the freedom of the people. The source of power and legitimization of all organs of this state is the sovereignty of the people.

sovereignty of the people means that:

• the subject of public power, both state and non-state, is the people as the totality of the entire population of the country;
• the object of the sovereign power of the people can be all those social relations that are of public interest throughout the country. This feature testifies to the fullness of the sovereign power of the people;
• the sovereignty of the power of the people is characterized by supremacy, when the people act as a single whole and are the only bearer of public power and the spokesman of supreme power in all its forms and concrete manifestations.

The subject of democracy may perform:

• individual, their associations;
• state bodies and public organizations;
• the people as a whole.

In the modern sense, democracy should not be seen as the rule of the people, but as the participation of citizens (people) and their associations in the exercise of power.

The forms of this participation can be different (membership in a party, participation in a demonstration, participation in the elections of the president, governor, deputies, in handling complaints, statements, etc., etc.). If the subject of democracy can be both an individual person and a group of people, as well as the whole people, then only the people as a whole can be the subject of democracy.

The concept of a democratic state is inextricably linked with the concepts of a constitutional and legal state; in a certain sense, we can talk about the synonymy of all three terms. A democratic state cannot but be both constitutional and legal.

The state can correspond to the characteristics of a democratic one only in the conditions of a formed civil society. This state should not strive for statism, it should strictly adhere to the established limits of intervention in economic and spiritual life, which ensure freedom of enterprise and culture. The functions of a democratic state include ensuring the common interests of the people, but with unconditional observance and protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen. Such a state is the antipode of a totalitarian state, these two concepts are mutually exclusive.

The most important features of a democratic state are:

1. real representative democracy;
2. ensuring the rights and freedoms of man and citizen.

Principles of a Democratic State

The main principles of a democratic state are:

1. recognition of the people as a source of power, a sovereign in the state;
2. the existence of the rule of law;
3. subordination of the minority to the majority in decision-making and their implementation;
4. separation of powers;
5. electivity and turnover of the main bodies of the state;
6. control of society over power structures;
7. political pluralism;
8. publicity.

Principles of a Democratic State(in relation to the Russian Federation):

• The principle of observance of human rights, their priority over the rights of the state.
• The principle of the rule of law.
• The principle of democracy.
• The principle of federalism.
• The principle of separation of powers.
• Principles of ideological and political pluralism.
• The principle of diversity of forms economic activity.

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Ensuring the rights and freedoms of man and citizen a - the most important feature of a democratic state. It is here that the close connection between formally democratic institutions and political regime. Only under the conditions of a democratic regime do rights and freedoms become real, the rule of law is established and the arbitrariness of the power structures of the state is excluded. No lofty goals and democratic declarations are capable of imparting a truly democratic character to a state if the universally recognized rights and freedoms of man and citizen are not ensured. The Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrined all the rights and freedoms known to world practice, however, it is still necessary to create conditions for the implementation of many of them.

The democratic state does not deny coercion, but presupposes its organization in certain forms. This is prompted by the essential duty of the state to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, eliminating crime and other offenses. Democracy is not permissiveness. However, coercion must have clear limits and be carried out only in accordance with the law. Human rights bodies not only have the right, but also the obligation to use force in certain cases, but always acting only by legal means and on the basis of the law. A democratic state cannot allow "looseness" of statehood, that is, failure to comply with laws and other legal acts, ignoring the actions of state authorities. This state is subject to the law and requires law obedience from all its citizens.

The principle of democracy characterizes Russian Federation as a democratic state (Article 1 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). Democracy assumes that the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the Russian Federation is its multinational people (Article 3 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

The principle of federalism is the basis of its state-territorial structure of the Russian Federation. It contributes to the democratization of government. Decentralization of power deprives the central state bodies of the monopoly on power, provides individual regions with independence in resolving issues of their life.

The foundations of the constitutional system include the basic principles of federalism, which determine the state-territorial structure of the Russian Federation. These include:

1. state integrity;
2. equality and self-determination of peoples;
3. unity of the system of state power;
4. delimitation of subjects of jurisdiction and powers between state authorities of the Russian Federation and state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
5. equal rights of subjects of the Russian Federation in relations with federal government bodies (Article 5 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

The principle of separation of powers- acts as a principle of organization of state power in a legal democratic state, as one of the foundations of the constitutional order. It is one of the fundamental principles of the democratic organization of the state, the most important prerequisite for the rule of law and ensuring the free development of man. The unity of the entire system of state power implies, on the one hand, its implementation on the basis of division into legislative, executive and judicial, the carriers of which are independent state bodies (the Federal Assembly, the Government of the Russian Federation, the courts of the Russian Federation and similar bodies of the subjects of the federation).

The principle of the separation of powers is a precondition for the rule of law and for the free development of man. The separation of powers, therefore, is not limited to the distribution of functions and powers between various state bodies, but implies a mutual balance between them so that none of them can gain predominance over others, concentrate all power in their hands. This balance is achieved by a system of "checks and balances", which is expressed in the powers of state bodies, allowing them to influence each other, to cooperate in solving the most important state problems.

Principles of ideological and political pluralism. Ideological pluralism means that ideological diversity is recognized in the Russian Federation, no ideology can be established as a state or mandatory one (Article 13, part 1, 2 of the Constitution).

The Russian Federation is proclaimed a secular state (Article 14 of the Constitution). This means that no religion can be established as a state or obligatory one. The secular nature of the state is also manifested in the fact that religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law.

Political pluralism presupposes the existence of various socio-political structures functioning in society, the existence of political diversity, a multi-party system (Article 13, Parts 3, 4, 5 of the Constitution). The activities of various associations of citizens in society have an impact on the political process (the formation of public authorities, the adoption government decisions etc.). A multi-party system presupposes the legality of the political opposition, and contributes to the involvement of wider sections of the population in political life. The Constitution prohibits only the creation and activities of such public associations, the goals or actions of which are aimed at forcibly changing the foundations of the constitutional order and violating the integrity of the Russian Federation, undermining the security of the state, creating armed groups, inciting social, racial, national and religious hatred.

Political pluralism is the freedom of political opinion and political action. Its manifestation is the activity of independent associations of citizens. Therefore, reliable constitutional and legal protection of political pluralism is a necessary prerequisite not only for the implementation of the principle of democracy, but also for the functioning of the rule of law.

The principle of diversity of forms of economic activity implies that the basis of the economy of the Russian Federation is a social market economy, which ensures freedom of economic activity, encouragement of competition, diversity and equality of forms of ownership, and their legal protection. In the Russian Federation, private, state, municipal and other forms of ownership are recognized and protected in the same way.

Greek demos - people, kratos - power) - in the literal sense of the word, democracy, that is, such a form of state in which power belongs to the people, exercising their will either directly (direct D.), or through the deputies elected by them, who form representative bodies states (representative D.).

Under the conditions of an exploitative class-antagonistic system, democracy, as one of the forms of the exploitative state, cannot be anything other than a specific form of organization. political power of this or that ruling exploiting minority, its dictatorship. The principle of democracy formally proclaimed under these conditions is a hypocritical cover for the dictatorship of the minority, that is, the exploiters.

As a form of state distinct from a monarchy, democracy is known even to the first type of state in history—the slaveholding type. The classic example of slave-owning D. was the ancient direct D. in the Athenian state. in the Athenian Republic public administration was carried out by people's assemblies, which elected officials and resolved the most important state issues. However, Athenian democracy extended only to the slave-owning minority of the population and consolidated the actual domination of the top of this population, free citizens, whose number by the time of the highest prosperity of Athens, “... including women and children, consisted of approximately 90,000 souls, along with 365,000 slaves of both gender and 45,000 residents with no rights - foreigners and freedmen" (Engels F., The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, 1950, p. 123). Slaves in a slave-owning society were not considered people at all; for slave-owners, they were only tools of production, things.

Demolition acquired its most false forms in an exploiting society during the period when the bourgeois social and state system replaced the feudal social and state system as a result of the victory of the bourgeois revolution. The development of the capitalist structure that had formed in the depths of the feudal society required the abolition of serfdom and feudal privileges, the equalization of citizens before the law. The bourgeoisie has proclaimed its state an instrument of the "nationwide" will, expressed in laws adopted by parliament, but in reality it is an instrument of the bourgeoisie's domination over the majority of the population. Compared with the absolutist-feudal state, bourgeois democracy, which finds its organizational expression in the formal domination of the constitutional-parliamentary system, the proclamation of the elementary freedoms and rights of citizens, and the equality of citizens before the law, was undoubtedly a significant step forward in the course of human development. “A bourgeois republic, a parliament, universal suffrage—all this represents tremendous progress from the point of view of the world-wide development of society” (V. I. Lenin, Soch., vol. 29, p. 449). However, democracy proclaimed by the bourgeoisie for all, declaring the rights and freedoms of citizens regardless of their class position, actually meant and means freedom only for the exploiting minority. capitalist society. Under the conditions of the capitalist system, the exploited majority of the people cannot, in fact, enjoy democratic rights and freedoms, which, by virtue of this, are only formal, pseudo-democratic rights and freedoms. Moreover, when the bourgeoisie proclaims democratic principles in its constitutions, it usually makes such reservations and restrictions that democratic "rights" and "freedoms" turn out to be completely mutilated. For example, constitutions proclaim equality of suffrage rights for all citizens and immediately contain the limitation of these rights by settled residence, educational and property qualifications. They proclaim equal rights of citizens and immediately make a reservation that they do not apply in full or in part to women or to certain nationalities. The bourgeoisie widely resorted to this method of mutilating democratic rights and freedoms, formally granted to everyone, immediately after coming to power. Bourgeois democracy is inevitably, therefore, hypocritical and fictitious. position. Lenin, in his lecture “On the State,” emphasized with all his might that “... every state in which there is private ownership of land and the means of production, where capital dominates, no matter how democratic it may be, is a capitalist state It is a machine in the hands of the capitalists to keep the working class and the poorest peasantry in subjection. And universal suffrage, the Constituent Assembly, the parliament are only a form, a kind of bill of exchange, which does not change the matter in the least” (V. I. Lenin, Soch., vol. 29, p. 448). “Capital, once it exists, dominates the whole of society, and no democratic republic, no suffrage changes the essence of the matter” (ibid., p. 449).

In the epoch of imperialism, as a result of the growth of the forces of the working class, the bourgeoisie is no longer able to govern by the former methods of bourgeois-parliamentary pseudo-democracy; it turns sharply from bourgeois democracy to reaction. By adapting the state and law to the requirements of the basic economic law of modern capitalism, the imperialist bourgeoisie abolishes or flagrantly violates those laws previously issued by the bourgeois state, which proclaimed elementary democratic rights and freedoms; establishes new, truly draconian laws that make life unbearable for everyone progressively thinking people; goes over to methods of terrorist reprisals against progressive organizations, to rampant lawlessness and arbitrariness, to the fascistization of the entire bourgeois state (see Fascism).

“Earlier,” JV Stalin said at the 19th Party Congress, “the bourgeoisie allowed itself to be liberal, defended bourgeois-democratic freedoms and thus created popularity among the people. Now there is no trace left of liberalism. There is no longer the so-called "freedom of the individual" - the rights of the individual are now recognized only for those who have capital, and all other citizens are considered raw human material, suitable only for exploitation. and the lack of rights of the exploited majority of citizens. The banner of bourgeois-democratic freedoms has been thrown overboard" ("Speech at the 19th Party Congress", 1952, p. 12). Using the example of the modern United States, which is at the head of the imperialist and anti-democratic from bourgeois demolition to reaction along all lines.

Genuine democracy, genuine popular power become possible only as a result of the overthrow of the rule of the exploiting classes and the establishment of a state of the socialist type. This has been shown with the utmost clarity by the experience of the USSR and the people's democracies.

The replacement of bourgeois democracy by socialist democracy (see) is “... a gigantic, world-historical expansion of democracy, its transformation from lies into truth, the liberation of mankind from the fetters of capital, which distorts and curtails any, even the most“ democratic ”and republican, bourgeois democracy” (V. I. Lenin, Soch., vol. 28, p. 348).

The victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany demonstrated the superiority of socialist democracy over the deceitful bourgeois democracy.

The Soviet socialist system, the Soviet socialist democracy, withstood the severe trials of the war with honor and emerged from it even stronger and more indestructible. The forces of genuine socialist democracy are growing and strengthening every day.

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DEMOCRACY

DEMOCRACY

D. and state are not identities. concepts. State-va can be undemocratic and anti-democratic. Such, for example, are despotism. monarchies in the era of slavery, absolute monarchies during the decay of feudalism, fascist and semi-fascist states in the era of the general crisis of capitalism. D. is a kind of state-va (bourgeois-democratic. republic, people-democratic. republic, Soviet republic), which is characterized by official. recognition of the principle of subordination of the minority to the majority (see V. I. Lenin, ibid., vol. 25, p. 428). But D. cannot be understood in isolation from the essence and role of the state, it should not be identified with the subordination of the minority to the majority. Recognition by the state of the principle of subordination of the minority to the majority has an unequal meaning in antagonistic. social-economic formations and in the period of transition from capitalism to socialism. The will of the majority can act. state will only when determined. conditions associated with the nature of ownership of the means of production, with the class composition of society. For this, it is necessary that the tools and means of production were not in the hands of an insignificant minority of members of society, but in the hands of the majority or the entire people. In the antagonistic class formations - slave, feudal and capitalist - dominated by private ownership of tools and means of production. This determines the nature of societies. and Mrs. building and serving Ch. the cause of the domination of the exploiting minority and the subjugation of the majority to it. The experience of history shows that the people cannot rule if their economy is or non-economic by coercion, or at the same time by both methods, they are forced to work for the exploitative.

Socialist the revolution that won in the USSR, and then in a number of other countries, turned the main. tools and means of production in society. own. Thanks to this, true democracy became possible. D. depends on the forms of ownership, on industries. relationships and, in turn, influence them. "Every democracy, like every political democracy in general (inevitable until the abolition of classes is completed, until a classless society is created), ultimately serves production and is ultimately determined by the relations of production. this society"(Lenin V.I., ibid., vol. 32, p. 60).

For valid. domination of the will of the majority it is necessary that the class that actually implements the state. leadership of society, alone (or together with his allies) made up the majority of the country's population. This condition notes in the capitalist. society, as it did not exist in the eras preceding capitalism. This condition arises in the era of the dictatorship of the proletariat. For valid. identification and implementation of the will of the majority, it is necessary that the state proclaim and guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens, ensuring the implementation of this will in legislation, administration, and in other forms of manifestation of the state. authorities. This condition is not found in any of the class-antagonistic institutions. society. It is evident under the conditions of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Burzh. state-in recognizes the principle of subordination of the minority to the majority and establishes certain political. (parliaments, local governments, etc.) and legal. institutions (political freedoms of citizens, equality of citizens under the law and before the law, etc.) in order to give their class will the appearance of a vsenar. the will or the will of the majority of the people. Any statements bourgeois. ideologues about abstract freedom and equality without regard to the nature of production. relations, the class composition of the population and the real correlation of forces in the class struggle are a deception of the working people. Burzh. state-in the formal recognition of universal freedom and equality covers factual. unfreedom and economic inequality of the vast majority of members of the capitalist. society and the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.

The bourgeoisie subdivides the rights of the individual into the rights of man and citizen. The individual considered in connection with the so-called. civil society, calls a person, and the same individual living and acting in a political. sphere, calls a citizen. This division of the rights of the individual is caused by antagonistic. the nature of the capitalist society and the nature of the bourgeoisie. state-va, which represents and protects the interests of not society as a whole, but only selfish. interests of a minority of its members - the bourgeoisie. Modern bourgeois political figures and theorists speak hypocritically about the sacredness and inviolability of human rights and freedoms. It is deliberately hushed up that the purpose of the capitalist. production is not the satisfaction of the material and cultural needs of man, but the extraction of capitalist. arrived. The widely organized campaign against the rights and freedoms won by the working people over many years is being left in the shadows. The term "D." imperialists denote the domination of imperialism in the international. arena directed against peoples who are truly free or are liberated from social and colonial slavery.

Burzh. D. in different countries and in different historical. stages has a different degree of development. Free competition usually corresponds to D. in political. the life of society, and the capitalist. monopolies - to the political. reactions on all lines. During the period of monopoly capitalism sharpens class contradictions (see Imperialism). The working class unites all democratic forces, to-rye opposed anti-democratic. tendencies of capitalism. "The curtailed democracy and the limited social security that the workers have under capitalism have been achieved and maintained as a result of many years of sharp battles" (Foster W., The superiority of world socialism over world capitalism, see "To Help Political Self-Education", 1958, No. 8, p. 66). The bourgeoisie, seeing for itself a danger in the development of delusions, is trying to nullify it by planting and using factual. minority privileges, and above all such as wealth, bourgeois. education, connections, as well as a direct rejection of the D. The working class cannot be indifferent to the forms of rule of the bourgeoisie. The struggle for the establishment, preservation, and expansion of democracy in the capitalist countries has a tremendous impact on the progress and outcome of the entire class struggle of the working masses. The outcome of the struggle in modern era depends on the balance of class forces in the capitalist. countries, on a cut of creatures. influence is exerted by the growth of the power of the world socialist. systems and the rise of national-free. movement.

Burzh. D., being a great historian. progress compared to the feud. state-tion, is nevertheless "a paradise for the rich, a trap and deceit for the exploited, for the poor" (V. I. Lenin, Soch., 4th ed., vol. 28, p. 222). The socialist revolution radically changes the class essence and content of democracy and shifts the center of gravity from the formal recognition of rights and freedoms to the factual one. their feasibility (guarantees of D.) and extends democracy not only to the field of political. life, but also on all other spheres of society. life. Under capitalism, D. is carried out exclusively in the political. region and is reduced mainly to the democracy of elections to parliaments and local governments. Socialist the revolution establishes the equality of all workers, destroys, nat. and racial oppression, proclaims the right to and rest, freedom of conscience in the sense of freedom of religion and anti-religion. propaganda, creates conditions for the free activity of numerous. societies. org-tions of workers - parties, trade unions and other voluntary societies. All this signifies an unprecedented expansion of D. for the working people. Under the dictatorship of the proletariat, democratic rights and freedoms are real and guaranteed. The content of the socialist D. is characterized by the constant and decisive participation of the broadest masses of the country's population in the political. life, in the management of the state-tion, the equality of citizens and their real opportunity to enjoy democratic. rights and freedoms: freedom of speech, press, rallies and meetings, marches and demonstrations, active and passive elect. law, regardless of gender, nat. and racial identity.

Organization and activities of the socialist. state-va, communist. the parties and other associations of workers that are part of the system of the dictatorship of the proletariat are based on the principles of democratic centralism.

The working class can exercise its dictatorship only on the basis of the democratic will present. institutions of the new superior type. The classics of Marxism gave a deep insight into those. institutions which were created by the Paris Commune of 1871. a kind of parliamentarians, "must work themselves, carry out their own laws, themselves check what happens in life, they themselves answer directly to their voters" (ibid., vol. 25, p. 396).

A necessary sign and obligatory. condition of the socialist D. in the transitional period from capitalism to socialism is the suppression of the resistance of the exploiters, the degree and form of which are different in different countries and at different stages of their development and depend on Ch. arr. from the strength of the resistance of the overthrown classes. Hence the variety of methods of suppression. Moreover, none of them can be absolute. In the USSR, during the period of transition to socialism, the exploiters lost their electorate. rights. With the creation of the socialist societies. building the Owls. state-in passed to the universal electorate. law. Lenin foresaw that in the future socialist. revolutions will not necessarily apply the deprivation of the bourgeoisie political. rights. In the People's Republic of China and other countries. Democracy managed without depriving the bourgeoisie of its electors. rights, except for that part of it, which provided armed resistance to the new government.

Socialist man. society is full in farms. the life of society. He has in the field of production and distribution of wealth DOS. rights: the right to work, rest, security in old age, in case of illness and disability, the right to personal property, the right to inherit it. Socialist state-in, attaching great importance to these socio-economic. rights, in no way diminishes the role and importance of the freedoms of citizens in other spheres of life. Burzh. and right-wing socialist the authors contrast the socio-economic. the rights and material security of citizens of the socialist. state of their political. freedom. Many of them consider the United States, England and some other capitalist. country's standard political. D. For example, G. Stassen in the book. "Man was born to be free" (N. Stassen, Man was meant to be free, 1951) depicts the US and England as political bastions. freedom of citizens. However, speaking of freedom of speech, press, personality, bourgeois. politicians and scientists are silent about such freedoms as the freedom of the people from exploitation, the freedom of workers from the economic. crises, unemployment and poverty. There are no such freedoms in capitalism. countries. These freedoms are characteristic of the socialist. society.

Socialist D., which is a world-historical. progress compared to the bourgeois. state-vom and bourgeois. D., represents the full power and full rights of the working people, headed by the working class. She is different. peacefulness. It opposes the imperialist wars, regards them as the gravest crime. “An imperialist war,” wrote V.I. Lenin, “is a triple, one might say, democracy (a - every war replaces “rights” with violence; b - there is a denial of democracy in general; c - an imperialist war completely equates republics with monarchies), but the awakening and growth of the socialist uprising against imperialism are inextricably linked with the growth of democratic resistance and indignation" (Soch., 4th ed., vol. 23, p. 13).

Burzh. D., firstly, does not exclude the international. capitalist policy. monopolies, for which are characteristic " cold war", preparation for a world war, military adventures, unprecedented national-colonial oppression, strangulation and robbery of weak countries by the "advanced" capitalist powers; secondly, it is used by the capitalist monopolies against the working masses fighting for. Under the cover of the protection of D. bourgeois states carry out legislative, administrative, police, and judicial measures directed against the peace movement, progressive organizations that expose preparations for a new world war and advocate the prohibition of atomic and hydrogen weapons. rights and freedoms is inextricably intertwined with the struggle for peace.

Socialist Democracy passes in its development a period of transition from capitalism to socialism, a period of socialism and a gradual transition from socialism to communism. The regularity of its development is the expansion and strengthening, the growth of material opportunities and guarantees of democracy and those freedoms and rights, to-rye stem from the power of the people.

The 21st Congress of the CPSU (1959) noted that the period of the full-scale construction of communism in the USSR was characterized by the all-out deployment of socialism. D., involving the broadest sections of the population in all societies. affairs, increasing the role of societies. org-tions in all areas of states., farms. and cultural life of the country, the gradual transfer of societies. org-tions of a number of state. functions, strengthening democratic guarantees. freedoms and human rights.

Marxism-Leninism proceeds from the fact that D. as a political. the institution will wither away under communism with the same inevitability as the state, "the functions of public administration will lose their political character and turn into direct people's management of the affairs of society" (Khrushchev N. S., On the control figures for the development of the national economy of the USSR for 1959–1965 years, 1959, p. 119), but the principles of D. will not disappear, but will be transformed. Execution of societies. functions that will be preserved under communism (planned and organized distribution of labor, regulation of working hours, etc.) will be carried out on the basis of self-government of the working masses. In societies. In organizations of working people, full D. will be the main beginning of their independent activity. Lenin wrote that in the communist society will be "really complete democracy, which is becoming a habit and therefore dying out ... Complete democracy equals no democracy. This is not, but the truth!" ("Marxism about the State", 1958, p. 55).

Lit.: Marx K., Criticism of the Gotha program, M., 1953; Engels F., The origin of the family, private property and the state, M., 1953; Lenin, V.I., State and Revolution, Soch., 4th ed., vol. 25; his own, Theses and report on bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat on March 4 [at the First Congress of the Communist International on March 2–6, 1919], ibid., vol. 28; his own, the Proletarian Revolution and the renegade Kautsky, ibid.; his, Speech on deceiving the people with the slogans of freedom and equality on May 19 [at the First All-Russian Congress on Out-of-School Education on May 6–19, 1919], ibid., vol. 29; his, Marxism about the State, M., 1958; Khrushchev N. S., On the control figures for the development of the national economy of the USSR for 1959–1965. Report at the Extraordinary XXI Congress of the CPSU on January 27, 1959, M., 1959; Declaration of the Conference of Representatives of Communist and Workers' Parties socialist countries, held in Moscow on November 14-16, 1957, M., 1957; Mao Tse-tung, On the Dictatorship of People's Democracy, 1949; On People's Democracy in the Countries of Europe. Sat. articles, M., 1956; Peskov E. B. and Shabad V. A., Socialist democracy and its "critics", M., 1957; Shkadarevich I. I., Democracy of millions, M., 1958; Kadlecová E., Socialisticke vlastenectví, 1957; Bystrina I., Lidova demokracie, Praha, 1957; Flegle A., Geschichte der Democratie, Bd l - Altertums, Nürnberg, 1880; Glover T. R., Democracy in the Ancient World, Camb., 1927; Сroiset A., Les démocracy antiques, P., 1909; Lesku W. E. H., Democracy and Liberty, v. 1–2, L., 1908; Ruggiero G. de, Storia del liberalismo europeo, Bari, 1925; Borgeaud C., The rise oi Modern Democracy in Old and New England, L., 1894; Hattersley, Alan F., A short History of Democracy, Camb., 1930, containing bibliography; Allen J. W., A history of Political Thought in the Sixteenth Century, L., 1928; Figgis J. N., Studies of Political Thought from Gerson to Grotius, 2 ed., L.–Edin., 1916; Gooch G. P., English Democratic Ideas in the Seventeenth century, 2 ed., Camb., 1927.

A. Denisov. Moscow.

Philosophical Encyclopedia. In 5 volumes - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by F. V. Konstantinov. 1960-1970 .

DEMOCRACY

DEMOCRACY (from Greek δημοκρατία - democracy) is a form of government in which the majority of the population is ruled in the interests of the majority and with the help of the majority. For the first time, a democratic state system was implemented in Ancient Greece in Athens under Solon (7th century BC) and developed by Cleisthenes (. 6th century BC) in his “representative government” - the Council of Five Hundred. “Democracy” itself began to be used to refer to the form that existed in Athens political system later, around ser. 5th c. Initially, "isonomia" (Ισονομία - equality of all before the law) and related "isegory" (?σηγορία - the right for all citizens to speak in the people's assembly and cast a vote), "isocracy" (?σοκρατία - autonomy) were used initially. Ancient authors(Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus) considered this form of government as a polis device, in which only free native citizens have completeness and equality of rights. Meteki (semi-citizen settlers) were significantly limited in their rights, and slaves had no rights at all.

The democratic freedoms of modern times are much broader than the freedoms of the ancient republic based on slavery, since they become a formal right of everyone, and not the privilege of a few. The special development of the rule of law of all citizens, state and public organizations received in the concept of democracy A. de Tocqueville, the most influential in modern socio-political studies. Tocqueville understood by "democracy" not only a certain form of organization of society. In his opinion, this is also a process taking place in society. Tocqueville was the first to warn of the danger of combining formal equality and absolute power - "democratic despotism".

The philosophical basis of democracy is the ratio of freedom and equality as socio-political values, the real embodiment of which takes place in the relevant state institutions of democracy - direct or representative. The latter is now the most common in the form of a legal state with its supreme power, which, however, does not extend to the inseparable and inalienable rights of the individual. The guarantee of individual rights in such a state is the separation of powers - legislative, executive and judicial, the decentralization of power in the socio-economic and cultural spheres (the theory of "institutional infrastructure" of the authorities). At the same time, democratic associations - civil and political - take upon themselves the protection of the rights of citizens. They become intermediaries between the central government and various sectors of society, representing the interests of the latter, defending the inalienable right of citizens to independence and free initiative, which is subordinate to the law. Freedom of the press and trial by jury also serve to realize human rights in society.

According to the theorists of democracy of the 20th century. (for example, to I. Schumpeter and W. Rostow), liberal ones such as respect for the individual and the equality of all people, freedom of speech and press, freedom of conscience, etc., are best ensured precisely by expanding the participation of the masses in political life. R. Dahl and C. Lindblom, with the help of “polyarchy”, conduct a more realistic analysis of existing democratic systems, leaving aside abstract democratic ideals. The real embodiment of democracy is significantly hampered by the progressive modern society the concentration of economic power in the hands of the “ruling elite”, which creates oligarchic power and politics, often turning from democracy into kleptocracy.

Lit.: Dahl R. Introduction to the theory of democracy. M., 1991; Leipmrt A. Democracy in multicomponent societies. M 1997; Novgorodtsev P. I. The crisis of modern legal consciousness. M., 1909; political science: new directions. M., 1999; Tocqueville A. De. Democracy in America. M 1992; Schumpeter I. Capitalism, socialism and democracy. M 1995; Halt P. R. Governing the Economy: The Politics of Stale Intervention in Britain and France. Cambr., 1986: Huffman G. State, Power and Democracy. Brighton, 1988; f/ordlmser E. n the Autonomy of the Democratic State. Cambr., 1981. A comprehensive encyclopedia of aphorisms

Concept of democracy as a special form of state-political structure: (democracy) - a form of state characterized by a number of features: the source of power is the people; free elections as a way to form government institutions; equality of citizens; guarantee of individual rights and freedoms, etc.

In the twentieth century, the word "democracy" has become, perhaps, the most popular among the peoples and politicians around the world. Today there is not a single influential political movement that does not claim to implement democracy, does not use this term in its goals, often far from genuine democracy. What is democracy and what are the reasons for its popularity?

Etymological definitions of democracy. AT modern language The word "democracy" has several meanings. Its first, fundamental, meaning is connected with etymology, i.e. with the origin of the term. "Democracy" is translated from ancient Greek as "democracy" or, using the decoding of the definition by the American President Lincoln, "rule by the people, elected by the people for the people."

Derived from the etymological understanding is a broader second interpretation of democracy as a form of organization of any organization based on the equal participation of its members in management. In this sense, we are talking about party, trade union, industrial and even family democracy. Understanding democracy in a broad sense, it can exist wherever there is organization, power and control.

The etymological understanding of democracy is also associated with other - the third and fourth - meanings of this term. In the third sense, democracy is seen as an ideal social order based on a certain system of values ​​and a worldview corresponding to it. The values ​​that make up this ideal include freedom, equality, human rights, popular sovereignty, and some others.

In the fourth sense, democracy is seen as a social and political movement for democracy, the implementation of democratic goals and ideals. This movement arose in Europe under the flag of the struggle against absolutism for the liberation and equality of the third estate, and in the course of history gradually expands the range of its goals and participants. Modern democratic movements are extremely diverse. These are social democrats, Christian democrats, liberals, new social and other movements.

The concept of democracy as democracy (and other interpretations of democracy derived from it) is normative, since it is based on a normative approach to this phenomenon, which implies extraneous categories based on human ideals, values ​​and wishes. Democracy is characterized in this case as an ideal based on such fundamental values ​​as freedom, equality, respect for human dignity, solidarity. First of all, democracy owes its popularity to this value content in the modern world.

Constituent features of democracy. Considering the interrelation of normative definitions of democracy as a form of government, we can single out its following characteristic features.

1. Legal recognition and institutional expression of sovereignty, the supreme power of the people. It is the people, and not the monarch, the aristocracy, the bureaucracy or the clergy, that are the official source of power. The sovereignty of the people is expressed in the fact that it is they who have the constituent, constitutional power, that they choose their representatives and can periodically replace them, and in many countries they also have the right to directly participate in the development and adoption of laws through popular initiatives and referendums.

2. Periodic election of the main bodies of the state. A democracy can only be considered a state in which the persons exercising supreme power are elected, and they are elected for a definite, limited term. In ancient times, many peoples often chose kings for themselves, who then had the right to rule for life and even transfer this right by inheritance. (The ancient Greeks called elective monarchy "esymnetia".) However, in this case there was no democracy yet.

3. Equality of citizens' rights to participate in government. This principle requires at least equal voting rights. And in a modern, complexly organized political system, it also implies the freedom to create political parties and other associations to express the will of citizens, freedom of opinion, the right to information and to participate in competition for leadership positions in the state.

4. Making decisions by the majority and subordinating the minority to the majority in their implementation.

These requirements are the minimum conditions that allow us to speak about the presence of a democratic form of government in a particular country. However, real political systems based on the general principles of democracy differ quite significantly from each other, for example, ancient and modern democracies, American and Swiss political systems, etc.

These general principles of democracy make it possible to single out the main criteria that make it possible to distinguish and classify numerous theories and practical democratic models and how to measure them.

Direct, plebiscitary and representative democracies. The sovereignty of the people is the most important constitutive feature of democracy, which serves as the basis for its assessment not only from the point of view of understanding this subject itself, but also in terms of the form of exercise of power by him. Depending on how the people participate in governance, who and how directly performs power functions, democracy is divided into direct, plebiscitary and representative (representative).

In direct forms of democracy, citizens themselves are directly involved in the preparation, discussion and decision-making. This form of participation dominated in ancient democracies. In practice, it is possible in relatively small teams (at industrial enterprises, in communities, cities, etc.), and in those cases when the decisions being made are quite simple and participation in their preparation and discussion does not require special qualifications. In the modern world, direct democracy is found mainly at the level of local government, for example, in American and Swiss communities, in Israeli kibbutzim (communist-type settlements), etc. The prevalence of direct forms of democracy directly depends on how well it is possible to decentralize the decision-making process and transfer the right to make decisions to relatively small, local teams.

Direct democracy usually refers to the so-called imperative mandate, which implies the obligation of elected representatives to vote strictly in accordance with the instructions of the voters, their will. Thus, the character of an imperative mandate is the electoral college of the President of the United States, who are obliged to cast their vote for the candidate who won in the respective states. An imperative mandate, as it were, conserves the will of the voters, not allowing its bearers to participate in the discussion and adoption of compromise solutions.

An important (second) channel for the participation of citizens in the exercise of power is plebiscitary democracy. The distinction between it and direct democracy is not always made, since both of these forms of participation involve the direct expression of the will of the people, but it exists. Its essence lies in the fact that direct democracy involves the participation of citizens at all the most important stages of the process (in the preparation, adoption of political decisions and in monitoring their implementation), and in plebiscitary democracy, the possibilities of political influence of citizens are relatively limited. They are given the right to vote to approve or reject this or that draft law or other decision, which is usually prepared by the president, government, party or initiative group. Opportunities for the participation of the bulk of the population in the preparation of such projects are very small, even in cases where the citizens themselves are given the right to prepare and submit them for consideration by legislative bodies or to a popular vote.

Plebiscitary institutions are often used to manipulate the will of citizens, achieved, in particular, by means of ambiguous formulations of questions put to a vote. They, especially referendums and polls, are widely used at various levels of government: in communities, cities, regions, throughout the state.

The third leading form of political governance in modern states is representative democracy. Its essence lies in the indirect participation of citizens in decision-making, in the choice by them of their representatives to the authorities, who are called upon to express their interests, adopt laws and give orders. Representative democracy is especially necessary when, due to large territories or for other reasons, regular direct participation of citizens in voting is difficult, as well as when complex decisions are made that are difficult for non-specialists to understand.

For the first time the term "democracy" was used in the work of the Greek historian Herodotus. American President Abraham Lincoln defined this concept as the power of the people, which he elects and in whose interests it is carried out. To understand what a democratic state is, one should consider its main features, principles and functions.

Definitions of the term "democracy"

To date, legal science and political science give several definitions to the concept of "democracy":

1. A special form of organization of the state, in which power belongs to all its citizens, who enjoy equal rights to govern.

2. The device of any structure. It is based on the principles of equality of its members, periodic election of governing bodies and decision-making by majority vote.

3. Social movement with the aim of affirming the ideals of democracy in life.

4. Worldview based on the principles of freedom, equality, respect for human rights and national minorities.

The democratic state is the personification of the power of the people. At the same time, citizens have equal rights to govern, and the government acts in their interests.

Signs of a democratic state

1. Recognition of popular sovereignty. Citizens of democratic states are the supreme bearers of power.

2. Possibility of participation of the whole people (and not part of the population) in the management of affairs in society and the country directly or through representative bodies.

3. The presence of a multi-party system. Competitive, fair and free elections in which all citizens participate. At the same time, the same people should not be in power for a long time.

4. Recognition and guarantees of fundamental human rights. For this, special legal institutions must function to prevent lawlessness.

5. Political freedom and equality of citizens before the court.

6. Availability of self-government systems.

7. Mutual responsibility of the citizen and the state.

1. Pluralism in all spheres of public life. In the economy, it is embodied in the presence of various forms of ownership and economic activity. In politics, pluralism manifests itself through multi-party system, and in the sphere of ideology - through the free expression of thoughts, concepts and ideas.

2. Freedom of speech. This principle includes the transparency of the activities of all political subjects. All this must be ensured by the freedom of the media.

3. A democratic state assumes the subordination of the minority to the majority when making any decisions.

4. Selectivity of state and local authorities.

5. Guarantees of the rights of national minorities, prevention of discrimination on any basis.

6. The existence and free functioning of the political opposition.

7. Power in a democratic state must necessarily be divided (legislative, executive and judicial).

What is the rule of law?

For the first time, R. von Mol succeeded in analyzing and substantiating this concept from a legal point of view. He determined that a democratic constitutional state is based on enshrining the rights and freedoms of citizens in the constitution and ensuring their protection by law and court. It should be noted that initially not all scientists recognized the reality and the possibility of implementing this concept. Until now, some researchers have noted the weakness of the foundations for such a form of statehood, in particular in the post-Soviet space.

This concept is characterized by the recognition of the supremacy of law over power. It acknowledges:

1) the priority of the individual and society over the state;
2) the reality of the rights and freedoms of every citizen;
3) mutual responsibility of the state and the individual;
4) independence and authority of the court;
5) the binding power of law.

What is a welfare state?

In the history of the formation of the concept of the welfare state, three main stages can be distinguished. The first is characterized by the adoption in various countries of such political decisions that opened the way to its formation. At this stage, in the works of Prens and Shershenevich, the concept of “democratic welfare state". Its definition was formulated by Heller in the 20th century. In addition, at this time in the region domestic policy state begins to stand out social.

The second stage is the beginning-middle of the 20th century. This period is characterized by the emergence of two traditions of affirmation social model states. The first as a prefabricated concept was implemented in Germany, the second as a fundamental principle of the constitutional system - in France and Spain.

The third stage is the formation of social law. At this time, there are special documents regulating relations in this area.

Signs of a welfare state

1. Democratic state with a developed civil society. Existence of an effective legal system.

2. Availability legal basis. It acts in the form of social legislation, which meets the principles of justice and quickly responds to changes in society.

3. Having a balanced economic base. It acts in the form of a developed socially oriented market economy.

4. The state takes care of the protection of fundamental civil rights.

5. Guarantees of social security of the population of the country. At the same time, citizens, thanks to their activity, provide themselves with the necessary level of financial situation.

Monarchy. On the political map There are several states in the world with this form of government. These are constitutional (parliamentary) monarchies: Great Britain, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Japan and Sweden. They are democratic states. The power of the monarch in these countries is significantly limited, and parliaments deal with the main issues of public life.

Republic. There are several types of states with this form of government.

A parliamentary republic is characterized by the priority of the supreme legislative body. Among such countries are Germany, Greece, Italy. The government in these states is formed by the parliament and is responsible only to it.

In a presidential republic, the head of state is elected by the people. He himself forms the government with the consent of Parliament.

Implementation of the principles of a democratic state on the example of Russia

Russia is a democratic state. This is stated in the Constitution of the country. Representative democracy in Russia is ensured by electivity State Duma and legally conditioned by the formation of the Federation Council. In addition, the country is implementing such a sign of a democratic state as guarantees and recognition of fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Russia in its structure is a constitutional and legal federation. This means that certain parts of the country (territory) have a certain independence. The subjects of such a federation are equal.

Russia is a democratic state that guarantees human rights and freedoms, implements the principle of ideological and political diversity, and so on.