Defining Democracy
In his essay “Politics and the English Language”, George Orwell makes the point that "the great enemy of clear language is insincerity”, resulting from “a gap between one's real and one's declared aims”. In that context, with regard to democracy, he says:
"The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice, have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic, we are praising it: consequently, the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way."
Orwell is correct. The term “democracy” has been abused and used dishonestly to the point that it has “several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another”. However, attempts to define democracy are not “resisted from all sides” – only by the defenders of other kinds of regimes – the false friends of democracy.
For anyone who is sincere and feels no need to hide their real aims, defining “democracy” is a simple matter. The word is derived from the Greek word demokratia, which was formed from two other Greek words: demos (meaning “the people”) and kratia (which means “have power”). A democratic government, therefore, is one in which the people have power. There is another Greek word – kratos (which means “rule”) – that is also applicable. A democracy is a government in which the people rule.
Extensive research has consistently shown that there is no significant correlation between the will of the people and the legislation enacted by Congress. If we define democracy as a government in which the people rule, the United States is not a true democracy.
George Orwell