Synonyms
Definition
Democracy is a synthesis of the Greek words demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning to rule – that is, “rule by the people.” The more precise definition of the term has always been disputed; democracy has even been highlighted as the essentially contested concept par excellence. It is therefore necessary to distinguish between different definitions of democracy. One way of doing so is by creating a typology that includes multiple types of democracy. Such a systematic conceptual distinction paves the way for assessing the relationship between democracy and other phenomena such as equality, economic growth, peace, and famine.
Description
The desire for basic material goods (“a good coat, a good roof, and a good dinner”) is what makes the masses fight for democracy according to Acemoglu and Robinson (2006, p. 20). However, whether democracy does indeed facilitate a more equal distribution of goods in society is disputed...
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Møller, J., Skaaning, SE. (2022). Conceptualizing Democracy. In: Maggino, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_3872-2
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