Answer:
Explanation:
The meaning of democracy – from the Greek word – demokratia – is “rule by the people”. As a system of government, it is now almost universally commended. To describe a country, or a policy, as “undemocratic” is to criticise it and those countries that are undemocratic are continually urged towards reform.
Yet, democracy is a complex and contested notion. Moreover, until relatively recently, the idea of rule by the people was as much (if not more) feared as loved. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato, for example, related democracy to the rule of unbridled and untutored passions over cool and reflective reason. Invoking a now common image of the ship of state, Plato asks whether a real ship in stormy waters is sensibly governed by a trained captain who has knowledge of seamanship and navigation or by the crew who have no specialist training. This seems a good question, and although such views are no longer part of the currency of intellectual thought, democrats continue to worry about the role of civic education, for example, in moulding a population so that its members do not just rule, but rule by informed decision making.
