Frameworks of a Democracy - Year 9 HASS

democracy means the rule of the people, but it is still an elastic concept
if the democracy discriminates, then it is a flawed democracy
people govern themselves, and they vote for people that vote for decisions
sometimes everyone has to vote on a decision - like a referendum
this is a direct democracy - a direct democracy has people voting directly for decisions
a representative democracy has people elect politicians to vote for you and represent the population
most democracies in the world are representative, but the purpose of a democracy isn’t to just vote, but to represent everyone easily
there are 3 sections of democracies : * legislative - create the law * executive - enforce the law * judiciary - interpret the law
the general will is the idea that democracies need to protect minorities - even if the majority votes to discriminate, that makes it a flawed democracy
democracy has 4 main principles * belief in the individual * belief reason and progress * belief in society * belief in shared power
4 main types of democracy: * direct democracy * rare - all citizens are invited to participate in all political decisions, decision is made by majority rule, and citizens are continuously involved in the exercise of power and decision is by majority rule * is no longer practised, because it would be really annoying to everyone * representative democracy * very common - representatives are elected by the people and are entrusted to carry out the business of governance * constitutional democracy * the constitution decides how people will be represented * australia is both a representative and constitutional democracy * constitution - super powerful document, above literally everyone, to change you need a referendum * monitory democracy * the government is constantly monitored in its exercise of power by an array of public and private agencies, commissions, and regulatory mechanisms * they oversee what politicians do and act as a power check for politicians

Democratic framework:

a liberal democracy is organised in such a way as to define and limit power, to create a real government in terms of justice and freedom
there are 4 key elements that are needed to create this sort of democracy: * legitimacy * the government must have the appropriate mandate/authority to rule * this is usually demonstrated by a free electorate and frequent elections * rules are formed to maximize the well-being of all citizens, and the government is chosen by majority vote * justice * citizens are treated equally and with dignity and respect * meritocracy - society is encouraging of talent and rewards citizens on merit, rather than on rank, privilege, or status * freedom * needs self determination - citizens can make decisions, learn, and accept responsibility * can choose between alternatives * the autonomy to do what is legal * the law must be reasonable and for the common good * power * efforts are made to limit the power of the government, using checks and balances * for example, separating powers, such as the parliament, senior government, judicial power * laws govern the government - for example the constitution

Legitimacy

a legitimate government has the appropriate mandate or authority to rule. This usually means a high degree of popular support as demonstrated by a free electorate and frequent elections.
to upheld the principle of legitimacy, the following principles must be upheld: * equal vote * each vote is worth the same * the house of representatives have 151 seats, and each one represents one electorate * each electorate has an equal number of voters * each electorate has an average of 100,000 * free vote * citizens should be able to vote without repercussions, often achieved with a secret ballot * independent oversight * elections should be run by an independent body who is not influenced by the government or other parties * the AEC - australian electoral commision, must follow the commonwealth electoral act of 1918 * right to stand for office * some conditions; 18 years, australian citizen, an elector or qualified to be an elector * but some things exclude people running for office * predictable pattern of elections * compulsory voting for federal elections introduced in 1924 * compulsory voting in general introduced in 1911
the house of representatives uses a preferential voting system in which the successful candidate must receive 50% or votes in an electorate in order to win - if no candidate receives 51%+ the losing candidate is eliminated and their preferences distributed
the senate uses a proportional representation system each states elects 6 senators per federal election - to win a seat, a candidate must secure a proportion of roughly 14% of all votes

\ Freedom restrictions

limiting someone else’s freedom
not hurting anyone else

\ types of freedom:

freedom of movement * can be encroached when people aren’t allowed to move
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