What Five Criteria Must Democracy Meet?

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5. What five criteria must democracy meet? In the above paragraph I answered the question of what a democracy is, and why it is a good type of government. This however is only the general definition for what a democracy should look like. To know if a government is a democracy we must look at the specific and practical criteria that a government must meet to be a democracy. These five criteria as described by Robert Dahl in the book On Democracy are as follows: Effective participation, equality in voting, gaining enlightened understanding, exercising final control over the agenda, and inclusion of adults. Let’s take a closer look at why each of these are the criteria for democracy. The first criteria of democracy is described by Robert Dahl is effective participation. This gives every citizen the opportunity to participate in government activities like voting and the judicial system. But more than just participation, it allows citizens effective participation. This gives the people power to make a difference with their participation in the government. The big key to this is the word “effective,” which is different from just participating. One…show more content…
This is a simple concept that gives each citizen the equal opportunity to learn and gain understanding about political issues and policies. This enlightenment of the public creates a better government because they are more education about the government and are more equipped to make decisions as a nation. This is one of the keys to achieve the first criteria, effective participation, because it makes everyone more effective. As talked about above, the key to participation is the effectiveness of the citizens. Enlightened understanding provides this opportunity for everyone to become more effective in their participation, which ultimately creates a better government. Gaining enlightened understand is another key criteria to
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