Consider the following descriptions of direct and indirect democracy.
Which of the two sorts of democracy is more consistent with how elitist theory sees democracy working?
Explain, referring to two relevant aspects of elitist theory and two aspects of whichever sort of democracy you choose.
Direct democracy: Citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected representatives. This form of democracy takes inspiration from the democracy of Athens in ancient Greece, whose citizenry included Socrates. Ancient Athenian democracy was direct not only in the sense that the assembled people made decisions, but also in the sense that the people – through the assembly, council, and law courts – controlled the entire political process, and a large proportion of citizens were involved constantly in public affairs.
Indirect democracy: This form of democracy places power in the hands of representatives who are elected by the people. Political parties often become central to this form of democracy if electoral systems require or encourage voters to vote for political parties or for candidates associated with political parties (as opposed to voting for individual representatives). Elections are important not because they provide direct citizen involvement in governance but because they provide a sense of legitimacy to the decisions taken by the political leadership. This system enables political leaders to make decisions according to their judgment of what is best without intrusive public meddling.
