To describe where the word democracy comes from and what it means etymologically, it is necessary to go back to ancient Greece, when this form of government arose.
Some historians agree that it comes from the term dēmokratiā, derived in turn from two Greek words: dēmos, which means "common people" and kratos, which means "power." So, democracy would mean "the power of the common people."
However, understanding this word etymologically turns out to be a bit more complex and it is necessary to go back to the history of Athens in 508 BC.
When this city seeking to free itself from an oppressive government it was reorganized, and thus began the foundations of the democracy that is known today.
Origin of the word democ
Attica was divided into important areas, the city of Athens and its surroundings being one of them. It was subdivided in turn into several zones or districts; These were originally called dēmos.
Every man of Attica was recognized as a citizen of the dēmos, and being over 18 years old they participated in political decisions. Women, slaves or foreigners were forbidden.
So in reality, according to what is known today about democracy, in Athens it was not applied as such, but can be understood as a government that represented the areas or districts of Athens.
Plutarch managed to define democracy from another perspective, alluding to the fact that the word came from the conjunction of the words demiurgos (artisans from Attica) and geomoros (peasants from Attica), social classes that constituted the demos.
The definition that Plutarco gave to democracy then was: "government of artisans and peasants."
As for the word kratos, the interpretation of "power" has many times been questioned by some historians, claiming that it refers to the "force exerted", rather than the representative power that one wants to give it.
If etymologically it means force exerted by the demos (citizens), it could have a connotation more similar to an imposition of powers and laws, than to that given at present by textbooks.
Characteristics of democracy in Ancient Greece
The connotation given to kratos (power, strength) offers a diatribe for some historians, thus suggesting the study of the characteristics of the democracy exercised by the Greeks in Athens.
These characteristics are listed below:
- Public offices were drawn among the population with the exception of generals.
- Political participation was only allowed for men over 18 years of age
- The most important institution was the Eklesia (assembly).
- There was the Bule or council, which was made up of 500 elected by a vote of the population of Attica.
These characteristics gave the political regime in Athens, qualities that are separated from the meaning of imposition of power by force, oriented more to the understanding of kratos as the ability to act.
Dēmokratiā, then it is not just "the power of the demos"; rather, it means, more broadly, an "empowered demos." It is the regime in which the demos gains a collective capacity to effect change in the public realm.
References
- Constanzo, S. (1855)._ Universal History, from the most remote times to the present day. Mellado Editorial.
- Dahl, R. (2017). Democracy. Encyclopædia Britannica. Taken from britannica.com.
- (2017). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Taken from en.wikipedia.org.
- Etymology of Chile._Democracia. Taken from etimologias.dechile.net.
- Ober, J. (2007). The original meaning of "democracy": Capacity to do things, not majority rule. Stanford University. Taken from web.stanford.edu.