1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:06,099 The word democracy comes from Greek, and it means power of the people. 2 00:00:06,820 --> 00:00:10,160 In previous years, you have studied that democracy is a way of government. 3 00:00:10,779 --> 00:00:14,080 This is correct, but democracy, as we will see in this unit, 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,920 must also be a form of living if democracy is going to last. 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,420 As a way of government, from an institutional point of view, 6 00:00:24,839 --> 00:00:30,280 democracy is characterized by popular sovereignty, meaning that people have the power. 7 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,600 In a democracy, there are free elections 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,759 People can vote, participate and choose freely in open elections 9 00:00:37,759 --> 00:00:39,740 between different options 10 00:00:39,740 --> 00:00:43,700 Moreover, in a democracy, there is division of powers 11 00:00:43,700 --> 00:00:47,119 This means that the powers of the state are separated 12 00:00:47,119 --> 00:00:50,380 exercised by different people to prevent abuse 13 00:00:50,380 --> 00:00:54,159 The legislative power is in charge of making the law 14 00:00:54,159 --> 00:00:56,780 and this power is exercised by the parliament 15 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:04,959 The executive power, who is in charge of applying the law and enforcing it, is exercised by the government. 16 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:11,620 Finally, the judiciary branch of the power is in charge of punishing people who break the law, 17 00:01:11,620 --> 00:01:14,760 and this is exercised by tribunals and judges. 18 00:01:16,439 --> 00:01:23,340 Another important aspect of the institutional dimension of democracy is the respect of the rule of law. 19 00:01:24,299 --> 00:01:28,120 The rule of law is respected when the law is the same for everybody 20 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,180 and what must be done is determined by the law. 21 00:01:31,819 --> 00:01:34,359 In a country where the rule of law is respected, 22 00:01:34,780 --> 00:01:40,280 what must be done is said by the law, not by the king or by the president. 23 00:01:41,859 --> 00:01:46,439 But as we said, all these aspects, which are extremely important, 24 00:01:46,439 --> 00:01:51,000 are not enough to guarantee that democracy is healthy and real. 25 00:01:51,739 --> 00:01:57,560 In a real democracy, there is also a commitment of citizens with a common good. 26 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:05,299 So democracy is also a way of life, based on the common sharing of basic ethical values, 27 00:02:05,659 --> 00:02:13,039 such as freedom, equality, solidarity, and justice, and also based on the respect of human rights. 28 00:02:14,580 --> 00:02:18,020 Democracy, as you know, has not always existed. 29 00:02:18,020 --> 00:02:28,860 There was a brief period in antiquity, around the 5th century BC, where democracy was invented in Athens, Greece, but it didn't last long. 30 00:02:29,379 --> 00:02:40,500 For many centuries, the government was exercised by kings or by small groups of people, so democracy is relatively recent. 31 00:02:40,500 --> 00:02:45,900 Our modern democracy appeared in the 18th century with the American and French revolutions. 32 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:57,860 Since those important moments, democracy has spread all over the world and today it is considered the most legitimate and the best system of government. 33 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:07,000 But in order for democracy to be a real, quality, democratic way of life, we need the commitment of citizens. 34 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:18,300 This means that in a democracy, citizens do not only have rights, we also have duties, obligations, and some of the most important of them are the following. 35 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:24,460 First of all, we have the duty to respect other people's rights and human rights as well. 36 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,819 In the second place, we have the duty to pay our taxes. 37 00:03:28,819 --> 00:03:35,340 that is essential. Though nobody likes paying money to the state, the taxes are essential in 38 00:03:35,340 --> 00:03:44,400 order to provide for common services such as health care or education. We also have the duty 39 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:53,180 to treat public property in a sensible way because it belongs to us all. And finally, we also have 40 00:03:53,180 --> 00:03:58,500 a duty to participate, to take part in political life. 41 00:03:59,039 --> 00:04:03,539 So voting is important, and it is also important to express our opinions, 42 00:04:03,979 --> 00:04:08,580 making participation in what we call civil society. 43 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:14,639 Civil society is formed by organizations that don't depend on the state 44 00:04:14,639 --> 00:04:21,439 and that can be used to show what is our opinion about different issues, 45 00:04:21,439 --> 00:04:27,800 such as our environment, education, health, sports. 46 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:32,839 So people who create an association to defend their point of views 47 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:37,600 and who are not dependent from the state are participating in civil society. 48 00:04:38,439 --> 00:04:43,600 A healthy and strong civil society where citizens actively participate 49 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,439 is also essential for democracy. 50 00:04:47,439 --> 00:04:51,220 Finally, I would like to point out something that is very important 51 00:04:51,220 --> 00:04:57,740 A good democracy demands also that there is a decent standard of living for their citizens. 52 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:05,060 In a country where people do not have enough resources to have a good kind of life, 53 00:05:05,319 --> 00:05:11,680 because they lack food or shelter or clothes, we cannot talk about a real democracy. 54 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:19,040 So inequalities in our world and underdeveloped situations in some countries 55 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,800 create a serious threat to democracy. 56 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,699 So democracy has some requirements 57 00:05:25,699 --> 00:05:27,839 and one of them is that all citizens 58 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:30,540 can have a decent standard of living 59 00:05:30,540 --> 00:05:33,139 so that they can really have the opportunity 60 00:05:33,139 --> 00:05:35,019 to participate in social life.