Representative democracy thus allows for вЂњthe cream to rise to the topвЂќ so that the people who actually govern a society are the most qualified to perform this essential task (Seward, 2010). In this way of thinking, the masses of people are, overall, too uninformed, too uneducated, and too uninterested to run a society themselves. At least in theory, it ensures that the individuals who govern a society and in other ways help a society function are the individuals who have the appropriate talents, skills, and knowledge to do so. Representative democracy is more practical than direct democracy in a society of any significant size, but political scientists cite another advantage of representative democracy. In these types of democracies, people elect officials to represent them in legislative votes on matters affecting the population. Representative democracies are thus much more common. However, such direct democracies are impractical when the number of people gets beyond a few hundred. An example of such a democracy in action is the New England town meeting, where the residents of a town meet once a year and vote on budgetary and other matters. The term democracy comes from Greek and means вЂњrule of the people.вЂќ In LincolnвЂ™s stirring words from the Gettysburg Address, democracy is вЂњgovernment of the people, by the people, for the people.вЂќ In direct (or pure) democracies, people make their own decisions about the policies and distribution of resources that affect them directly. The type of government with which we are most familiar is democracy, or a political system in which citizens govern themselves either directly or indirectly. Accordingly we briefly review the major political systems in the world today. The type of government under which people live has fundamental implications for their freedom, their welfare, and even their lives. Another term for this second meaning of government is political system, which we will use here along with government. Government means the group of persons who direct the political affairs of a state, but it can also mean the type of rule by which a state is run. Thus the nations of the world are sometimes referred to as states (or nation-states), as are subdivisions within a nation, such as California, New York, and Texas in the United States. This unit can be a whole nation or a subdivision within a nation. In this context, state means the political unit within which power and authority reside. Various states and governments obviously exist around the world. Explain why authoritarian and totalitarian regimes are more unstable politically than democracies and monarchies.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of representative democracy.

World politics definition