There cannot
be a single definition of democracy, but several, because there are many
genres, species, and realizations of what democracy is. The only way to define
democracy, in this sense, is to assume the idealism of a completely
lexicographic form of the term democracy, according to which democracy would be
a form of government that recognizes, in each and every legitimate member of a
politically organized human society, equal civil faculties to access the
exercise of power within the State.
This would be
an explanatory or descriptive definition of democracy, but really very naive,
because it is idealistic, since many dictatorial political societies would fit,
in one way or another, within this conception of democracy. In Nazi Germany,
being a member of the German Workers' Party was sufficient to access the
exercise of power within the State.
Regarding democracy, in addition to the usual explanatory or descriptive definitions, other types can also be given, such as recursive, stipulative, and operative definitions, which are extraordinarily frequent. Let's see some examples.[Note 1]
The most surprising thing at this point is that the definitions usually given of democracy, far from explaining or delimiting what democracy is, exemplify and reveal very ...
