N5 – Module 2 Introduction


You will learn that there are different types of democracies – in its purest form a community seeks to have a system which allows each member to participate directly in the decision-making process. Tis, as you will see later, has a direct bearing on finance because direct participation is costly. In very large communities direct participation is almost impossible. When a government decides to align its own ideology with that of a democracy it says to its voters that it will follow certain guidelines – these guidelines which incorporate basic principles of government are outlined in this chapter. You will further see that running a good democracy is a difficult business; very few issues are simplistic and most are difficult to apply within the style of government any country has chosen. Special emphasis is placed upon some of the very first concepts written about in Module 1: efficient use of public funds and effective management and expenditure at all times. In this chapter special consideration is given to public accountability and responsibility for the collection, safekeeping and then finally the spending of public money.


Te price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.


Plato, circa 400 BC; founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.


No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent. Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), US President.


Pure democracy A democracy in which the power to govern lies directly in the hands of the people rather than being exercised through their representatives.


Democracy Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally—either directly (and) or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. [Wikipedia]


1. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives. 2. A political or social unit that has such a government. 3. Te common people, considered as the primary source of political power. 4. Majority rule. 5. Te principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.


Today few governments in the world, if any, follow the principle of Pure Democracy as this is very impractical, and can work only in very small communities; instead the principles of democracy are held while the proposals, creation and execution of laws are leſt mostly to Elected Officials. In other words the power and the money held by each citizen (you) is handed over to someone else. Tis works well if these officials remain publicly accountable; if not, corruption oſten becomes entrenched.


Origin of Democracy


Te Greek philosopher, Aristotle, gave birth to the idea of democracy in 384-322 BC. He did research on the political activities of a number of Greek city states – it was the political custom in ancient Greece for each city to govern itself.


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