20. Why has democracy come to be so universally well regarded?

The origins of the term 'democracy' can be traced back to Ancient Greece. Like other words ending in 'cracy' - autocracy, aristocracy, bureaucracy and so on -democracy is derived from the Greek word kratos, meaning 'power' or 'rule'. Democracy thus stands for 'rule by the demos', demos meaning 'the people', though it was originally taken to imply 'the poor' or 'the many'. However, the simple notion of 'rule by the people' does not get us very far. The problem with democracy has been its very popularity, a popularity that has threatened the term's undoing as a meaningful political concept. In being almost universally regarded as a 'good thing', Perhaps a more helpful starting point from which to consider the nature of democracy is provided by Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered in 1864 at the height of the American Civil War. Lincoln extolled the virtues of what he called 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people'. What this makes clear is that democracy serves to link government to the people, but that this link can be forged in a number of ways - government of, by and for the people. Nevertheless, the precise nature of democratic rule has been the subject of fierce ideological and political debate.

21. Is direct democracy in any way applicable to modern circumstances?

Direct and representative democracy

Direct democracy (sometimes participatory democracy) is based on the direct, unmediated and continuous participation of citizens in the tasks of government. Direct democracy thus obliterates the distinction between government and the governed and between the state and civil society; it is a system of popular self-government. This was achieved in ancient Athens through a form of government by mass meeting; its most common modern manifestation is in use of the referendum.

The merits of direct democracy include that it:

 heightens the control that citizens can exercise over their own destinies, being the only pure form of democracy;

 creates a better informed and more politically sophisticated citizenry, and so has educational benefits;

 enables the public to express its own views and interests without having to rely on self-serving politicians;

 ensures that rule is legitimate, in that people are more likely to accept decisions that they have made themselves.

22. What are the principal virtues of democracy?

Democracy is a system of political governance which is by the people for the people and of the people. Kazakhstan is a democratic country and citizens elect their government. The virtues of democracy in governance are countless but just to mention the few:

•  Citizens of the country have the government which they desire.

•  Government is made accountable and responsible to its citizens as their continuance depends on favorable vote of citizens.

•  Citizens have the power to disapprove government by refusing to reelect the government whose policies and actions they disapprove.

• Citizens have the freedom to raise their concern and express their opinion.

•  Free press and media ensure that citizen's are properly aware of their countries economic, social, cultural, technological and political environment.

•  Independent judiciary keeps a check on abuse of power by any authority.

• Democracy gives each citizen the right to create their own fortune and future with their determination and hard work.

• Democracy integrates and achieves unity in diversity. People from diverse religious, cultural, and social backgrounds can elect their government and thereby achieve unity.

• Democracy is such a system which gives maximum power to citizen's of the country and makes them  responsible to elect their goverment.

• The right of freedom of expression is well protected in democracy.

• Democracy is truly by the people, for the people and of the people. The success of democracy as a system of politcal governance is beacuse it is people based and gives maximum autonomy to people.

Democracy as a form of political governance is extremely good and its effectiveness depends on the integrity of the people who are using the system.

23.What are the drawbacks or dangers of democracy?

1. Democracy is the rule of majority;

2. Majority of the voters in poor countries are poor;

3. The poor have a short-term horizon meaning given a choice between today's benefit for more benefit in the future they will choose the former. This is borne by their incessant need for survival to find food, clothing, and shelter. Put simply, given a choice between money now and good road in the future they will chose the money. Anyway, they don't have cars to drive in those nice road;

4. It follows that given a choice between a money from a bad candidates and promises from a good candidates they will choose the money; and

5. In conclusion, since in a democracy majority wins, and majority of poor voters are poor, and the poor can be bought it necessarily follows that democracy can be bought and the winner in any election will be the person that has the most money to buy votes. The empirical evidences for this argument are everywhere in Africa and most Third World Countries.

24. Which model of democracy is most attractive, and why? Models of Democracy

From the first introduction of the new information and communication technologies, marked by the design and diffusion of interactive and integrative (multi)media, these technologies appeared to be connected to conceptions of democracy. The new facilities of telepolling, telereferenda and electronic elections immediately spurred visions of the rebirth of the Athenian agora and other means of direct democracy and self-representation (Toffler 1980; Becker 1981) In these decades two things appeared. First, the conceptions of democracy are much more complicated than a simple dualism between direct and representative democracy.Second, discussions have become less theoretical; the media of ICT are maturing and entering into the daily practice of the political system. One can observe stages of experimentation and beyond. So we will have to do two things: elaborate the conceptions of democracy connected to the practice of ICT and describe this practice with regard to its introduction in the political system. Both can only be done here in the typifying and summarising way imposed by the narrow limits of an article. Still we hope to show in a plausible way that some typical views of democracy are connected to particular practices of ICT in politics. This goes as far as the suggestion of a relationship of these views with concrete instruments of ICT in the political system like computerised citizen enquiries, opinion polls, referenda, public information systems, government information and registration systems, electronic town halls.