Democracy is a very important aspect of politics. There are many types of democracy such as liberal democracy, social democracy or even electoral democracy. The focus of this essay will be on the strengths and weaknesses linked to liberal democracy and another form of democracy compared to liberal democracy. Liberal democracy which can also be known as constitutional democracy, is a very popular desired form of government. It was founded more then 2500 years ago in its birthplace, "Europe can proudly claim to be the birthplace of the democratic ideal" (Enhorn,18).
Liberal democracy comes from ancient roots, more specifically from the roots of Ancient Greece. It originally began in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the purpose of "political pluralism and religious and later political toleration" (Wiarda, 22). There are many terms that liberal democracy follows. Firstly if you break up the term in two, you are able to achieve the understand of two words, liberal and democracy. Liberalism deals with the ideas of individual freedom. Democracy in other words means, "Rule by the people."(Mints-Close- Osvaldo, 471). If you put the two words together we are able to achieve a whole new term, it is, "A political system based on the ideas that the power and scope of government should be limited, the government should observe the rule of law, and that the rights of the people should be protected." (Mints-Close-Osvaldo, 254). Liberal democracy portrays two very important aspects "individual freedom and autonomy"(Wiarda, 19). This is why this form of government is very popular. It serves for the purpose of the people. Liberal democracy gives great advantages to large countries, "Its great contribution has been to allow countries with large populations, where the highly participatory direct democracy would be impractical, to enjoy the benefits of democratic rule.