Democracy is a frequently used word, but its meaning is rarely fully understood. A democratic political system is one in which the ultimate political authority is vested in the people. The word democracy comes from the Greek words "demos" which means the people and "kratos" which means authority. When placed together, the meaning is clear: the authority of any democratic government ultimately lies with the people. There are a number of different forms of democratic representation. Great Britain uses a single-member plurality system, while the German system of representation is based on proportional representation. Proportional representation is a more effective way of representing the interests of all people. Civil societies are vital to the prolonged success and development of democracies. A predominant party system, while not optimal, is democratic as long as the people have options. If the people choose to elect the same party over and over again, then so be it. The quality of democracy is not reduced. .
Different countries use varying sets of ways to elect their leaders. Great Britain uses an electoral systemfor representatives in the Commons by afirst-past the post? principle in each constituency? (Kesselman 64). The first-past-the-post or single member plurality system declares that the winner is the person who garners the most votes, regardless of whether or not a majority was received. .
Germany has been called a party democracy because the national government is so heavily influenced and shaped by the parties. This spreading out of power is enabled by their use of proportional representation. Proportional representation isa system of political representation in which seats are allocated to parties within multimember constituencies, roughly in proportion to the votes each party receives?(Kesselman A-13).
The German proportional election system in comparison to Great Britain's single-member plurality system is more effective and more democratic.
