A short history of democracy

Democracy has developed over the course of human history, from its origins in fifth century Athens to present-day Madisonian (representative) democracy. Over time, democracy has impacted the definition of whose views should be considered. This chapter reviews that development and starts to place stakeholder democracy within present democracy. Democracy has developed over the course of human history, from its origins in fifth century Athens to present-day Madisonian democracy. "Democracy is a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation, usually involving periodically held free elections". The German revolution, which established democratic rights, was around a German Confederation which ultimately became a nation-state in 1871. Much of the twentieth century became a conflict between democracy and different types of dictatorships, whether they were from the right or the left. The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was formed in the United States in 1960 and served as the youth wing of the League for Industrial Democracy, a socialist education organization, taking over that role from the Student League for Industrial Democracy. SDS was to become a place for intellectual discourse on the left in what became known as the New Left.