Trends, Networks, and Critical

Thinking in the 21st Century

Senior High School Grade 11
Unit 5
DEMOCRATIC INTERVENTIONS
Government intervention
• refers to the ways in which a government
regulates or interferes with the various
activities or decisions made by individuals
or organizations within its jurisdiction. The
effects of this can be positive or negative.
Democracy
-Greek word demos (the people) and kratein
(to rule)…to rule the people
-is one of the most important principles for a
better world. In its truest sense, a democracy
is a community in which all members have an
equal say in the running of that community.
Unfortunately in reality, democratic societies
have fallen short of this ideal. 
Democratic Participation
- is the empowerment of people to
effectively involve themselves in creating
structures, designing policies and programs
that serves that interest of all. It requires
association with other people.
6 fundamental Elements of Modern
Democracy
1. Rule of Law - ensures that the rights and
freedom of citizens are protected and no
one is above the law. All citizens stand as
equals in the eye of the law.
2. Separation of Powers – check and balances.
Powers are distributed among the executive,
legislative and the judiciary
3. Basic rights and freedom – a. Human Rights
b. Civil Rights c. Political Rights
Basic rights and freedom:
a. Human Rights – a right that is believed to
belong justifiably to every person
Ex. Right to life, rights to be secured in one’s
person and right to live freely.
b. Civil Rights and (ex. Right to own a
property, rights to enjoy privileges accorded
to being a citizen of a country)
c. Political Rights – rights that protect
individual’s freedom from infringement by
government, social institution, and private
individual. (ex. Right to run for elective office,
right to suffrage)
Other right from rule of law…. Freedom of
speech, Freedom of worship, freedom of
association
4. Suffrage – civil and political right. Every citizen,
within the recognized legal age, has the right to
participate in elections by casting a vote regardless
of sex, religion, political affiliation, educational
attainment and socio-economic status. They are
entitled to one vote.

5. Freedom of speech – ensures that the citizen are

able to voice out their agreement, disagreement,
affirmations, criticism, and proposal to their
government.
Libel – a crime broadly characterized by
maliciously publishing an article or write up
that may be detrimental to a person’s
character or may cause dishonor.
Oral Defamation – someone telling lies about
you
6. Pluralism – people are entitled to diverse
beliefs and opinions, which may result in the
becoming part of different organizations with
varying thrust and advocacies.
ex. In government – administration vs.
opposition
Types of Democracy
1. Direct Democracy / Pure Democracy
- Citizens come together to decide on issues or
pass laws through a vote.
- considered as ideal democracy, every single
person is able to participate in the voting
process and it ensures that the will of the
people is really followed.
- Being practiced in the Cantons of Switzerland
- Philippines, practiced in provisions of the
constitution (initiative and referendum)
Advantage: each citizens has a voice in making
important decisions for the community

Disadvantage: difficulty to implement with

huge populations because of amount of time
needed to gather each citizens vote and
opinion on issues.
2. Indirect Democracy / Representative
Democracy
- People elect leaders to act as their
representatives in the government.
- Citizens vote the members of the executive
and legislatives.
Advantage: relatively easier to decide on
issues, pass laws, and carry out their
implementations.

Disadvantage: very difficult to consider the will

of every citizens. They resort to intelligent
guesses to decide what they think their
constituent need.
4 Dimensions of Democracy:
1. The People
2. Equality
3. Common Good
4. Representation
1. The People
- A collective group of individuals with varying
political and religious beliefs who freely
decided to live together in a particular
geographical area and mutually consented to
form a democratic nation.
- Citizens of the nation wherein these citizen
are regarded as equals.
2. Equality
-we are equal in the eyes of the law (morally
equal), not necessarily because we are
naturally equal in every respect, but because
we have to be placed in a status of equality so
that we may be governed fairly and receive
the equal protection of the law (legal
equality).
-people in democracy has an equal right to
rule and an equal right to vote.
3. Common Good
– what is good for the people. Every action
should be done is for the well-being of the
people and not for their personal well-being
nor for the benefit of a particular majority.
4. Representation
- The use of Representatives – the ones who
are authorized to take appropriate and
necessary actions within the government that
would be beneficial for the common good of
the people.
POLITICAL CORRUPTION
There is an increase disenchantment of the
state of society in our globalized world. In a
study about democratic participation in
different countries in the globe, 44 out of 47
countries that took part in the study asserted
that the conditions of a good society were not
met (Barry Knight: 2002)
Undemocratic practices breed social ills that
haunt societies in the planet. Dissatisfaction
of citizens with their governments includes:
a) failure to meet their basic needs that
create profound insecurities,
b) failure to protect them from the sweeping
winds of economic change where they lose
their customs and traditions, and
c) failure to involve its citizens in its policies
and programs.
Basic Needs
Failure to meet basic needs is a common
complaint among many societies in the world
today. There was a growing gulf between rich
and poor droving the former to extra-legal
activities such as theft and prostitution.
Association
Undemocratic practices undermine the
traditional bonds of family and kinship
threatened by the pressures of work,
urbanization and migration. The distancing of
government concerns from the lives of
ordinary people weakened customary forms
of accountability and led to a highly corrupt,
self-seeking, inefficient, and partisan state.
Participation
Citizens play their part by
(1) engaging in collective action to perform
voluntary work with others in order to
tackle problems and
(2) participating in political processes to play
an active role in relation to the state in
order to ensure that the state opened
itself up to the influence of citizens.