Although highly controversial at various points in history, representative democracy (and electoral systems in general) have become the modern civics global-standard. Nevertheless, criticism of electoralism continues both within the Western world and the developing world. In the Global North, criticism comes primarily from the anarchist, revolutionary communist, and libertarian ends of the political spectrum. Representative democracy is a form of democracy and theory of civics in which voters choose (in free, secret, multi-party elections) representatives to act in their interests, but not as their proxies—i. ... Modern can simply mean something that is up-to-date, trendy, new, or from the present time. ... Civics is the science of comparative government and means of administering public trusts - the theory of governance as applied to state institutions. ... The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ... The North-South divide is the socio-economic and political division which exists between the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as the The North, and the poorer developing countries, or The South. Although most nations comprising the North are in fact located in the Northern Hemisphere, the divide is not... Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Revolution. ... Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... See also Libertarianism and Libertarian Party Libertarian,is a term for person who has made a conscious and principled commitment, evidenced by a statement or Pledge, to forswear violating others rights and usually living in voluntary communities: thus in law no longer subject to government supervision. ... A political spectrum is a way of comparing or visualizing different political positions, by placing them upon one or more geometric axes. ...

Libertarian Criticisms

Classic libertarians (anarchists) argue against the legitimacy of political representation although most libertarians accept the concept of delegation. This is primarily due to a belief that majority rule voting systems will erode the liberty of social and political minorities. Libertarians argue that any just political system must include voluntary association to prevent the oppressive enforcement of law. Additionally, libertarians argue that the election of representatives creates a priest-class of political administrators while disempowering and alienating the general public, for which voting is a highly mediated form of political engagement that diverts energy away from more effective means of political and social reform (or revolution). Some libertarians argue that representation is philosophically impossible due to the unique nature of each individual, distinct from social, political, and economic class interests. Libertarian socialism is any one of a group of political philosophies dedicated to opposing coercive forms of authority and social hierarchy, in particular the institutions of capitalism and the state. ... Anarchists can refer to several things, among which: The movie Anarchists Supporters of the principles of anarchism The Anarchists (Les Anarchistes), a famous song from Léo Ferré A List of anarchists This is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Delegation is handing a task over to a subordinate. ... Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society. ... Voters at the voting booths in the US in 1945 Voting systems are methods (algorithms) for groups of people to select one or more options from many, taking into account the individual preferences of the group members. ... ... ... A voluntary association (also sometimes called just an association) is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. ... Oppression is the negative outcome experienced by people targeted by the arbitrary and cruel exercise of power in a society or social group. ... Alienation is estrangement or splitting apart. ... It has been suggested that Revolutionary be merged into this article or section. ... Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. ...

Most libertarians support consensual direct democracy as an alternative to an electoral system and direct action as a means to implement decisions made individually or collectively. See also - autonomism, horizontalism, topless federation. Consensus has two common meanings. ... Direct democracy comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty was lodged in the assembly of all citizens. ... For the Canadian urban guerilla group Direct Action see Squamish Five Direct action is a method and a theory of stopping objectionable practices or creating more favorable conditions using immediately available means. ... Autonomism can refer to: Autonomism may refer to a bundle of left-wing movements historically bound-up with Italian Autonomist marxism. ... Horizontalism (Spanish: horizontalidad) is a concept that implies the striving for nonhierarchical power structures and relationships. ...

Communist Criticism

Communists generally argue against elections under capitalism as being insufficient for revolutionary change. Moreover, communists see elections as diverting the personal, economic, and mental resources of the individual towards dead end politics when that same energy could be used to foment a communist revolution and create a proletarian dictatorship. Communists see the global-standard status of elections in the current world as clear evidence that market society has entrenched itself and been, for the moment, completely victorious over truly grassroots forms of change. Therefore, communists generally see their task as anathema to elections, since the revolutionary task involves physical overthrow of the government in question, seizure of their state power, and the forcible establishment of an entirely different form of society where the working class controls production. This article is about communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, and as a popular movement. ... In common usage, the word capitalism means an economic system in which the means of production are overwhelmingly privately owned and operated for profit, with privately determined investment of capital, and where production, distribution, and the prices of goods, services, and labor are affected by the forces of supply and... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Revolution. ... For the musical group, see Cul de Sac (group). ... A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism, normally with socialism (public ownership over the means of production) as an intermediate stage. ... Proletarian dictatorship (also called workers dictatorship) means the political rule of the working class over society, rather than the ruling class power of the wealthy exercised around the world today under various manifestations of capitalism. ... This article is about the World, meaning the Earth. ... Market Society can refer to either the free-market style of capitalism first popularized by Adam Smith, or (to a lesser extent) can also refer to government-instituted and/or controlled forms of the market, commonly called State capitalism. ... A grassroots political movement, inspired by the German word Graswurzel, is a movement organized by a network of citizens. ... Anathema (Greek Word -Ανάθεμα-: meaning originally something lifted up as an offering to the gods; later, with evolving meanings, it came to mean 1. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Revolution. ... An overthrow or coup is a term referring to a change in government, whereby a leader or party is removed from power, often through the use of force. ... In the context of international relations and diplomacy, power (sometimes clarified as international power, national power, or state power) is the ability of one state to influence or control other states. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ...

However, communists are not necessarily opposed to elections under the revolutionary communist society once the latter has come into existence and been consolidated. Election of leaders at the local level and, in turn, for wider leadership on the global level, would to a communist undoubtedly make fully participatory elections absolutely necessary. However, the difference under such circumstances as compared to capitalism would be that communist elections would reject the representative democracy model as a residual of capitalism, the latter mdoel, in the view of communists, making it more likely for the new society to revert back to profit and the market if fully participatory democracy were nor pursued. Participatory democracy is a broadly inclusive term for many kinds of consultative decision making which require consultation on important decisions by those who will carry out the decision. ... Representative democracy is a form of democracy and theory of civics in which voters choose (in free, secret, multi-party elections) representatives to act in their interests, but not as their proxies—i. ... Profit is a positive return made on an investment by an individual or by business operations. ... A market economy is an economy in which goods and services are traded, with the price at which goods and services are exchanged being determined by trades that occur as a result of sellers asking prices matching buyers bid prices. ...

See also

• Criticisms of electoralism, USA

Presidential Elections Critics have argued that the Electoral College creates inequality between voters in different states during the presidential election. ...

External links

• Voting, Elections, Democracy, Republicanism, and the Electoral College Discusses voting, elections, democracy, republicanism, and the Electoral College. Includes a procedural guide to the electoral college, parts of the Constitution and constitutional amendments regarding voting and elections, and includes the original paper by Alexander Hamilton, "Federalist No. 68 - The Mode of Electing the President", which illustrates much of the founding fathers' original thinking regarding the Electoral College.