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Framework of Government: Exercise 2 - Core democratic values


Instructions: Read the passage and click on the correct answer. If wrong, try again. Scroll down if you do not see the Answer box.
Click here to review the key terms for this exercise.


Democracy is a form of government in which all citizens are able to participate in the process of making governmental decisions. A democratic government also guarantees citizens certain basic rights, such as freedom of speech. This type of government is based on the following four core (basic) values:
  • popular sovereignty: the idea that people are able to govern themselves.
  • political freedom: the idea that people can express their preferences free from government control.
  • political equality: the idea that everyone has the right to participate in politics and that everyone's participation has equal value.
  • majority rule: the idea that government decisions should be based on the desires of more than half of the people but without ignoring the rights of any minorities (groups smaller than the majority).
These core values are important because they form the foundation of democracy. They are the beliefs democracy is built on. Furthermore, these values are interrelated (connected). If people want to govern themselves, they need to have political freedom to express their preferences (what they want), and they need to have the right to participate equally in politics. If the government wants to make policy (take action) based on the concerns of the majority of the people, it needs to know what those concerns are, and it needs to consider each concern or interest equally. Because these values are interdependent, the use of one of these values by itself does not make a government democratic. Therefore, in a democratic government, all of these values must guide both the process of governmental decision-making and the outcome of those decisions.

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