The rule of a few. C. Democracy Democratic rule means that authority ultimately lies in the hands of the people. The ideal type of democracy would be a participatory or pure democracy where everyone has equal input into policy. Direct or pure democracy, however, has never existed at the level of nation-state . Societies which claim to have democratic forms of government have representative democracies.
Voters elect representatives who in turn make political decisions on behalf of the voters.
Stable representative democracies are found in highly industrial countries. Representative democracy, as a form of government, is recent, rare, and fragile . A large middle-class acts to protect its interests through democracy. The survival of democratic forms of government may depend upon continual economic growth. During periods of economic growth, even the poor feel like their lives are getting better.