Question

Difficulty: MediumDemocracy: Meaning, Types, Features, and Prerequisites

In a direct democracy, citizens elect legislative representatives to formulate laws and execute public policies on their behalf.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is false. Direct democracy entails immediate and personal participation of citizens in governance and law-making, whereas governance through elected representatives describes indirect or representative democracy.
The statement is false because direct democracy requires citizens to vote directly on laws and governance matters themselves. Electing representatives to make decisions on behalf of the populace defines indirect or representative democracy.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the definition and core mechanism of direct democracy.
Direct democracy requires citizens to vote directly on laws, policies, and public decisions (such as in ancient Athens or via modern referendums).
Establishing the operational definition of direct democracy is required to test the assertion.
2
Compare direct democracy against representative (indirect) democracy.
Electing proxies or legislative representatives to act on behalf of the electorate is the core mechanism of representative democracy.
Differentiating between direct and indirect forms shows that the stem incorrectly attributes representative features to direct democracy.

Key Concept

Forms of Democracy: Direct vs. Indirect (Representative) Democracy
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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