Each system of government played to the strengths of its nation. In Greece, the citizens were well-educated, and power was central to the capital. The Roman Empire was massive and very diverse in terms of language and culture. It would have been impossible to get the opinion of every citizen in a timely manner. The systems developed by each empire reflected the structure of their societies.
Today, as countries have larger populations, representative democracies are more common. The Indonesia and all other countries are representative democracies. The only direct democracy in the world is Switzerland, which has popular votes on issues four times each year.
Democracy in Indonesia
Have you ever thought about how even though Indonesia is a democracy, citizens don’t really vote all that often? In Indonesia, the average voter can cast a ballot once every some years. The real work of law making happens in parliament and in government. But democracy should be based on ordinary people having a permanent say in the decision making process. But exactly how much say should people have?
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Representative democracies like the Indonesia have their pros and cons. On the one hand, the Indonesia is very large, and less than half of all citizens vote in any given election. This means that it could be difficult to consistently contact the entire nation for votes, though technology has certainly made the idea far more possible. The main question is whether or not the public would engage in the process properly. People lead very busy lives, and much of the voting would require research, especially complicated problems dealing with subjects like the economy or foreign relations, where ordinary citizens don’t have much experience.
However, convenience comes at the price of control. Electing officials to vote for you is riskier than voting yourself; you never know what other factors are playing a role in their decision. Campaign money, wanting to be re-elected and personal morals could all cause a divide between what the people want and what an official votes for. Additionally, when one representative speaks for a whole group of people, some minority voices will inevitably be overpowered. In a representative democracy, it is harder for the people to assert their power. So, every citizen needs to take voting seriously and make their voices known to their local and state elected officials.