Monarchy and democracy are forms of government as old as they are in force. A monarchy is defined as the form of government in the figure of the head of the State rests on a single person. The monarchy is often thought of as directly opposed to a republic or a democracy. A democracy , on the other hand, is about the form of government in which the will of the majority prevails. In a democracy the people rule and that is precisely where the main difference between monarchies and democracies resides. What is the difference between Monarchy and Democracy?
It is worth mentioning that it is possible that certain countries are both democracies and monarchies. As is the case of several countries with constitutional monarchies having systems of parliamentary democracy. The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand are examples of this. What is the difference between Monarchy and Democracy?
Democracy | Monarchy | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The majority rule. In a democracy, an individual or group of individuals who make up a minority have no power against the unlimited power of the majority. It is a case of the majority over the minority. | A monarchy is the government in the hands of only one. Who governs is the monarch, a king in many cases. The sovereignty of the State rests absolutely on this person, although nowadays it is usually regulated by other institutions. |
| Etymology | As for the word democracy, it is of Greek origin and means “a government of the people.” | The word monarchy, on the other hand, comes from the Latin monarchĭa and literally means “state that is ruled by a sovereign.” |
| Philosophy | The voice of all citizens has the same value and weight when making decisions. | The voice of the sovereign is above that of the people and is final. There are cases in which other institutions can intervene, but it depends on each country. What is the difference between Monarchy and Democracy? |
| Some examples | As for current examples, more than half of the countries of the modern world, including the United States, the United Kingdom , Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Western Europe, among others. | Currently there are still some monarchies. The most notable are Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom , Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Monaco, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Japan, among many other countries. |
| Historically | Ancient Rome and Greece are the two greatest examples of this ideology. | Previously, monarchies were the predominant form of government. Some of the most renowned monarchies in ancient times include France, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Scotland, among others. What is the difference between Monarchy and Democracy? |
| Types | Some variations of democracy include direct democracy, parliamentary democracy, representative democracy, and presidential democracy, among others. | As for the variations of the monarchies, there are the elective monarchy, Catholic monarchy, feudal monarchy, popular monarchy, etc. |
