送交者: 匆匆过客 于 2005-8-23, 17:02:38:
回答: 是民主制度可以改变人，还是人的思想才是推动制度的根本原因？ 由 bluesea 于 2005-8-23, 12:23:35:
Garner's Usage Tip of the Day
democracy.
This term, meaning literally "government by the people," is often employed loosely, often tendentiously, often vaguely, and sometimes disingenuously (as when the post-World War II Soviet Union was referred to as a "democracy").
Originally a Greek term, "democracy" was understood by the Greeks very differently from the way we understand it today: Greek democracy was an institution limited to male clan members who were citizens; a huge population of slaves and other subordinated classes were disenfranchised. The same, of course, might be said of the United States before the abolition of slavery and before women gained the right to vote.
Notions of democracy change with changing notions of who "the people" are. Throughout history, the term has gradually come to be more and more inclusive.