Briefly explain the differences between a democratic form of government and a government run as a dictatorship.

A democracy and a dictatorship are extremely different, in fact, they are almost opposite. A democracy is a form of government the is for the people whereas a dictatorship is completely controlled by one person or group.

In a democracy the supreme power is in the hands of the people. In a representative or direct democracy, like the USA, the people are represented primarily through elections. Elected officials speak and act on behalf of their constituents (this means the people in their territory) and voters also vote on policy issues like environmental conversation and school funding. In a direct democracy, which is much less common, the people speak, act and vote directly on their own behalf. There are no political officials, the people represent themselves. Direct democracy is more likely found in smaller, local governments. Democratic governments power is usually divided among different branches and between central and local governments. This prevents any one governmental group from becoming more powerful than the people.

In a dictatorship the rulers have no responsibility to the people. The government is not accountable for its policies or how they are carried out, they answer to know one. There are two types of dictatorships, autocracy and oligarchy. An autocracy is when one person rules and an oligarchy has a group of who rule together. This type of government is usually authoritarian, which means that the people in power hold absolute power and unchangeable power over the people. Dictatorships tend to be totalitarian which means they control all aspects of life for their citizens.