ABSTRACT
IN the last lecture we saw that it was quite impossible todefine a democracy and other forms of the State according tothe number of those governing. Except for small tribes of the lowest order there are no societies where the government is carried out direct by all in common: it is always in the hands of a minority chosen either by birth or by election; its scope may be large or small, according to circumstances, but it never comprises more than a limited circle of individuals. In this respect there are only slight shades of difference between the various political forms. Governing remains always the function of an organization that is clearly defined and hence has definite limits. But what does vary appreciably, according to the society, is the way in which the government organ communicates with the rest of the nation. Sometimes contact is at long intervals or irregular; the government keeps itself out of sight and lives retired within itself; at other times, it keeps in contact with the society only fitfully and fails to reach all parts of it. It is not constantly aware of the society and the society is not aware of it. We may ask what use it does make of its activity in the circumstances? For the main part it is turned towards the outer world. It takes little part in the internal life, because its own life is elsewhere: it is above all the agent of external relations, the agent for the acquisition of territory and the organ of diplomacy. In other societies, by contrast, communications between the State and other parts of society are many, and both regular and organized. The citizens are kept in touch with what the State is doing and the State is at given periods, or it may be continuously, told of what is going on in the deep layers of the society. It is informed either through administrative channels or by the voice of the electorate about what is happening in the
most distant or most obscure strata of the society, and these in turn are informed as to the events going on in political circles. The citizens take part from a distance in some of the deliberations that go on there; they are aware of the action taken, and their judgments and the result of their considered thought comes back to the State by certain channels. This is really the gist of democracy. It is of little moment that those who hold the reins of State run to this number or that; what is essential and a special feature is the way in which they communicate with the society as a whole. It is true that, even in this respect, there are only differences of degree between the various types of political system, but the differences are in this case deeply marked; further, they can be recognized externally by the existence or otherwise, of institutions for ensuring that close communication which is a feature of the democratic form.
