{"id":3870,"date":"1945-06-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"1945-06-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/june-1945-vol-26-no-6-canadas-government\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T15:05:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T15:05:39","slug":"june-1945-vol-26-no-6-canadas-government","status":"publish","type":"rbc_letter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/june-1945-vol-26-no-6-canadas-government\/","title":{"rendered":"June 1945 &#8211; Vol. 26, No. 6 &#8211; Canada&#8217;s Government"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"layout-column-main\">\n<p class=\"boldtext\">Canada is a democracy. This does                     not mean, as many think, that its government is simple. Nothing                     could be farther from the truth. An autocratic government                     need satisfy only the dictator; in a democracy, government                     must work for the average citizen, his welfare, security and                     ideals. It must attempt to meet desires expressed in mass                     movements and in parochial caucuses. Government of, by and                     for the people is infinitely more perplexing than government                     by absolute monarchy or dictatorship.<\/p>\n<p> In the British Commonwealth, democratic government is further                     complicated, because in addition to being an autonomous democracy                     every Dominion is part of a monarchy, limited but real. Canada&#8217;s                     government follows the British system in its main outlines.                     It has popular representation based upon the sound judgment                     of the average man and the theory of political equality; it                     has executive responsibility, channelling down from a cabinet                     selected by the major political party, through Parliament                     to the electors; it has the two-house plan, one elected                     by popular vote and the other composed of persons holding                     their seats for life; and it has at its head the Crown, far                     removed from political strife. In addition, Canada has a federal                     form of government necessitated by the fact that the Dominion                     is composed of provinces, each a political entity exercising                     powers of government for provincial purposes but combining                     with the others in affairs which affect the welfare of all.<\/p>\n<p>Probably the best place to start consideration of the way                     Canada is governed is to describe the Dominion&#8217;s position                     within the Empire. There were several stages in the development                     of Commonwealth relations and forms of government, culminating                     in the Imperial Conference of 1926. At that conference the                     United Kingdom and the Dominions were described as &#8220;autonomous                     communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in                     no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic                     or foreign affairs, though united by a common allegiance to                     the Crown and freely associated as members of the British                     Commonwealth of Nations.&#8221; The principle of equality of status                     was made final in law in the Statute of Westminster in 1931,                     enacted at the request of, and with the consent of, all the                     Dominions.<\/p>\n<p>Constitutional government to the Britisher and Canadian                     means more a system of government than government under any                     document, and in its simplest terms it is merely a system                     in which political authority is bounded by established rules                     and procedures most of them unwritten. The United States meaning                     for &#8220;constitution&#8221; is the document prepared to establish the                     Union, and in this sense the British North America Act, passed                     in 1867 by the British Parliament, is Canada&#8217;s constitution.                     That Statute united the province of Canada, now divided into                     Ontario and Quebec, with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and                     made provision for admission of other provinces. These, with                     the dates of admission or creation, are: Manitoba (1870);                     British Columbia (1871); Prince Edward Island (1873); Saskatchewan                     (1905); Alberta (1905). After more than three-quarters                     of a century, it can be said that the British North America                     Act has displayed stability, has responded reasonably well                     to political changes natural in a new country, and has kept                     secure the primary constitutional rights which were so important                     in the minds of its framers. It was, of course, put together                     by men who could not possibly have foreseen the inventions                     of modern times which have drawn together far-flung communities                     at the same time as they provided the means of expansion;                     or the great changes in social philosophy and economic conditions;                     or the upheaval wrought by two world wars. All these have                     put severe strains on the written constitution. The local                     perplexities of 1867 have become national problems, and have                     been magnified a thousand times. There have been, and are,                     demands for changes to modernize the Act, but it can be said                     that its authors so framed it as to protect, even to this                     day, the constitutional form of government so dear to British                     peoples: the supremacy of the King-in-Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>Officially, Canada possesses a monarchical form of government,                     but it is not a separate kingdom. Only once has the King personally                     taken part in ceremonies of the Canadian Parliament (during                     the royal tour in 1939). The crown is hereditary in the family                     of the sovereign, but it is subject to the authority of parliament,                     consisting of the King and the two Houses of Parliament. Under                     modern constitutional practice the King has no power to refuse                     to act on his councillors&#8217; advice, and there is no parallel                     in the British system of government for the veto that can                     be exercised by the United States President.<\/p>\n<p>When it is necessary for the Crown to take part in Canadian                     government, the King acts through a Governor General, who                     assembles, prorogues and dissolves parliament, and assents                     to bills in the name of His Majesty, but in all these and                     in his other executive duties he acts upon advice of his Council.                     In turn, this Council must have the support of Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>Canada&#8217;s was the first federal union in the British Empire,                     comprising a central government concerned with matters essential                     to the development, permanency and unity of the Dominion as                     a whole, and a number of provincial governments which have                     control and management of certain local matters assigned to                     their jurisdiction. Each government is administered in accordance                     with the British-born system of parliamentary institutions.                     It is obvious that the federal system of government demands                     a compromise between two sets of political forces, and this                     is bound to keep up almost constant pressure for, on the one                     hand, greater centralization of power, and on the other, wider                     autonomy for the provincial authorities. The result is a series                     of special arrangements to care for particular circumstances.                     In face of difficulties inherent in the federal system, with                     local issues entangled bewilderingly with national affairs,                     the wonder is that federation can be made to work at all.                     The surest common denominator is an important national interest,                     and this is particularly needed in view of the bi-racial                     character of Canada&#8217;s population. It might be said that the                     federal system of government was framed to give French-speaking                     people a guarantee that their local affairs should not be                     interfered with by an English-speaking majority; but                     even leaving aside the bi-racial problem, federation                     would still be necessary, because local interests vary so                     greatly between the Maritimes and the Prairies, between Ontario                     and the West Coast. Far from perfect though a federal system                     may be, the great advantage of the Canadian federation is                     that it works. There are snarls that call for statesmanship                     to unravel; there are delays that provoke impatience; but                     generally speaking the good sense of the people in the long                     run makes itself effective through their established parliamentary                     institutions.<\/p>\n<p>Canada&#8217;s Parliament has two sections, the Upper House, called                     the Senate, and the Lower House, called the House of Commons.                     Senators are not elected, nor are their seats hereditary;                     they are appointed by the government of the day, on a territorial                     basis, and hold office for life. The Senate has now 96 members,                     representing a cross-section of the occupational, racial                     and economic characteristics of the people. In 1929 women                     were declared eligible for appointment, and the first woman                     entered the Red Chamber as a member in 1930.<\/p>\n<p>The Senate has co-extensive powers with the House of                     Commons in originating, legislation, except with respect to                     measures imposing taxes or expending public funds which result                     from taxes, but in practice most bills start in the Lower                     House and make their way to the Senate for second treatment.                     Sir John A. Macdonald, the Dominion&#8217;s first Prime Minister,                     called the Senate &#8220;the sober second thought in legislation.&#8221;                     During the session of Parliament which adjourned last August                     it effected amendments to 14 bills originated in the House                     of Commons.<\/p>\n<p>Representative government, which Canada enjoys, is based                     upon election of representatives to transact the people&#8217;s                     business, and it is in the Commons that political power rests.                     It is there that Cabinets, the executive of government, are                     made and unmade, because no Ministry can remain in power without                     confidence and support of the House of Commons. Elections                     are held at intervals of not longer than 5 years, but there                     is no fixed voting date. The Crown may dissolve Parliament                     at any time when it is thought expedient to appeal to the                     people, and this usually happens whenever the Cabinet fails                     to retain the confidence of the people&#8217;s representatives,                     although in similar circumstances the government may choose                     to resign, in which case the Governor General may call upon                     another leader to form a government.<\/p>\n<p>On the opening day of a session the Governor General or                     his deputy, seated on the throne in the Upper Chamber, to                     which members of the Commons have been summoned, reads the                     &#8220;Speech from the Throne&#8221;, in which the Government announces                     the principal measures it is proposed to present during the                     session. Upon conclusion of this ceremony, the members of                     the House of Commons return to their own chamber, a fictitious                     bill is read the first time as an indication that the House                     can do business of its own before acting under royal instructions,                     and then the Speaker formally reports the Governor General&#8217;s                     speech. The Speaker holds an office of great honour and responsibility.                     He is elected from among the members, and acts as permanent                     chairman for the life of a parliament.<\/p>\n<p>The opportunity for thorough discussion of business by members                     is indicated by the course of a bill. There is a formal first                     reading, then a second reading for debate of the general principle,                     followed by a committee stage when rules of debate are relaxed                     and an easy conversational examination of the bill is carried                     out clause by clause. When the bill is reported back to the                     House it may be further discussed, then read a third time,                     and if passed, sent on to the Senate, where it is dealt with                     in a similar manner. Much of the business of both Houses is                     considered in small select committees, and there are standing                     committees which deal with recurring business. When bills                     have been passed by both Houses, and assented to by the Crown,                     they become Acts or Statutes.<\/p>\n<p>Marking a ballot to elect a member to Parliament is so simple                     that the voter is likely to think little of the machinery                     needed to protect his rights, assure him free choice, and                     meet his convenience. Elections are supervised by the Chief                     Electoral Officer. He issues writs to the constituency returning                     officers, prepares instructions, publishes the results, and                     reports to the Speaker of the House. A nomination may be made                     by 10 electors. A deposit of $200 is required, returnable                     to the candidate upon election, or if he obtains at least                     half the number of votes polled in favour of the candidate                     elected: otherwise the deposit goes into the public revenues.                     No property qualifications are required, nor need the candidate                     be a resident of the constituency for which he seeks election.                     The minimum age is 21; the candidate must be a British subject                     by birth or naturalization; no government contractor may be                     a candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Ballots bear the names of the candidates, their occupations                     and addresses. Each constituency is divided into polling sub-divisions,                     planned for the greatest convenience of voters. When it is                     ascertained that a voter&#8217;s name is on the roll at a polling                     place, he is given a ballot, retires to a curtained compartment,                     marks a cross against the name of the candidate for whom he                     wishes to vote, folds the ballot so that the marking cannot                     be seen, and the completely anonymous ballot is deposited                     in a locked metal box. Upon closing of the poll, ballots are                     counted under supervision of deputy returning officers, and                     the candidate receiving the highest number of votes is declared                     elected. All British subjects, 21 years of age or over, who                     have been ordinarily resident in Canada for 12 months prior                     to polling day, and are ordinarily resident in the electoral                     district on the date of the election writ, have the franchise.                     Canadians on service with the armed forces, irrespective of                     age, are entitled to vote. Women were granted the franchise                     in 1918.<\/p>\n<p>There have been agitations at various times for a change                     to some system of proportional representation, the usual argument                     being that many constituencies are represented by members                     who secured a minority of the total votes, but it cannot be                     said that the movement has reached large proportions. Another                     question sometimes raised is that of making voting compulsory,                     but this is of even less interest. In the last 7 general elections                     the percentage of eligible votes cast ranged from 69 per cent                     in 1925 to 78 per cent in 1917. At the 1940 election, votes                     were cast by 71 per cent of those eligible.<\/p>\n<p>According to law, seats in the House of Commons must be                     redistributed in keeping with the population changes after                     every decennial census, hut for the first time since Confederation                     there was a postponement in 1941. It was realized that the                     unique nature of the war, and of the effort being made by                     Canada to produce goods, had led to an abnormal shift of people.                     When redistribution does occur, of course, it will be carried                     out on constitutional lines, allotting 65 seats to Quebec,                     and apportioning other provinces and districts representation                     according to relative population. The Quebec census total                     is divided by 65, which sets the representation quotient (51,213                     in 1941). This is divided into the populations of the individual                     provinces, to give the number of representatives. Changing                     of electoral district boundaries, when necessary, is done                     on a non-partisan basis, representatives of both government                     and opposition parties participating.<\/p>\n<p>Totalitarian states cannot countenance opposition, and have                     made it treason, but democratic states not only allow it;                     they foster it. The leader of the second largest party elected                     to the Canadian House of Commons becomes the Leader of His                     Majesty&#8217;s Loyal Opposition. This has been made a salaried                     position, so that the incumbent, presumably next in line as                     Prime Minister in case of defeat of the party in power, may                     devote all his time to the political duties of his position.<\/p>\n<p>Although unrecognized on the ballot, almost all members                     belong to parties which make their policies known nationally.                     Canada has two parties dating back to Confederation, the Conservatives                     and the Liberals, and, at the moment, several minor parties,                     most of them purely local in interest. At dissolution in April,                     the standing was: Liberal 155; Progressive Conservative 40;                     Co-operative Commonwealth Federation 10; Social Credit                     10; Independent 6; Liberal Progressive 5; Independent Liberal                     3; Bloc Populaire 2; Unity 1; Labor Progressive 1; Vacancies                     12.<\/p>\n<p>The House of Commons is led by the Prime Minister, chosen                     because he is the head of the party in power. To understand                     his and the Cabinet&#8217;s relationship to the House, it is necessary                     to consider first the Canadian Privy Council, established                     under the British North America Act to aid and advise in the                     government of Canada. Members of the Privy Council Who are                     for the time being at the head of public affairs are referred                     to as the Cabinet, Administration, Ministry or Government.<\/p>\n<p>Upon his election at the head of the majority party, the                     leader is called upon by the Governor General to form a government,                     becomes Prime Minister, nominates his Cabinet, which he selects                     from Members of Parliament elected by the people, or, in a                     few cases, from the Senate, and the Crown appoints his nominees.                     With the exception of two or three who are without portfolio,                     each Cabinet Minister directs one or more of the administrative                     departments, of which there were 22 in April. Cabinet and                     Parliament are not separate, as the President and Cabinet                     are separate from Congress in the United States. Cabinet is                     the connecting link between the monarch and the people through                     their representatives in Parliament, and a close relationship                     between Cabinet and Commons is essential. Ministers work together                     under traditional rules of unity, secrecy and joint responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>Good as their administrative officials of the civil service                     may be, and Canada&#8217;s civil servants stand high among the world&#8217;s                     public services, these permanent officials cannot take the                     place of the Cabinet Ministers in originating policy, nor                     can they appear on the floor of the House to debate proposals.                     To relieve pressure upon the Cabinet, a number of Parliamentary                     Assistants were named in 1943. These are Members of the Commons                     selected for special ability or interest, who fill in for                     the Cabinet Ministers in the House and work closely with them                     in departmental affairs.<\/p>\n<p>As a supplement to parliamentary legislation, the Privy                     Council issues &#8220;Orders in Council&#8221;. Because of the difficulty                     of issuing statutes in complete form, it has been found convenient                     to enact laws in general terms, leaving the details to be                     covered later by administrative orders, made by Orders in                     Council or by the Minister immediately concerned. &#8220;Order in                     Council&#8221; means simply an order passed by the Crown by and                     with the advice of the Privy Council, under powers conferred                     by some act or acts of Parliament; the phrase &#8220;Governor General                     in Council&#8221; means the Governor General acting by and with                     the advice of the Cabinet.<\/p>\n<p>To facilitate war business, there have been established                     a War Committee of the Cabinet, and a great many special boards,                     headed and manned by personnel from industry and other non-political                     sources. Some of these boards have been regulatory, endeavouring                     to control supplies and to ration commodities with the dual                     object of spreading them as widely and evenly as possible                     and of keeping down inflation. It is generally recognized                     that the Canadian people have voluntarily surrendered certain                     rights, prompted by these boards, for the duration of the                     war, to strengthen the war effort of the Dominion. In an emergency,                     and for a time, democratic people may hand over their rights                     and privileges, but they will beware of relinquishing liberty                     for all time. Recent sittings of two Royal Commissions, inquiring                     into phases of income tax, draw attention to another device                     for decentralizing parliamentary activity. These Royal Commissions                     travel from end to end of the country, gathering data, receiving                     delegations, accepting briefs, and probing the particular                     subjects assigned to them. They then submit their reports,                     on which Parliament may or may not take action.<\/p>\n<p>It is fundamental in the British tradition that people should                     be taxed only with their own consent. his principle, affirmed                     in Magna Charta, is innate in the Canadian system. For each                     fiscal year the Government&#8217;s Finance Minister presents a budget                     in which he gives a report of the preceding year&#8217;s financial                     affairs, and declares how much the Government intends to raise                     in the coming year, and the means it will use to do so. The                     departments submit estimates of expenditures in detail, and                     the Ministers are subject to very close questioning from all                     parts of the house. All taxes and other revenues are paid                     into the Treasury, and all money which goes out is carefully                     checked according to strict rules set forth in statutes. There                     is a thorough examination by the Auditor-General, whose                     position is considered so important that he can be removed                     only on a combined request of the Senate and the House of                     Commons to the Governor General. Every item of expenditure                     is painstakingly corroborated, and is later reported in detail                     and printed for general information.<\/p>\n<p>The civil service has played an enormously important part                     in the development of the country, and has made a conspicuous                     contribution during the war. Selection of staff is made by                     the Civil Service Commission, on the principle of appointment                     after open competition, and promotion by merit, and the personnel                     remains unchanged by elections. While the number of permanent                     civil servants has actually decreased during the war, many                     temporary employees have been added, so that the total in                     the service has increased from about 43,000 in 1937 to 113,000.                     War veterans have statutory preference in appointments, qualifications                     being equal between applicants.<\/p>\n<p>Canada&#8217;s judicial system is independent of politics. Judges                     are appointed for life, and the Canadian judiciary has upheld                     the tradition of impartiality inherited from British jurisprudence.                     The Supreme Court has jurisdiction as a general court of appeal                     in both civil and criminal cases throughout the Dominion,                     and in disputes between the provinces and the Dominion. The                     Exchequer court has original jurisdiction in cases seeking                     relief against the Crown, and enforces the law relating to                     revenue. Canadians have no direct contact with the British                     law courts. The Judical Committee of the British Privy Council                     will hear appeals from the Supreme Court of Canada only when                     the case is one of gravity, involving questions of public                     interest, or some important point of law. Since the Statute                     of Westminster, Canada has been free to decide whether appeals                     should be allowed to the Privy Council.<\/p>\n<p>It should be mentioned that while provincial governments                     are technically or theoretically supreme in numerous subjects                     assigned to them by the British North America Act, changing                     times have brought forward new subjects, and changed or altered                     the importance of old ones, so that disputes frequently arise                     as to the extent of authority between the federal and provincial                     governments. The Dominion Government has a general power of                     veto or disallowance over any act of a provincial legislature.                     The general practice is to refer disputes to the Supreme Court,                     and, if necessary, to carry them to the British Privy Council                     for adjudication.<\/p>\n<p>It will be seen from this brief outline of Canada&#8217;s government                     that the way of democracy does not run smoothly, that, as                     was remarked in the first paragraph, it is neither simple                     nor free from perils. We should do ourselves a disservice,                     however, if because of difficulties we abandoned democracy                     for some new code. Pressure groups and visionaries are always                     at hand with panaceas, but it is of historical record that                     these cure-alls inevitably include destruction of the                     freedoms inherent in democracy: speech, meeting, and the press.                     These are the channels through which democracy informs public                     opinion, and no other form of government can tolerate them.<\/p>\n<p>Democracy demands more of citizens than do other forms of                     government. It takes for granted education, interest and high                     integrity. It is only in absence of these that dictators can                     arise, and, by holding out promises of easy and quick ways                     of doing things, seize power. Democracy may be slow to act,                     but its delay is often due to the fact that public opinion                     is not so quickly made up as a brain-truster&#8217;s mind.                     This is not proof of inefficiency, but a great safeguard of                     free society. In the post-war era, history is not going                     to begin a new chapter: it never does: history runs on. The                     old principles will remain, and by acceptance of what is best                     in democracy, and by education in public affairs and co-operation,                     evolution can be continued of a system of government that                     will provide the race with the best kind of life and happiness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"rbc_letter_theme":[],"rbc_letter_year":[25],"class_list":["post-3870","rbc_letter","type-rbc_letter","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","rbc_letter_year-25"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>June 1945 - Vol. 26, No. 6 - Canada&#039;s Government - RBC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/june-1945-vol-26-no-6-canadas-government\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"June 1945 - Vol. 26, No. 6 - Canada&#039;s Government - RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Canada is a democracy. This does not mean, as many think, that its government is simple. Nothing could be farther from the truth. An autocratic government need satisfy only the dictator; in a democracy, government must work for the average citizen, his welfare, security and ideals. It must attempt to meet desires expressed in mass [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/june-1945-vol-26-no-6-canadas-government\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-28T15:05:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/june-1945-vol-26-no-6-canadas-government\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/june-1945-vol-26-no-6-canadas-government\\\/\",\"name\":\"June 1945 - Vol. 26, No. 6 - Canada's Government - RBC\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"1945-06-01T01:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-28T15:05:39+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/june-1945-vol-26-no-6-canadas-government\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"RBC\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"June 1945 - Vol. 26, No. 6 - Canada's Government - RBC","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/june-1945-vol-26-no-6-canadas-government\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"June 1945 - Vol. 26, No. 6 - Canada's Government - RBC","og_description":"Canada is a democracy. This does not mean, as many think, that its government is simple. Nothing could be farther from the truth. An autocratic government need satisfy only the dictator; in a democracy, government must work for the average citizen, his welfare, security and ideals. 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