It would be typical for these two concepts to be contrasted as one would contrast night and day. However, perhaps for reasons of political convenience or perhaps an innocuous oversight, relatively little is said in terms of identifying and comparing the likenesses to be found between them.
Ultimately there is a gravitation towards two poles or entities. The entity of domination and the entity of submission, or the distinction between the rulers and the ruled. In the case of democracy, within the forms which it may be found today, there always exists an entity which imposes its will upon another entity. Whether the ruling entity is an individual who gained power through force or whether it takes the form of an overwhelming majority vote, there always remains an element upon which the wills of others are imposed. Thus it is only the ratio which differs within ths respect.
Within modern society one sees a number of variants stemming from democracy by which the power of the vote is diminished in favour of some other intermediary ruling structure. Whether it takes the form of the Three-tier American system, the British House of Lords or the back-stage appointment of European Union councils makes little difference. The balance of power shifts and there always remains a ruled entity which is less able to determine its own destiny.
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