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Although ancient Athens was a democracy of sorts, the democracy as we know it today has its origins in the late 18th century. It would take until 1848 before most countries' Kings in Europe adopted it.

As to the 'why': that had to do with the rise of the middle classes in the late 18th and early 19th century, the relatively well-to-do citizens who were responsible for production and trade and who basically ran their countries' economies. They also paid most of the taxes, and decided that if they kept the country running and paid its expenses, they should also have a say in how the country was run and their money was spent. So they wanted their representatives to play a clear role in their countries' government.

It took a couple of revolutions to achieve this, but from around 1848 the tax-paying male citizens could choose their representatives into Parliament and have them vote on policies and expenditure. Poorer citizens (and women) would have to wait until the early 20th century before they got the vote, too.

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9y ago

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