Democracy(demos cratia): Divisioning to Rule

Remember, democracy never lasts long.
It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.
There never was a democracy yet
that did not commit suicide.
John Adams

The essence and origin of democracy, arguably, is dividing up work, not "people rule" or the intervening concept of divisioning people to rule. The democratic process evolved to legitimize the logical right of each person to earn and own their daily bread by the sweat of their brow. All definitions of democracy which have lasted more than a few regimes have attempted to establish people's right to work and receive the fruits of their work, to own their labor. 

The Greek origin of democracy, in word and work, was divisioning of people to rule--demos cratia. To rule on what? The use of their time to survive--work! Can there be any greater embodiment of democracy than democratic capitalism and 24 in 4: By better managing our human resources, we can have a 24 hour workweek in 4 years with more time for self, family, church and community. Or, if we do not share the work through the timeclock then we will share it through higher rates of crime, inflation, interest and stress. We can share job time or jobless crime.

It is important to note that optimal divisioning is both size of peoples' divisions and timing of peoples' exercising their right and need to have goverment of, by and for the people.

1. The optimal size is between one-man dictatorship and mob anarchy.
2. The optimal timing is between never and 24/7.

Optimal parameters are determined by the existence of unsolved problems. Optimal democracy has optimal size and timing.