The article critically reflects on the main theories of democracy in the short 20th century, ascertaining that the seemingly different and mutually exclusive discussions share a similar sentiment - political agoraphobia and a simultaneous "privatisation" of the democratic idea, which strengthens the belief that democracy is not universally applicable because it is a matter of a very specific civilisational environment. The author continues by identifying the dissonance between the etymological origin or original meaning of democracy and its understanding today. He concludes that democracy actually never meant the rule (archos) of the people, but was born as an idea foregrounding the power or the capacity (krátos) of the people (demos).

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