The main feature of the Marxist notion of democracy is to consider it in close connection with the material conditions of society and its class structure. Marxism believes that the class society is an expression of democracy dictatorship economically ruling class. Under exploitative system - slave, feudal and bourgeois - served as the institutions of democracy and serve the class, in whose hands were and are the means of production: slave, feudal and bourgeois.
Marxism at the same time believes that bourgeois democracy is the most developed historical type of democracy is exploitative society that put an end to absolutism and formally declared the most important rights and freedoms of individuals.
The highest type of political democracy, Marxism recognizes socialist or proletarian democracy. The main difference from the bourgeois socialist democracy is seen that it is the power of most of society - workers (the dictatorship of the proletariat), directed against the exploiting minority, while bourgeois democracy is the power a small minority - the owners of the means of production. Socialist democracy is based on public ownership of means of production, serving the economic basis for establishing social equality of people and their true freedom as liberation from capitalist exploitation. It is believed that unlike the bourgeois democratic socialist democracy is not only proclaims the freedom of political and socio-economic rights, but also guarantees them safe. Along with the representative democracy of socialism by using different forms of direct democracy, which finds expression in the activity of NGOs in the system of control, in practice, most public discussion of draft laws, etc.
The real socialism established by authority of the people do not, and absolute power of one political party, which is due to non-democratic construction of the party is turning into absolute power of party leadership. Socialist democracy denies the separation of powers. Executive authorities though popularly elected, but under strict party control [6].
Besides these, in democratic theory, there are also other concepts of democracy: market, plebistsytarna consensus (the community) and others. A separate group is elitist conception of democracy as an attempt to combine incompatible at first glance, the theory of democracy and theory of elites.
Since concordant pluralist theory of democracy elitist conception of democracy. The political elite is defined as an independent, privileged group or set of groups directly linked to domination or pressure on the government. Predecessors of modern democracy were elitist Plato, Karleyl, Nietzsche and others. Modern classical concept of the elite were formulated in the early twentieth century. V. Pareto, G. Dep, P. Michels. The most common traits shared by elite theory are:
division of society into elite and mass;
interpretation of political inequality as the basis of social life;
knowledge of power supplies due to the "chosen minority;
consideration of social history as a set of cycles, characterized by the domination of certain types of elites.
Thus, elitist concept of democracy says that the ideal of democracy in modern times (still) not implemented substantially. The people representing political power in the ruling elite [2].
One of the varieties of elitism adversarial model is the theory of democracy plebistsytarnoyi M. Weber. According to the logic of reasoning veberskyh representation in parliament of individual independent deputies in the development of liberal democracy is gradually being replaced by political parties. The latter, in turn, produce a single direction and establish strict discipline, becoming a bureaucratic organization. Power remains in the parties in those who regularly worked in the party apparatus and eventually concentrates in professional politicians. This party sets the machine control mechanism over their supporters, including here and members of parliament. The result is a system where parties dominate parliament and the leaders dominate the party. "This circumstance, - noted M. Weber - is of particular importance for the selection of leaders of the party. Becomes the leader of only one particular and across the head of parliament who is subject machine. In other words, the creation of such machines means domination plebistsytarnoyi democracy" [1, 218]
As an alternative against the elitist conception of democracy is the theory partitsypatsiynoyi democracy. By "partitsypatsiyeyu in western political science understood all kinds of participation (voluntary and involuntary) in political life to influence and pressure on decision-making power. The authors interpret the concept of the necessity of most people not only in election campaigns, referendums, but in other kinds of political process, including the formation of power groups and the nomination of political leaders. German political scientists Huhhenberher B. and D. Nolen partitsypatsiynoyi consider the theory of democracy as one of the following critical democratic theory in its center - an analysis of political reality from the perspective of the ideal of individual self-determination and autonomy of the individual targeting [5, 423].
The concept of democracy is closely adjacent poliarhichnoyi communitarian model of democracy, ie a model of democratic development in several countries, different polysyllabic nature of social structure in which society is divided into many segments. This model of society differs by two main features: vertical segmentation of the population into different linguistic, ethnic, racial or ideological community; institutionalize the process of interaction, which is at the elite communities.
Theoretical model of communitarian democracy was developed by American researcher A. Leyphartom Dutch origin. Based on empirical research in comparative politics political experience of some countries (Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland) AG Leyphart questioned the typology of political systems G. Almond, associated mainly with homogeneous or heterogeneous cultures. If Anglo-American system is characterized by uniformity, European continental systems differ fragmentation of political culture. The latter may be a factor in political instability in the society [3, 284].
In the kaleidoscope of political theories of democracy there is also the economic theory of democracy. It is based on image rights fully informed, talented and act rationally to achieve maximum benefit for themselves. Economic democracy - a realm of market relations, which reduced the political and power relations. Liberal-minded theorists and politicians connected tie together democracy and market. American President Bill Clinton called modern western democracy market democracy.
Thus, the analysis of contemporary theoretical concepts of democracy shows the diversity of approaches to the definition of democracy. Each direction has a conceptual and normative character, that characterizes this or that kind of democracy in the ideal. However, theoretical analysis based on actual experience - an empirical approach [7, 218].
Democracy - the most civilized and developed a political profile. Most modern population of the world deeply and consciously perceived support democratic values and ideals. To develop, democratic forms of political life needed social, economic and cultural base. Without them in the political process is undemocratic forms. This is - first, a high level of economic development, diversity of ownership, the presence of a developed market, competitive producers. In fact, democracy itself resembles a political market with its competition of ideas, programs and positions. Second, a high degree of political culture. Culture and society in general, especially in political life, is a powerful catalyst for democratic processes.
When all possible deviations from the trend among leading public increasingly confirms the understanding of the universality of the principles and values of liberal democracy. The realization that democracy - is not only the traditional set of principles of parliamentarism, pluralism and multiparty system. This is the first real democracy. Last comes only when democracy grows from the bottom, not imposed from above, when a deputy for each of imperative mandate is actually united by common interests group of people - self-governing collective labor, government committees neighborhood association of consumers, trade unions, etc.All this requires an appropriate political and civic culture in particular, genuine civil society and many other conditions which provides a lot of effort by the political forces of national revival.
With Ukraine, here as in other post-totalitarian, post-communist countries, the strengthening of liberal democracy - taking into account national traditions - a long and difficult Liberal democracy is impossible without the development of an appropriate political elite to ensure its interaction with the institutions of democracy.
Discrepancy between institutional and procedural areas of popular culture, society or it shape the political values as the periodic crises in developed democracies, and the inconsistency and contradictions of democratization in transitional societies. Similarly, many existing models of democracy or to emphasize some of the above aspects of democracy, or on certain values (eg value of political competition J. Schumpeter).