Democracy is a form of Tier 3 government in Civilization VI. It is unlocked by the Suffrage civic.
In Rise and Fall, this government's legacy bonus is conferred by Democratic Legacy, a Wildcard policy unlocked by changing governments after adopting Democracy and constructing a Tier 3 government building (National History Museum, Royal Society, or War Department). In Gathering Storm, adopting this government unlocks Their Finest Hour and New Deal.
Strategy[]
Under the vanilla ruleset, whereas Fascism and Communism may focus more on achieving a Domination or Science Victory respectively, Democracy focuses much more on Religious or Cultural Victories (the latter especially) as district projects tend to focus on massive amounts of yield production and 
Great People. Democracy is much more geared towards amassing large quantities of 
Science, 
Faith, and 
Culture rather than 
Production or units (which, prior to Gathering Storm and the effects of Arsenal of Democracy being folded into Democracy, often proved to be a major drawback during times of war, or preparing for same).
In Gathering Storm, this government gives boosts for 
Alliances and foreign 
Trade Routes, which benefits civilizations like the Cree that focus on these peaceful gameplay aspects. This is in contrast to Communism, which centers on domestic production and Trade Routes. Democracy's Trade Route bonuses, together with the powerful New Deal policy card that is exclusive to this government, make it easy to either set up a single powerful city or help many struggling new cities in a time of expansion.
Civilopedia entry[]
Literally "rule by the ordinary people," a democratic government is one in which a large number - ideally all - of the population are involved in making policy decisions, either directly or through elected representatives. What constitutes "the people" is always a fraught issue - while states such as the USA extend voting rights to most, this has not always been the case, as African-Americans, indigenous groups, and women for long were barred from participation in civic life. Democracy is a "liberal" system, if by liberal here we mean the notion of a free individual exercising individual opinions and thus leading to a collective good (and not in its common use as "not conservative"). Ideally, such a system ensures civil liberties, active participation, human rights, and a rule of law. However, as Herodotus reminds us (and dictators ever since have reinforced), the majority may not have its own interest at heart. While freedom of speech, freedom of political expression, freedom of belief, and freedom of the press all sound wonderful, these can bring discord, instability, apathy, paralysis, and violence in the face of challenges. On the other hand, such individual freedoms can lead to bursts of artistic and scientific creativity, economic abundance, and free expression.
Early democracies were generally “direct” democracies, in the sense that the franchised (i.e. those who could vote – generally excluding women, slaves, those without property, etc) voted on each important matter in assembly. But as the population grew, this proved impractical. Thus, most democracies evolved as did the Roman Republic, with the citizens (however determined) electing representatives to voice their collective views and guard their collective interests. Democracies have ranged from large-scale bureaucracies where the collective will of the people (i.e. the government) manages a great deal of society, to systems where enfranchisement is limited almost to the point of an oligarchy, but each shares the idea that the collective expression of individual will leads to a greater good.
Trivia[]
- The background of the artwork of Democracy depicts the hand and torch of the Statue of Liberty.
See also[]
- Democracy in other games
| Civilization VI Governments [edit] |
|---|
Autocracy • Catholic Monarchy1 • Chiefdom • Classical Republic • Colonial Government1 • Communism • Corporate Libertarianism  • Democracy • Digital Democracy • Fascism • Kandake1 • Merchant Republic • Monarchy • Oligarchy • Penal Settlement1 • Pharaoh1 • State Government1 • Synthetic Technocracy • Thalassocracy1 • Theocracy
|
1 Specific scenarios only
 Added in the Gathering Storm expansion pack. |