<P> Robert Michels asserts that although democracy can never be fully realised, democracy may be developed automatically in the act of striving for democracy: "The peasant in the fable, when on his death - bed, tells his sons that a treasure is buried in the field . After the old man's death the sons dig everywhere in order to discover the treasure . They do not find it . But their indefatigable labor improves the soil and secures for them a comparative well - being . The treasure in the fable may well symbolise democracy ." </P> <P> Dr. Harald Wydra, in his book Communism and The Emergence of Democracy (2007), maintains that the development of democracy should not be viewed as a purely procedural or as a static concept but rather as an ongoing "process of meaning formation". Drawing on Claude Lefort's idea of the empty place of power, that "power emanates from the people (...) but is the power of nobody", he remarks that democracy is reverence to a symbolic mythical authority as in reality, there is no such thing as the people or demos . Democratic political figures are not supreme rulers but rather temporary guardians of an empty place . Any claim to substance such as the collective good, the public interest or the will of the nation is subject to the competitive struggle and times of for gaining the authority of office and government . The essence of the democratic system is an empty place, void of real people which can only be temporarily filled and never be appropriated . The seat of power is there, but remains open to constant change . As such, what "democracy" is or what is "democratic" progresses throughout history as a continual and potentially never ending process of social construction . </P> <P> In 2010 a study by a German military think - tank analyzed how peak oil might change the global economy . The study raises fears for the survival of democracy itself . It suggests that parts of the population could perceive the upheaval triggered by peak oil as a general systemic crisis . This would create "room for ideological and extremist alternatives to existing forms of government". </P>

Difference between democratic and non democratic government in decision making process