Democracy is often presented as a concept whose content is so contested as to have been emptied of meaning, and robbed of critical bite. This article argues that there is a common core based on political equality in determining acts of governance, and that while there is much disagreement over principles and procedures, solutions to those disagreements depend on—and are resolved in—particular political contexts. Issues considered include the origins and aims of democracy, the concept of representation, decision rules and voting systems, the public sphere and democratic innovations, concluding with challenges to democracy and some related speculations about its future.