What is the difference between direct and representative democracy?

A direct democracy is when everyone votes on every decision, while a representative democracy is when people choose someone to make decisions for them.

Imagine you're in a big classroom, and your teacher wants to pick a new class pet. In a direct democracy, every student would get to vote, like choosing between a hamster or a goldfish. Everyone gets a say!

But if the class is really big, maybe it's easier for everyone to pick one person they trust to decide for them. That’s a representative democracy. This person, like a class president, hears what everyone thinks and then makes the choice.

Think of it like picking a restaurant for lunch. In a direct democracy, every kid gets to say which place they want, maybe some like pizza, others like burgers. But in a representative democracy, you pick someone (like your class president) who listens to all the opinions and then chooses one place that most people agree on.

Both ways work, it’s just about how many people are involved in making the choice!