Abstract: (School of Sociology and Political Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444)Abstract： 〖WTBZ] Democracy means not a completed state, but a process with different stages. Democracy is not a perfect system; rather, it is a substitute before we can find a better system. Compared with other alternatives, democracy is still the best we have at present. Most of the countries described as democratic ones are in the second realm of democracy, and some are in the first realm. The third realm of democracy outlined in this article is democracy envisioned from the perspective of future, which is to help promote democratic awareness and speed up the democratic process. The third realm of democracy is characterized by: minimized government and popularization of nongovernmental organizations; the integration of governmental rules and rules for mass behavior, and the complimentary function of public power and private power; the integration of the officials and the people through the obligatory official system; and the spread of democracy within one nation to the whole world where "a public spirit will rule all under the sky".

Key words: democratic system, social system, government management, non-governmental organization