Democracy is not just a set of laws and a government structure it's a collective consciousness. The collective consciousness of democracy arises out of human nature when called forth by group psychology and the social constructs and cultural artifacts of a nation. The appropriate collective consciousness for an effective democracy is one that yields culture and process that manages human diversity in equitable ways. But group psychology and the social constructs of a nation can serve as a countervailing force to effective democracy as well. To the extent that such elements create consciousness focused on producing inequity and perpetuating the conflicts that arise out of human diversity, the public consciousness needed for true democracy is lost.