WHY DEMOCRACY?

An argument broke out in Madam Lyngdoh’s class. She had finished teaching the previous section on what is democracy and asked the students if they thought democracy was the best form of government. Everyone had something to say.

madam Lyngdoh was  listening to this discussion with interest. Now she stepped in: “I  was delighted to see you all arguing so passionately. I don’t know who is right and who is wrong. That is for you to settle. But I did feel that you all wanted to speak your mind. You may have felt very bad if someone tried to stop you or if someone punished you for saying what you felt. Would you be able to do that in a country that is not democratic? Is that a good argument for democracy?”

ARGUMENTS AGAINST DEMOCRACY

This conversation has most of the arguments that we routinely hear against democracy. Letes go over some of these arguments:

·       Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.

Democracy is all about political competition and power play. There is no scope for morality.

·       So many people have to be consulted in democracy that it leads to delays.

·       Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people. If leads to bad decisions.

·       Democracy leads to corruption for it is based on electoral competition.

·       Ordinary people don’t know what is good for them; they should not decide anything.

Are there some other arguments against democracy that you can think of? Which of these arguments applies mainly to democracy? Which of these can apply to misuse of any form of government? Which of these do you agree with?

Clearly, democracy is not a magical solution for all the problems. It has not ended poverty in our country and in other parts of the world. Democracy as a form of government only ensures that people take their own decisions. This does not guarantee that their decisions will be good. People can make mistakes. Involving the people in these decisions does lead to delays in decision does lead to delays in decision making. It is also true that democracy leads to frequent changes leadership. Sometimes this can set back big decisions and affect the government’s efficiency.

  These arguments show that democracy of the kind we see may not be the ideal form of government. but that is not a question we face in real life. The real question we face is different: is democracy better than other forms of government that are there for us to choose from?

ARGUMENTS FOR DEMOCRACY

China’s famine of 1958-1961 was the worst recorded famine in world history. Nearly three crore people died in this famine. During those days, India’s economic condition was not much better than china. Yet India did not have a famine of the kind china had. Economists think that this was a result of different government policies in the two countries. The existence of democracy in India made the Indian government respond to food scarcity in a way that the Chinese government did not. They point out that no large-scale famine has ever taken place in an independent and democratic country. if China too had multiparty elections, an opposition party and a press free to criticize the government, then so many people may not have died in the famine.

This example brings out one of the reasons why democracy is considered the best form of government. Democracy is better than any other form of government in responding to the needs of the people. A nondemocratic government may and can respond to the people’s needs, but it all depends on the wishes of the people who rule. If the rulers don’t want to, they don’t have to act according to the wishes of the people. A democracy government is a better government because it is a more accountable form of government.

There is another reason why democracy should lead to better decisions than any non-democratic government. Democracy is based on consultation and discussion. A democratic decision always incolves many persons, discussions meetings. When a number of people put their  heads together, they are able to point out possible mistakes in any decision. This takes time. But there is a big advantage in taking time over important decisions. this reduces the chances of rash or irresponsible decisions. Thus democracy improves the quality  of decision-making.

This is related to the third argument. Democracy provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts. In amy societly people are bound to have differences of opinions and interestrs. These differences are particularly sharp in a country like ours which has an amazing social diversity. people belong to different regions, speak different languages. practice different religions and have different castes. They look at the world very differently and have different preferences. The preferences of other groups. How do we resolve such a conflict? The conflict can be solved by brutal power. whichever group is more powerful will dictate its terms and others will have to accept that. But that would lead to resentment and unhappiness. Different and unhappiness. Different groups may not be able to live together for long in such a way. Democracy provides the only peaceful solution to this problem. In democracy, no one is a permanent winner. No one is a permanent loser. Different groups can live with one another peacefully. Ina diverse country like India, democracy keeps our country together.

These three arguments were about the effects of democracy on the quality of government and social life. But the strongest argument for democracy is not about what democracy does to the government. It is about what democracy does to the citizens. Even if democracy does bot bring about better decisions and accountable government. it is till better than other forms of the dignity of citizens. As we discussed above, democracy is based on the principle of political equality, on recognizing that the poorest and the least educated has the same status as the rich and the educated. People are not subject of a ruler, they are the rulers themselves. Even when they make mistakes, they are responsible for their conduct.

Finally, democracy is better than other forms of government because it allows us to correct its own mistakes. As we saw above, there is no guarantee that mistakes cannot be made in Democracy. No form of government can guarantee that. The advantage ina democracy is that such mistakes cannot be hidden for long. .There is space for publc discussion on these mistakes. And there is a room for correction. Either the rules have to change their decisions, or the rulers can be changed. This cannot happen in a non-democratic government.

Let us sum it up. Democracy cannot get us everything and is not the solution to all problems. But it is clearly better than any other alternative that we know. It offers better chances of a good decision, it is likely to respect people’s own wishes and allows differnet kinds of people to live together. Even when it fails ot do some of these things, it allows a way of correcting its mistakes and offers more dignity to all citizens. That is why democracy is considered the best form of government.

2.4 Modern MEANINGS OF DEMOCRACY

In this chapter we have considered the meaning of democracy in a limited and descriptive sese. We have understood democracy as a form of government. This way of defining democracy helps us ot identify a clear set of minimal features that a democracy must have. The most common form that of a representative democracy. You have already read about this in the previous classes. In the countries we call democracy, all the people do not rule. A majority is allowed to take decisions on behalf of all the people. Even the majority does not rule directly. The majority of people rule through their elected representatives, this become necessary because:

·       Modern democracies involve such a large number of people that it is physically impossible for them to sit together and take a collective decision.

·       Even if they could , the citizen does not have the time, the desire or the skills to take part in all the decisions.

This gives us a clear but minimal understanding of democracy, This clarity helps us to distinguish democracies from non-democracies. But it does not allow us to distinguish between a democracy and a good democracy. It does no allow us to see the operation of democracy beyond government. For this we need to turn to broader meanings of democracy.

Sometimes we use democracy for organisations other than the government. just read these statements:

“We are a very democratic family. Whenever a decision has to be taken we all  sit down and arrive at a consensus. My opinion matters as much as my father’s.”

“I don’t like teachers who do not allow students to speak and ask questions in the class. I would like to have teachers with democratic temperament.”

“One leader and his family members decide everything in this party. how can they talk of democracy?”

These ways of using the word democracy go back to its basic sense of a method of taking decisions. A democratic decision involves consultation with and consent of all those who are affected by that decision. Those who are not powerful have the same say in taking the decision as those who are powerful. This can apply to a government or a family or any other organization. Thus democracy is also a principle that can be applied to any sphere of life.

Sometimes we use the word democracy not describe any an ideal standard that all democracies must aim to become:

·       “true democracy will come to this country only when no one goes hungry to bed.”

·       “In a democracy every citizen must be able to play equal role in decision making. For this you don’t need just an equal right to vote. Every citizen needs to have equal information. Basic education, equal resources and a lot of commitment.”

If we take these ideals seriously, then no country in the world is a democracy. yet an understanding of democracy as an ideal reminds us of why we value democracy. It enables us to judge an existing democracy and identify its weaknesses. It helps us to distinguish between a minimal democracy and a good democracy.

In this book we do not deal much with this expanded notion of democracy. Our focus here is with some core institutional features of democracy as a form of government. next year you will read more about a democratic society and ways of evaluating our democracy. At this stage we just need to note that democracy can apply to many spheres of life and that democracy can take many forms. There can be various ways of taking decisions in a democratic manner, as ling as the basic principle of consultation on an equal basis is accepted. The most common form of democracy in today’s world is rule through people’s world is rule through people’s elected representatives. We shall read more about that in Chapter Four. but if the community taking democratic decision. All the people can sit together and take decisions directly. this s how Gram Sabha should work in a village. Can you think of some other democratic way of decision making?

This also means that no country is a perfect democracy. The features of democracy that we discussed in this chapter provide only the minimum conditions of a democracy. That does not make it an ideal democracy. Every democracy has to try to realize the ideals of a democratic decision-making. This cannot be achieved once and for all. This requires a constant effort to save and strengthen democratic forms of decision-making. What we do as citizens can make a difference to making our country more or less democratic. This is the strength and the weakness of democracy: the fate of the country depends not just on what the rulers do, but mainly on what we, as citizens do.

This is what distinguished democracy from other governments. Other forms of government like monarchy, dictatorship or one-party rule do not require all citizens to take part in politics. In fact most non-democratic governments would like citizens not take part in politics. But democracy depends on politics. But democracy depends on active political participation by all the citizens. That is why a study of democracy must focus on democratic politics.