Democracy is a form of government which is in accordance with the wishes and requirements of the people, in which all people are able to participate freely and fully, in which all kinds of people find respectable space.
Ever since the birth of modern democracy in 17th century England, there has been a gradual transformation of political systems across the world to conform to the democratic ideals. Europe and America went through great revolutions during the 18th and 19th centuries to bring about this.
Industrialisation and colonialism created conditions all over the world which favoured democratic ideas. An educated middle class which was inspired by the democratic ideas emerged in most countries. Even though each country had its own distinct social system and distinct problems, democracy appeared to create framework for just settlement of those problems. Thus each country is evolving a model of democracy suited to its needs.
In 20th century, democracy became the slogan of anti-colonial struggles in Asia and Africa to build independent nations. India, Sri Lanka and South Africa are some examples of this process. People wanted a government that is elected by them through a free and fair process. They want freedom to express their views, freedom to organise and freedom to protest against the wrong.
Democracy means a system in which those in government get their authority from the people and have to answer the people. Abraham Lincoln said, “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
The elected government functionaries are answerable to the people in different ways. First of all, there will be elected assemblies in which the government functionaries will be asked to explain their work and which will approve the plan of work etc. Secondly, any citizen has a right to demand information on any work done by the government and the government will have to make such information available. Thirdly, after a definite period elections will be held again and the functionaries have to seek fresh election from the people. The people can ask them to explain their work and reject them, if they are not satisfied.
Democracy is based on equality and inclusiveness. When we say rule of the people, we mean all people who are adults, whether they are men or women, rich or poor, black or white, theist or atheist. In a democracy, each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must have one value. Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting dignity and freedom of the individual.
As people get some benefits of democracy, they ask for more and want to make democracy even better. That is why when we ask people about the way democracy functions, they will always come up with more expectations, and many complaints. The fact that people are complaining is itself a testimony to the success of democracy.
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” This statement was given by Winston Churchill. Essentially that democracy has many flaws and problems but all the others have more problems.
But the democracy at present is proving the Churchill’s statement wrong. Democracy is the best form of government because it represents each and every citizen equally whether poor or rich.
In a monarchy or dictatorship, no one can say or present his or her point of view but to follow what a single man says. But in democracy, we have been granted the “RIGHT TO SPEECH”.
The very cliched definition of a democracy is : “It is of the people, for the people and by the people”. This means that it functions not only for the people but also for their benefits as the people are the rulers and they can understand the necessities of each other. Also in the other forms of government whether it be anarchy or monarchy, people are forced to abide by the laws and rules they may not want to follow but just have to bear with it which created anger and disharmony for instance in the case of Syria rebellion. There is also no constitution which guarantees the people certain human rights and they cannot even use it as a living document. Thus, it is somewhat not a good form of government. However in democracy one can voice out one’s opinions and views as it guarantees freedom of speech, action and the list goes on. Thus democracy is the best form of government.
Democracy is the best form of government because of the freedom it provides to the people than the autocratic states. The people of democratic states have the right to vote for their government. Most individuals of democratic countries today believe that their vote makes a difference to the way of the government and to their own self-interest. They have more freedom of speech and expression than that in autocracies. In particular, the people are free to criticise their government.
Democracy is the best form of government as it represents the people. The biggest virtue of democracy is that its government represents the views of the people who elect them and can throw them out if the government does things that the people do not like. Unlike the other forms of government, democracy is about the little man, everyone rather than the elite that are often disconnected from how everyone else lives his life.
Democracy is a good government due to its transparency. Democracy is as much about having checks and balances on the executive and having transparency of decision making as it is about elections and the populace throwing government out of power. In a democracy the parliament, the media and sometimes the judiciary all keep an eye on the executive and what is being done with the people’s money. They are, therefore, able to see if the executive is doing things that are detrimental to the country, are immoral or even illegal. This can then be brought to a halt. Even where such actions are not visible on the surface, there are separate institutions that have the power to investigate the executive and watch any ‘secret deals’ or actions that are out of the public domain.
Democracy is the finest form of government because it respects human rights. Democracy, is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. If democracy is put at its appropriate footing, then all facets of human right are respected. The citizens would have the right to exercise freedom of speech concerning the well-being of the populace in areas of the economy, education and health, infrastructural development, etc.
Democracy not only respects human rights but also promotes them. The ability of the people to have a voice in the running of the state, in the economy, health education, infrastructural development, etc. creates a bit-balanced environment for governance to thrive; this can only be achieved in a democratic government.
This is not the case. But most of the developed and richest countries are all democracies. While they may well have been developing their democracies during their initial industrialization, democracy and the freedom it brings is increasingly necessary for economic growth once the country has moved to being mostly dependent upon services rather than manufacturing or exploitation of natural resources for economic growth. Once this occurs then creativity becomes important and the freedoms associated with democracy are needed to accelerate this creativity that is needed for industries such as information technology, creative arts, research and development etc.
Democracy may have its flaws but all in all it works very fluidly. Some of the plus points of having a democratic government are freedom, it represents the views and notions of all citizens of the country, whether of majorities or minorities. Today, it is increasingly becoming clear to all people, that democracy is being very transparent. It respects the freedom and rights of all people, may be the best way to solve some of the complex problems the countries face. Today a new kind of democracy is being forged across the world in which even the poorest and the most vulnerable people will have a voice and will be able to influence policies and ensure justice and peace for all.
Democracy provides dignity to the people. It allows various people to rule the country through the representatives. It allows people to express themselves clearly and freely. It respects and promotes Human Rights. In this form of government, all the people are equal before the law. Democracy is the only form of government where people can voice their opinion fearlessly.
Democracy is good and bad, if used properly, it is the best, but if misused it is the worst. Currently, it is being extremely misused, which is leading to security problems, corruption, economic loss etc. The good part is people can overthrow the government and they should do so if they feel that the leaders are misusing their power.
All forms of government have their flaws, but overall democracy has less of them. That does not necessarily make it ‘the best’ but I believe that democracy is statistically proven to be a more effective form of government. In my view, there is no other alternative form of government better than a democracy.