What Is Democracy? Why Democracy?

Definition of Democracy

Democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people. One chief
factor common to all democracies is that the government is chosen by the people. It also
helps students to demarcate between democratic and non-democratic governments. For the
non-democratic government, take the example of Myanmar, where rulers were not elected by
the people. Those who were in charge of the country’s army took over as rulers, and people
had no say in this decision. Dictators like Pinochet (Chile) are not elected by the people. This
also applies to monarchies.

Features of Democracy

The simple definition of democracy gives rise to various questions, which are given below:

 Who are the rulers in this definition?

 What kind of election constitutes a democratic election?
 Who are the people who can elect the rulers or get elected as rulers?
 Finally, what form of government is a democracy?

Major Decisions by Elected Leaders

Some countries like Pakistan do not follow this rule. In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf
led a military coup in October 1999. He overthrew the democratically elected government
and went on to become the President of the country. In 2002, he also held a referendum in the
country that granted him a five-year extension. Meanwhile, after the passing of this ‘Legal
Framework Order’, elections were held in the national and provincial assemblies, and elected
representatives were granted some powers. But the final power rested with military officers
and General Musharraf himself. Hence, we can conclude it was not a democratic country.
The same thing happens in many dictatorships and monarchies. Thus, we can conclude that in
a democracy, the final decision-making power must rest with those elected by the people.

Free and Fair Electoral Competition

In China, elections are held after every five years to elect the country’s parliament, called
Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (National People’s Congress). Before contesting elections, a
candidate needs the approval of the Chinese Communist Party. The government is always
formed by the Communist Party. Alternatively, since its independence in 1930, Mexico has
held elections after every six years to elect its President. But until 2000, every election was
won by a party called PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). Should we consider the
elections described above as examples of people electing their rulers? Reading these
examples, we get a sense that we cannot. Democracy must be based on a free and fair
election where those currently in power have a fair chance of losing.

One Person, One Vote, One Value

Democracy is based on a fundamental principle of political equality. However, there are

many instances of denial of the equal right to vote. Until 2015, in Saudi Arabia, women did
not have the right to vote. Estonia has made its citizenship rules in such a way that people
belonging to the Russian minority found it difficult to get the right to vote. In Fiji, the
electoral system is such that the vote of an indigenous Fiji has more value than that of an
Indian-Fijian. Definitely not a democratic government. The feature of democracy this
highlights is that in a democracy, each adult citizen must have one vote, and in turn, each
vote must have one value.

Rule of Law and Respect for Rights

Zimbabwe attained independence from White minority rule in 1980, and since then, the
country has been ruled by the party that led the freedom struggle, ZANU-PF. Its leader,

Robert Mugabe has ruled the country since independence. Even if elections were held
regularly, it was always won by ZANU-PF. President Mugabe was popular but also used
unfair practices in elections. There was a law that limited the right to criticise the President.
Television and radio were controlled by the government and gave only the ruling party’s
version. There were independent newspapers, but the government harassed those journalists
who went against it and so on. Not a democratic government. Democratic government rules
within limits set by constitutional law and citizens’ rights.

Hence, we can deduce that democracy is a form of government in which:

 Rulers elected by the people take all the major decisions

 Elections offer a choice and fair opportunity to the people to change the current rulers
 This choice and opportunity is available to all people on an equal basis
 The exercise of this choice leads to a government limited by basic rules of the constitution and
citizens’ rights

Why Democracy?

Cons of Democracy

 Leaders keep changing in a democracy leading to instability.

 Democracy is all about political competition and power play, leaving no scope for morality.
 Many people have to be consulted in a democracy, which leads to delays.
 Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people, resulting in bad decisions.
 Democracy leads to corruption since it is based on electoral competition.
  Ordinary people don’t know what is good for them; they should not decide anything.

From these arguments, we can see that democracy of the kind we see may not be the ideal
form of government. However, we will see if democracy is better than other forms of
government that are there for us to choose from.

Arguments in Favour of Democracy

A democratic government is a better government because it is a more accountable form

of government: Take the example of the famines of 1958-1961 in India and China. While
China was hit badly, India did not fare as badly, despite its economic condition. The reason
for this could be that India responded to the food scarcity in a way that the Chinese
government did not. Here, we see that democracy is better than any other form of government
in responding to the needs of the people.

Democracy improves the quality of decision-making: Democracy is based on consultation

and discussion. A democratic decision always involves many people, discussions and
meetings, and they are able to point out possible mistakes in any decision. This may take
time. However, the advantage of taking time over important decisions is that it reduces the
chances of rash or irresponsible decisions.

Democracy provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts: In any society,
people are bound to have differences of opinions and interests. These differences are
particularly more in a country like ours, with amazing social diversity. People belong to
different regions, speak different languages, practise different religions and have different
castes. The preferences of one group can clash with those of other groups. How do we resolve
such a conflict? Democracy provides the only peaceful solution to this problem. In a
democracy, no one is a permanent winner or loser. Different groups can live with one another
peacefully.

Democracy enhances the dignity of citizens: Democracy is based on the principle of

political equality. It recognises that the poorest and the least educated have the same status as
the rich and the educated.

Democracy is better than other forms of government because it allows us to correct our
own mistakes: Even if no government can guarantee that no mistakes will be made, in a
democracy, one can be sure that it will not be hidden for too long. It makes space for public
discussion on these mistakes. There is also room for correction. Rulers have to change their
decisions, or they could themselves be changed.

Thus, we can correctly infer that while democracy may not be the solution to all problems, it
is still clearly better than any other alternative.
Broader Meanings of Democracy

In this chapter, the meaning of democracy is discussed in a descriptive sense. Students get to
learn about democracy as a form of government, thus helping them to identify a clear set of
minimal features that democracy requires. The common form adopted by democracy is
representative democracy. In democratic countries, all people do not rule. A majority is
allowed to take decisions on behalf of all the people through their elected representatives.
This has become necessary for the reasons given below:

 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.

Democracy, as a principle, can go beyond the government and can be applied to any sphere
of life. People use the word democracy not to describe any existing government but to set up
an ideal standard that all democracies must aim to become. However, if the ideals of
democracy are considered, then no country in the world is correctly democratic. Still, having
an understanding of democracy as an ideal will explain why to value democracy. It enables
people to judge an existing democracy and identify its weaknesses. It also helps to distinguish
between a minimal democracy and a good democracy. The most common form of democracy
in today’s world is being ruled by people’s elected representatives. However, for a small
community, there can be other ways of making democratic decisions. All people can sit
together and make decisions directly. This is how the Gram Sabha should work in a village.