The term democracy means ‘rule by the people.’ Because of the very nature of this type of rule, the public is in charge of making vital decisions related to governance and while that seems like a system that works for the people, in reality however, it could have a number of disadvantages for the people.
There could be a rule of the incompetent, when the decision making lies with the masses, they could make the mistake of choosing the wrong political party, that they are not acquainted with. Like, in the case of Pakistan, the majority of the people are poor and they lack education, more over political awareness so it is very easy for the political parties to manipulate the masses and buy their votes by making false promises.
Furthermore, If democracy is the ‘rule of the majority’ than who looks out for the minorities of the country? The rule of the majority can very easily turn into the ‘tyranny of the majority’ if the wrong kind of government is elected.
Democracy could lead to a low moral standard, where both, the individuals and the parties participating employ under-handpractices in order to get elected.
In a democratic system the other challenges are of answering the three important questions of :
Who are the people?
In what sense should the people rule?
How far should popular rule extend?
If democracy is a system of rule ‘by the people’ then why are some people taken out of the voting system? Moreover, whether the rule should be direct or representative is another debate altogether. The question of how far should popular rule be extended? That too, does not have a single answer. While some people may believe it will actually be better for the country others believe that the masses in charge will actually do more harm than good.
In answering these three questions we come to the conclusion that the definition of democracy in itself is flawed. There is not a single consensus on the answer of these three questions.
“ Democracy is the worse form of government except all the other forms that have been tried from time to time” - Winston Churchill
Democracy may have all these negative aspects associated with it but in reality even if democracy is not the best political form of rule to be followed, it certainly is better out of the rest. Basically, states opt to be democratic because they would rather not be totalitarian, fascist or fundamentalist.
2 comments:
True, in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan, democracy tends to undermine the rights of the minorities. Though it may not always be the case!
Maryam - You have asked some very important questions about democracy as a whole, such questions that make one rethink the popular notion of democracy must be attended to..
Regarding your first point about how democracy may be harmful for the people themselves is certainly something that you should look in to in further detail. I would suggest you further look in to the differences between direct democracy and representative democracies and see which of the two reduces the disadvantages for the people.
Moreover, do you think it would be possible to reduce the occurrence of 'vote buying' by more stringent governmental checks over campaigning processes?
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