Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Session 7: Democracy

On the surface, democracy seems like a very fair form of government. The idea of 'rule by the people for the people' implies equality, justice and peace. However, I do not believe that democracy can live up to the high expectations people have of it. From a realistic perspective, equal representation of people's ideas is not possible. I believe that in most democratic systems, the majority is represented in government. In the case of 'democracy' in Pakistan, it is a commonly held belief that the Punjabi community has more representation than any other community. Some have even referred to Pakistan as 'Punjabistan' because of this. The idea of the 'tyranny of the majority' holds true in this case as minority rights go largely ignored. However, the will of the majority in governing the state is an effective tool to keep the peace. As long as most of the people in the country feel that their interests are being safeguarded, the government is relatively safe from rebellion. This approach greatly minimizes threats to the government and keeps most of the people in the country happy. Citizens of a country should not look towards democracy as a means to safeguard their own personal interests, but to follow a system of government which does not violate their interests outright. This requires a level of compromise by the people of the state, and this is something that should be accepted to ensure the smooth running of a country.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

The idea of unequal representation is present in National Assembly where the number of seats is defined by provincial population. However, the notion of inequality is eliminated with the creation of Senate. In Senate equal representation of each province is there in order to reduce the ethnic and community disparities. As every decision reviewed by the Senate before its implementation and approval so eliminates inequality factor in federation.