Outcomes of Democracy Notes

OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY
Q1) WHY IS DEMOCRACY A BETTER FORM OF GOVERNMENT?

Democracy is a better form of govt. because:
1. It promotes equality among citizens.
2. It enhances the dignity of the individual.
3. It improves the quality of decision making.
4. It provides methods to resolve conflicts.
5. It allows room to correct mistakes.
Q2) WHAT IS THE DILEMMA FACED BY PEOPLE IN A DEMOCRACY?
1. Most of the people support democracy against a monarchy or military rule.
But not many people would be satisfied with democracy in practice.
2. So we face a dilemma: democracy is seen to be good in principle but felt to
be not so good in its practice.
3. This dilemma invites us to think hard about the outcomes of democracy.
Q3) WHY ARE DEMOCRACIES DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER?
Democracies are different from each other in terms of their:
1. Social situations
2. Their economic achievements
3. Their cultures
Q4) WHAT IS THE BASIC OUTCOME OF DEMOCRACY?
The most basic outcome of democracy is that it produces a govt. that is
accountable to the citizens & responsive to the needs & expectations of the
citizens.
Q5) WHAT IS TRANSPARENCY?
1. Democracy ensures that decision making will be based on norms &
procedures.
2. So, a citizen who wants to know if a decision was taken through the correct
procedures can find this out.
3. He/she has the right & the means to examine the process of decision
making. This is known as TRANSPARENCY.
4. This factor is often missing from a non-democratic government.
Q6) ‘DEMOCRACY IS BASED ON THE IDEA OF DELIBERATION & NEGOTIATION’
EXPLAIN……...OR……. THE COST OF TIME THAT DEMOCRACY PAYS IS PERHAPS
WORTH IT’ DISCUSS.
1. Some people think that democracy produces less effective govt.
2. It is, of course, true that non-democratic rulers do not have to bother about
deliberation in assemblies or worry about majorities & public opinion. So, they
can be very quick & efficient in decision making & implementation.
3. A govt. may take decisions very fast. But it may take decisions that are not
accepted by the people & therefore face problems.
4. The democratic govt. will take more time to follow procedures before
arriving at a decision. But because it has followed procedure, its decisions may
be both acceptable to the people & more effective.
5. So, the cost of time that democracy pays is perhaps worth it.
Q7) ‘DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IS A LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT.’
ELABORATE.
1. Democratic govt. is people’s own govt. That is why there is an
overwhelming support for the idea of democracy all over the world.
2. People wished to be ruled by representatives elected by them.
3. Democracy’s ability to generate its own support is itself an outcome that
cannot be ignored.
Q8) ‘IN ACTUAL LIFE, DEMOCRACIES DO NOT APPEAR TO BE VERY
SUCCESSFUL IN REDUCING ECONOMIC INEQULITIES.’ DISCUSS.
1. A small number of ultra- rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth
& incomes.
2. Not only that, their share in the total income of the country has been
increasing.
3. Those at the bottom of the society have very little to depend upon.
Sometimes they find it difficult to meet their basic needs of life such as food,
clothing, house, education & health.
4. The poor constitute a large proportion of our voters. Yet democratically
elected governments do not appear to be as keen to address the question of
poverty as we would expect them to.
5. The situation is much worse in some other countries. People in many poor
countries are dependent on the rich countries even for food supplies.
Q9) HOW ARE DEMOCRACIES ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE SOCIAL
DIVERSITIES?........OR………DO DEMOCRACIES LEAD TO PEACEFUL &
HARMONIOUS LIFE AMONG CITIZENS.’ EXPLAIN
Democracy accommodates diversity in the following ways:
1.DEMOCRACY DEVELOPS COMPETITIVE ATTITUDE:
a) It usually develops a procedure to conduct competition among the social
differences. This reduces the possibility of social tensions becoming explosive
or violent.
2. DEMOCRACY EVOLVES MECHANISMS TO NEGOTIATE:
a) No society can fully & permanently resole conflicts among different groups.
But we can certainly learn to respect these differences & we can also evolve
mechanisms to negotiate the differences. DEMOCRACY is best suited to
produce this outcome.
3. DEMOCRACY REPRESENTS THE GENERAL VIEW:
a) The majority always needs to work with the minority so that governments
function to represent the general view.
b) It is also necessary that rule by majority does not become rule by majority
community in terms of religion or race or linguistic group, etc. Rule by majority
means that in case of every decision or in case of every election, different
persons & groups may & can form a majority.
c) Democracy remains democracy only as long as every citizen has a chance of
being in majority at some point of time.
Q10) ‘DEMOCRACY STANDS MUCH SUPERIOR TO ANY OTHER FORM OF
GOVERNMENT IN PROMOTING DIGNITY & FREEDOM OF THE INDIVIDUAL.’
ELABORATE.
1. FREEDOM & DIGNITY OF WOMEN:
a) Most societies across the world were historically male dominated societies.
Long struggles by women have created some sensitivity today that respect to
& equal treatment of women are necessary in a democracy.
b) That does not mean that women are actually always treated with respect.
But once the principle is recognised, it becomes easier for women to wage a
struggle against what is now acceptable legally & morally.
c) In a non-democratic set up, this unacceptability would not have legal basis
because the principle of individual liberty & dignity would not have the legal &
moral force here.
2. CASTE INEQUALITIES:
a) Democracy in India has strengthened the claims of the disadvantaged &
discriminated castes for equal status & equal opportunity.
b) There are instances still of caste-based inequalities & atrocities, but these
lack the moral & legal foundations.
c) Perhaps it is the recognition that makes ordinary citizens value their
democratic rights.
Q11) ‘EXPECTATIONS FROM DEMOCRACY ALSO FUNCTION AS THE CRITERIA
FOR JUDGING ANY DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY.’ HOW?
1. What is most distinctive about democracy is that its examination never gets
over.
2. As people get some benefits of democracy, they ask for more & want to
make democracy even better.
3. That is why, when we ask people about the way democracy functions, they
will always come up with more expectations & many complaints.
4. The fact that people are complaining is itself a testimony to the success of
democracy: it shows that people have developed awareness & the ability to
expect & to look critically at power holders.
5. Dissatisfaction with democracy transforms people from the status of subject
into that of a citizen. Most individuals today believe that their votes make a
difference to the way the govt. is run & to their self-interest.
Q12) WHAT OUTCOMES CAN ONE REASONABLY EXPECT FROM
DEMOCRACIES?
1. ACCOUNTABLE, RESPONSIVE & LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT:
a) Democracy provides people with the right to choose their rulers & have
control over them. This way, it helps people to elect a govt. that is accountable
to the people & responsive to their wishes & expectations.
2. ECONOMIC GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT:
a) Democracy is based on the principle of equality; it is bound to bring
development & growth in the country.
3. REDUCTION IN POVERTY & INEQUALITY:
a) In democracy, everyone is considered equal in the eyes of law & are
provided equal opportunities.
4. ACCOMMODATION OF SOCIAL DIVERSITY:
a) Democracy is the only form of govt. that attempts to accommodate social
differences instead of ignoring or suppressing them.
5. DIGNITY & FREEDOM OF CITIZENS:
a) Democracy stands superior to any other form of govt. in promoting the
dignity of citizens.
Q13) EXPLAIN THE AREAS IN WHICH DEMOCRACY HAS FAILED………. OR………
WHY DEMOCRACY HAS NOT LIVED UPTO OUR EXPECTATIONS WITH REGARD
TO ITS OUTCOME?
1. CORRUPTION: The record of democracy shows that most democratic
countries have failed to reduce corruption. INDIA, the largest democracy of the
world, has also failed in this issue.
2. NON-ATTENTIVE TO PEOPLE’S NEEDS: (a) A democratic govt. should be
attentive to the needs & demands of its citizens but unfortunately, the record
of democracy is unimpressive on this issue.
(b) Democracy often frustrates the needs of the people & ignore the demands
of majority of its population.
3. ECONOMIC GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT: (a) It is better than any other form
of govt. so, one can expect better economic development & growth.
Unfortunately, democracy has failed on this issue.
(b) If we consider all dictatorships & democracies for the last 50 years, we find
that dictatorships have higher rate of economic growth.
4. REDUCTION OF POVERTY: One expects democracy to reduce economic
disparity. However, most of the democracies have failed on this issue as in
most of the democracies, a small number of ultra-rich enjoy extra share of
wealth & income.

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OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY

Q1) WHY IS DEMOCRACY A BETTER FORM OF GOVERNMENT?

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