DEMOCRACY:

• Aristotle’s definition: “rule of the many”

• Majority rule (government by the people)

• It is a complex system of Government.

• Democracy has directly originated from the French democratic, but its real origin is Greek. In
Greek there are two words—demos and kratos. The former means people while the latter rule
and what we mean by democracy in English is rule of the people.

• David Held, a renowned authority on the concept, defines the term as “Democracy means a form
of government in which, in contradistinction monarchies and aristocracies, the people rule.
Democracy entails a political community in which there is some form of political equality among
the people”. Precisely stated, democracy is the rule by the people. Of all the definitions of
democracy perhaps the best and most popular definition is the following: It is called “the
government of the people, by the people and for the people ”

Types of Democracy:
1. Direct (participatory democracy) “pure”:
 All or most of the citizens participate directly in either holding office or making policy (laws)
 Exists only in very small population sizes
 Exists in some small towns in the U.S. today
 Allows the people to directly make laws and govern themselves. (people make all the decisions)
 Impractical in large populations or countries
 The founding fathers did not favor a direct democracy (un-educated masses)
 Very time consuming: most citizens do not have the time, information, interest, or expertise to make
reasonable choices or political decisions
• Even highly educated people could be manipulated by demagogic leaders who play on people’s fears and
prejudices
• Referendum: Legislature (Congress) submits a proposed law to a popular vote by the citizens (voters)
during an election
• Initiative: Citizens write and submit a proposed law to a popular vote by the citizens (voters) during an
election after obtaining a required number of signatures (people take the initiative and write the bill
themselves)
• Also referred to as Propositions or Ballot Measures

2. Indirect (representative democracy

• Also referred to as a “Republican form of government” in the Constitution (a Republic)
 • The people elect officials to make laws, policies, and political decisions for them

• Works well in large populations when its impractical to bring the entire population together

• Not time consuming and creates professional politicians

Disadvantages of Democracy
The following are the demerits or disadvantages of democracy
1. Democracy is Impracticable:
• The reason for this is that common man is neither wise nor intelligent nor rational but democracy
believes in these things. Besides politics is something highly technical and complex. A common
man cannot understand the big and complicated issues of politics. Moreover the elections are
also a force in which common people are not in a position to judge the candidate on merit. Even
otherwise people are very little interest in politics. This is the reason that democracy cannot
function.
2. Rule of Ignorance:
Normally great majorities of people particularly in 3rd world countries are uneducated and illiterate. They
do not understand political, economic and international issues. Moreover they can be very easily
influenced by cunning politicians. As a result of this they elect ignorant people who instead of solving
their problems create more problems for the society. Pakistan is the best example of this. One writer has
gone to the extent of saying that democracy is the government of cattle by the cattle and for the cattle .
3. Democracy is based on the following wrong principles:
It believes in political equality of all men expressed in the saying of "one-man one vote". The result is
that the vote of an intelligent and wise man is equal to that of an ignorant man.
1. It considers every person fit to perform the functions of the government. It believes that no special
knowledge or skill is needed to run the government e.g. the British Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance
Minister) may be completely ignorant of mathematics yet he heads the Finance Ministry.
2. Modern Democracy is based on the principle of territorial representation and is not based on professions or
other interests. It is very- difficult to represent any person or class. So representative democracy is a farce.
3. Modern democracy is based on the principle of majority rule. Sometimes the minority may have intelligent
people but since they are in minority, they cannot run the government. So we can say that the democracy
looks to the quantity and not to the quality.
4. Democracy is Impossible:
Democracy is impossible because good citizens are not available. Normally people are selfish and prefer
their own good to that of the nation and this is the reason that in elections people with money and wealth
become successful because votes can be bought.

5. Enemy of Liberty and Good Government:

It is said that democracy is the enemy of liberty and good government. The reason for this is
that common man is conservative by temperament. He does not like change and such progress.
He believes in old customs and traditions. This is the reason that in democracy good
government is not possible.

6. Modern Democracy is Capitalist and Imperialist:

Unless there is economic equality there cannot be a democratic government or a democratic
state. Under modern democratic system a poor man cannot think of running the government the
reason for because election business is a matter of money. It is said that those who
have economic power also have political power. This is proved by the American Practices. In the
USSR only a millionaire can think of contesting the presidential election. Besides all media
Radio, TV and Newspaper etc. are in the hands of the moneyed class. These media are a very
strong weapon in the hands of the capitalists to influence and mould public opinion in their own
favour.
7. Wrong Use by Political Parties:
Under democracy the political parties have the liberty to use any method to defeat their rivals
and capture power. This has a corrupting influence on the minds of the people.

8. No Stable Government:
Democracy does not provide a stable form of government because common people have the right to
change it any time they like which is a major disadvantage of democracy. This is what happened in
Pakistan before 1950 when the government would be changed almost every 2 or 3 months. As a result of
this the prestige of Pakistan was lowered in the international affairs.

9. It may put more emphasis on quantity, rather than quality:

Another disadvantage of democracy is in terms of providing services—it tends to put more emphasis on quantity, rather
than quality. Also, considering that the system might be governed by irresponsible and incompetent leaders, equality
might be in question for only the rich and famous might be prioritized more than the poor.

Advantages of Democracy:
1. It protects the interest of citizens :
As previously stated, the citizens in a democratic country are given the right to vote on political,
social and economical issues, particularly the representatives they want to be in charge of
making major decisions, such as the president. This can greatly protect the people from
anything they would disagree to occur.

2. It prevents monopoly of authority:

Due to the fact that the government is bound by an election term where parties compete to
regain authority, democracy prevents monopoly of the ruling authority. And, the elected ruling
party would make sure their policies will work for the people, as they will not be able to remain in
power after their term with bad records—they will not be re-elected.

3. It promotes equality:
Generally, democracy is based on the rule of equality, which means that all people are equal as
far as the law is concerned. Every person has the right to experience and enjoy equal political,
social and economic rights, and the state is not allowed to discriminate him on the standard of
sex, class, religion and property.

4. It makes for a responsible and stable administration :

When there are elected and fixed representatives, a more responsible government is formed.
Thus, democracy can be efficient, firm and stable. Its administration is ruled and conducted with
a sense of dedication, and people under this system discuss matters and problems thoroughly
to come up with sensible decisions.

5. It brings a feeling of obligation towards the citizens:

The ruling authorities owe their success to elections by the citizens, so they would feel grateful
to and socially responsible for them. This can serve as their motivating factor to work for the
citizens, for they have the right of choosing their government.

6. It imparts political education to the people:

One argument in favor of democracy is that it can serve as a training school for citizens—they
are driven to take part in state affairs. During elections, political parties propose their programs
and policies in support of their candidates through public meetings, demonstrations, television,
radio, posters and speeches by their leaders to win public favor. All of these can impart political
consciousness among the people.

7. It helps make good citizens:

Democracy aims to create the ideal environment that is conducive to personality improvement,
character cultivation and good habits. As per the experts, this political system seems to function
as the first school for good citizenship, where individuals can learn about their rights and duties
from birth to the time of death.

8. It allows a little chance of revolution :

Since this system is based upon public will, there will be little to no chance of public revolt.
Elected representatives conduct state affairs with public support, and if they do not work
efficiently or do not meet the public’s expectations, they will probably not do well during the next
elections. Democracy or other popular governments often function with consensus, thus the
question of revolution would not arise.

9. It promotes change:
This political system can promote changes in the government without having to resort to any
form of violence. It tries to make citizens feel great and even provides them with a good sense
of participation and involvement.

Conclusion:
It is important to take note that political systems have their own downsides, and people have
different views about them. But by weighing their advantages and disadvantages, which in this
case is democracy, you can come up with a well-informed understanding if it is best for the
people.