(Sd us Sameer] Dewees one eer < AS ; X en ere ‘0 do 2 rdr8ed Mioreck Do you remember a students in Madam Lyngdoh’s class argued about detnocracy? ‘This was in Chapter 2 of Cla tthok cag fom that conversation thatdemocraey is a better form of government when compared ‘vith dictatorship or any other alternative TAN hances the dignity of the individual; Improves thie "galty ‘OF decision- making, Provides a method,to resolve conflicts; and ‘Allows room to correct hare ‘Are these éxpectations realised uxt democracies? When we talk to people around us, most of them support Sos ‘democracy against other alternatives, ‘_psuch as rule by a monarch of military or ‘\them would be satisfied with the democracy in practice. So we face a dilemma: democracy is seen to be good © RK Laxman - Brushing up the years 1s democracy all about coping with multiple pressures and accommodating diverse demands? gk \no Soreuedie ad up Word eke, MOCKMGD Tre rey He ase deol, s Out | religious leaders. But not so many of in principle, but felt to be n its practice. This dilemma invites us to think hard about the outcomes of democracy. Do we prefer democracy only for’ moral reasons? Or ate there some prudential reasons to support 2 democgacy tob? We felt that democracy was better oe Green Coenen beeen, because it: oe Promotes ‘a ity world today claim and practice some {ind of democratic politics they have formal constitutions, they hold elections, * they have parties and they guarantée rights of citizen’) While these features are commonto most of them, these democracies are very much different from each other in terms of (heir social situations, their economic achiévements and their cultures. Clearly, what thay be achieved or nof achieved under eath of these democracies willbe very differesit. Butis there something that we can expect from every democracy, ust because itis democracy? ~ Our it interest in and fascination for democracy often pushes us into taking a position that democracy can address all socio-ecGhomic and political problems. Ifsome‘of our éxpectations are not met, wwe start blaming the idea of demogracy. Or, we start doubting if we are living in a democracy. The first step towards thinking carefully about the outcomes of democracy is to recognise that democracy is justa form of government. Ttean only create conditions for achieving something. The citizens have to take advantage of those conditions and achieve those goals, Let usexamine some of the things we Can reasonably expect from democracy and examine the record of democracy. . Scanned with CamScannerAccountable, responsive and Wass dormocrmgy accoust AR, omd oxen ‘There are some things that demnocracy. must provide, In a democracy, we are ost concerned with ensuring that {fe will have the right to choose their ers and people will have control over the rulers. Whenever possible and necessary, citizens should be able to participate in decision making, that affects them all, Therefore the most basic outcome of democracy should be that it produces a government that is accountable to the citizens, and responsive t6 the, and expectations of the citizens. Before we go into this question, we face another common question: Is the democratic government efficient? Is it effective? Some people think that demoéracy produces less effective government. Itis, of course, true that non-demseratic rulers do not have to botheraboiit deliberation in assemblies or ‘worry about majorities ind publicopinion. So, they cain be véry quick and efficientin decision making and implementation. often misSing from a fon-democratic eae. Q\SO aysssl Democracy is based on the idea of _ government. Therefore, when we are Oxs U2e. Ao! Cio" daliberation and negotiation. So, somedelay isbound to take place. Does that make democratic governmentinefficient? Let us think in terms of costs. Imagine a government that may take decisions very fast. But it may take’ decisions that are aot accepted by the people and may therefore face problems. In contrast, the democratic governnfent will take more time to follow procedures before arriving ata decision. But because it has followed procedures, its decisions may be both more acceptable to the people and more effective. So, the cost of time that ys is perhaps worth it. democracy Governmental Secrecy o, ne i democracy ensures thatdecision making ‘will be based on norms and procedures. So, a citizen who wants to know if a decision was taken through the correct procedures can find this out. She has the right and the means to examine the process of decision making. This is known as transparency. Whis factor i trying to find 8 democracy,(i6 right to expect democracy to produce a government that follows procedures and is caer po oa ft (Se tate deen ic government “develops mechanisms forcitizens to hold the government accountable and in mechanisms for citizens to take decision making whenever they thinf® If you wanted to meas! del expected outcome, you would look for the following pfacticés and institut regular, free and fait elections; open ‘bate on major policies and publi qenra va tie \oustn argon: ual shrarperorel Now look~at the other sideé— an yOu think of what the outcomes of ”\ cracies on the basis of this aet legitimate government abs Co Wee sake 5 Ate. oY gon poi ait fl ‘© Mike Keele - Cagle Cartoons Ine. and how the government knows about you and your family (for example ration cards'and voter identity cards)? What are the sources of information for you about the jovernment? wa oR on gon on we on 8, Sook is Ney poe ¥ eg ign Wnblegn he tate. « oa hn Odor ey IN , armparsil Manroy Chala Asef, A Scanned with CamScanner“An ideal government would not only keep itself away from corruption but’| (5) also make fighting corruption and STack-Thoney a top priority”. Justify the | Page 91 statement by highlighting the values attached to it. 2013 The three ideal values of a government are legitimacy, responsiveness and accountability. An ideal government would not only keep itself away from corruption but also make fighting corruption and black money a top priority. This can be justified as follows: (i)Legitimacy: A government elected by the people is expected to work for their welfare. Corruption and black money are sources of social evils like poverty, inflation and poor political ethics. (ii)Responsiveness: A government is run by the representatives who have the mandates of the people of their constituencies. Such evil practices will demotivate the people to re-elect their representatives. (iii)Accountability: A government is accountable for the management of the polity and its resources. Corruption and black money hinder the optimum allocation of resources, . Scanned with CamScannerwis information about the goverament and iP aie actual performance of democracits shows a mixed record on this, Democracies have had greater success in setting up regular and free elections and in setting up conditions for open public debate. But_most democracies fall shot of elections that provide a fair chance to everyone andin Sajesngvey derson publ debate Yemoeratic Democratic gover Wey ese —————a Shari 12 information with citizens. Allone “Can say in favour of democtatic regimes is that they are much better than any non-democratic regir In-substantive-terms it may be reasonable to expect from democracy a government thatis attentive to the needs and demands of the people and is largely free of corruption. The record of democracies is not impressive on these two counts. Democracies often frustrate the neéds of the people and often ignore the demands of a majority of its Democracy is preferred over dictatorship everywhere except Pakistan jouth Asia Those who ape wit one of thestaemenis _ Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Democracyis preferable = m 6 3 a Sometimes dcalorship ate rete isbetier. a Tae [eas / Sa Doesnt mattertome Se ON SB aA) on ABs legislations; and citizens’ right to population. The routine tales of corruption are enough to convince us that democracy is not free of this evil. At the same time, there is nothing to show that non-democracies are less corrupt of more sensitive to the people ‘There is one respect in which democratic governmept ig certainly paren sent overnmentiis legitimate governmer itmay be slows less efficient, not always ry resporisive or clean. But a democratic government is people's ows & support for the idea of democracy all over the world. As the accompanying evidence from South Asia shows, the support exists in countries with democratic regimes as well as countries without demotratic regimes. People wish to be ruled by representatives elécted by them. TRey “also believe that democracy 1 Suitable for their country. Democracy’s ability to generate its own support is itself an outcome that cannot be ignored, Very few doubt the suitability of democracy for their own country Hovesutabls democracy x your county? Very suitable Suitable South Asia Bangladesh 8 Lanka’ ‘oda Pakistan Nepal Q 2 Overwhelming support for democracy Tesewhoageewihte ol ears elotedby be peos Strongly agree | Agree. South Asia $e Lanka Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan 0 ‘Source: SOSA Team, Stato of Democracy in South Asia, Deli: Oxlord University Press, 2007 Scanned with CamScanner© Ates - Best of Latin America, Cagle Cartoons Inc. Reduction of inequality and poverty Pethaps more than development, itis Democracies are based on political reasonable to expect democracies to . Allindividuals have equal weight reduce economic dis acoviairyackisves coomonde gmt it wealth be distributed in such away that all citizens of the country will have a \ find growing economic inequiali share and lead a better life? 1s economic small number of ultra-rich enjoy a highly growth in democracies accompanied by _ disproportionate share of wealth and process of bringing individuals into the political arena on an equal footing xe § CN & increased inequalities amongthe people? incomes. Notonly that, their sharein the | |” rule of the: Or do democracies lead to a just total iicoge of the country has been majority. The } distribution of goods and opportunities? increasingethose at the bottom of the poor are in . majority. So society have very little.to depend upon. ‘Their incomes have been declining. Sometimes they find it difficult to meet their basic needs of life, such as food, clothing, house, education and health. democracy must | bea rule of the | Poor. How can | \ \ Voice of the Poor this not be the | In actual life, democracies do not poor constitute a large proportion of our voters and no party will Sereee " like to losé their votes. Yet f Yee, democratically elected oR pean nt 7 governments do not oaks appear to be as keen to x ; address the question of ‘ \ overty as you would eae tien to. The Nedune Wo take situation is much worse in some other countries, In Bangladesh, more than half of its population lives in“ poverty. People in several poot countries are now dependenton thetich countrigs even for food supplies. Scanned with CamScannerWorld’s Wealth Owned by a Few Gonad on ewdueg wile g Sel oe d . a aAddiieswts ius . e. modation of social diversiBs y Prwdscce ccom Sd 2 souad Wy) yr Men roniou= : y Engrave. > Co dethocracies lead to perce an harmonious life among citizenBtill ( differences, dvistors and confess thus bea fair expectation thatdémotfacy \ a definite plus point of democratic should produce a harmonious social life 7 rein} the example of Sri Lanka All you are saying : ; . * a ee We have seen in the earlier chaptershow " remind tis that aklgmocracy must fulfil pe /Jemocraciesaccommodate various social two conditions in order to achieve this Apes tie cays sawin thefirstchapterhow — outcom Pasa aceon" Belgiusff has successfully negotiated It is necessary to understand that reat © ypflfflerences among ethnic populations. “democracy is not simply rule by majority (ita (Democracies usually developaprocedure opinion, The majority always needs to toconduct their competition. This reduces work with the minority so that This Js not PRAS SCN — thepossibility ofthesctensionsbecoming governments function to represent the id Sei) explosiveor violent general view. Majority and minority 9 (fro socieryeatfilly and permanently opinions are not permanent.) ‘Wee resolve conflicts amongclifferent groups. &@( Jt is also necessary that rule by = But wecan certainlylearn to respect these ~ majority does not become rule by differences and we can also evolve majority community in terms of religion mechanisms to negotiaethe differences) or race or linguistic group, etc. Rule by z Democracy js bestsuited to produce tis majority means that in case of every a outcome Wigi/-democraticregimes often decision or in case of every election, turn a bhdleye to or suppress internal different persons and groups may and © pees Kad te y aird Srosecrkques WR Aaeweney CU Zam Cra ma Scanned with CamScannerCN Oa Ss oO can forma major) Oemocracy remains democracy only as lOMGas every citizen hasachance of being in majority atsome to be accgmmodative for that person point of time. If someone is barred “ms au from being in majority on the basis of birth, then the democratic rule ceases Greeting The two images depict two different kinds of ‘effects democratic politics can have on social divisions. Take one example for each image and write a paragraph each on the outcome of democratic politics in both situations. © Ares - Best of Latin America, Cagle Cartoons ino poe ; ae ret fe pis omen Be ore ANS cet be Cre pruning We” Nesdteccinnah dicvanaged and discriminaved cases foFéqual status and equal opportunity There are instances sill of caste based inequalities and atrocities, but these lack the moral and egal foundations. Perhaps itisthe recognition that makes ordinary citizens value their democratic rights. Expectations from democracy also function asthe criteria for judging any . democratic country. What is most © Pat Bagley - Caglo Cartoons ne ‘The above cartoon and graph llustrate a point made in this section (Dignity and freedom of the citizens). Undarlne the sentences from this section which connect fo the cartoon or graph. OS Lsenagt ? oper Cures Fak owt. Woweser te seta a dus 2 dane inte ees] Senet Mey examination never gets over. As democracy passes one test, it producés another ts, Aspeopl get some benefits of democracy, they ask for more and serene el ais why, w the way dem SEE ee pelos and many complaint The fact that people are complaining is itself a testimony to the success of democracy: it shows that people have developed awareness and the ability to expect and tolook critically at power holders and the high and the mighty public expression of dissatisfdction with democracy shows the success of the Semone pepe beondeiis pat from the status ofa subject into that of citizen, Most individuals today believe that their vote makes difference tothe way the governments run and to their roe | goed ST | EES Belief inthe eticacy of votes placed above the calculus of utility Thos whose hatha otmstes acters. so ts A fe Bangladesh India ‘Nepal Pakistan 50 Sri Lanka ape ee ee ‘Souce: SOSA Toam, Stato of Democracy n South ‘Asa, Doki: Oxford Unwvorty Press, 2007 Scanned with CamScanner