If we consider the forms of governments in terms of political franchise, we find Autocracy – rule by one, Oligarchy – rule by minority, Democracy – rule by majority, Republic – rule by law and Anarchism – rule by no one. Some countries are Full presidential republics, and some other are Parliamentary republics with the role of the president and prime minister combined, Semi-presidential republics, Parliamentary republics, Parliamentary constitutional monarchies in which the monarch does not personally exercise power, Parliamentary constitutional monarchies in which the monarch personally exercises power (often alongside a weak parliament), Absolute monarchies, Single-party republics, having Military dictatorships or they are or Communist states. Some carry on the governments on the basis of a particular religion.
Under Democracy, we mean government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected representatives under a free electoral system. It is the best form of government through which everyone has voice to put forth. It the state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges, political or social equality; as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people has with respect to their political power.
In democracy, the people have civil liberties, and political rights. Individuals, who feel that democratic system is the best government, value equality, accountability, and freedom in their personal life too and these qualities are the essential ingredients of a civilized society. Nations that have multiparty political systems meet the needs of the public better through the means of political equality, a higher standard of living, and civil liberties.
In democratic systems the public decides what economic and social policies work best for them. Democracy originated in ancient Athens. Besides the fact that only men could vote ancient Athens exhibited a model direct democracy. On every issue, each voter was able to freely vote. The Athenians choose from two main political parties, and no one person had any more power than another person. Decision making and decision enforcing were the duties of every citizen. Democracy is a logical concept. Since the public has to abide by the policies made by the government, they should be able to help make those decisions. The United States of America and India are the marvelous examples of the democracies since their inception. The system of government ensures that no branch of government (executive, legislative, or judicial) has more power than another branch. Each voter votes to elect his representative from the political party that has a platform most similar to his or her views. The Supreme Court judges are not elected, but appointed in order to keep their interests pure. Most laws that are made in democratic systems reflect the views of the public. In democracy, any member of any House can introduce a piece of legislation. This illustrates how all members are equal and are given the right to represent the people from their state. The bill is printed and prepared so that all members of the government can understand the details of it.
People also have the right to speak out against the government and dissent freely. Civil liberties are guaranteed to the people in the constitution, and no legislation will be passed that violates any citizens’ civil liberties. If people feel their civil liberties have been violated within the constitutional jurisdiction, they can take the case to various courts, to make a fair ruling to compel the government to make the correction. The individuals who believe that other systems are more efficient and beneficial than democracies, have never experienced life in such a system, or have never been a victim of the elite. Other systems do not meet the needs of the public adequately, result in a lower standard of living than democracies, and often result in violence. For a new policy to be implemented in a democracy, thousands of people do not have to die. This is because for the most part in democracies the policies that exist are the will of the people. Democratic systems have been very successful in India, US, Canada, Sweden, and other countries. The freedom of choice is ultimately important, and since the public makes the industry in nations, they will choose what is best for the nation.
As on date, we consider democracy to be superior to any other method of governance. We have achieved much in democracy but we have many more miles to go. We agree that in course of time, this system too has developed certain demerits like corruption, favoritism to the vote-bank, red-tappism, opportunism, nepotism, non-delivery of proper public services etc. The election campaigns have become so costly that a competent person can not stand as candidate if he does not have enormous sources of funds. Money is being applied shamelessly in the media, advertisements and getting paid-editorials to favor an individual party or person. Where does such money come from? The business of politics and elections is a big business with most of the money coming in from the dubious sources. Criminals in politics are a corollary. Most of the political parties which play a major role do not have democratic system in their inner self.
For up-keeping democratic values, we need to improve the public discourse to understand the varied interests of all the sections of the society having diversity in terms of their individual economic, social and religious matters. We must avoid suppression of the minority by the majority which an election can legitimize. A democratic country must ensure that democracy must prevail at grass roots also to have true representations in all walks of life. It should develop the skills of the management of the resources and their proper deployment to the needy beyond the consideration of vote bank.
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proper distribution of the results, responsibility and power are devolved in democratic set-up, people on the ground must be trained to have skills and tools to manage their affairs. They must not be made dependent on the remote experts who usually do the experiments without coming closer to the realities. If there is found some imbalance in the results, the temptation is to take away their rights and impose central control and democratically elected governments are thrown away as followed in the private sector. It is therefore imperative that the people must be trained to manage their affairs qualitatively without excessive dependence on the government resources.
In democratic countries, the people must decide themselves what they need, how they can achieve by exploring the resources available and how they can add on genuinely. They must learn how to gain the reasonable share of their efforts without illegally depriving others. They must understand the importance of the national properties and how they must be managed for optimal use to the benefits of all the subjects without any discrimination. They must learn to respect civic rights and follow their own duties towards their nation. If we organize necessary infrastructure on the smallest level of the community for creating awareness of their rights, duties and proper management of the resources, we can ensure that the proper management of the affairs by the people, of the people and for the people will become the true definition of the democracy, which the people actually desire.
Be Happy – Nurture Democracy.