Essay 1

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Democracy

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Democracy  :  ‘Democracy’ ,asserts Lincoln is “the Government of the people by the people and for the people” . It is the kratos (rule) of the demos (people) as the term etymologically connotes.

It is a way of life and a form of government. It is as old as the evolution of Greek polity. The Greeks came to adopt it after having experimented with many forms of government such as a Aristocracy, Autocracy , monarchy, Oligarchy and Tyranny. For them, it was Direct whereby all the people in the state were equally represented  with a direct say in the day to day administrative affairs. It went to Britain and to the other parts of Europe and finally began to dominate India towards the close of 19th century.  It became indirect as modern democracies are characterized by rule by rule the elected representatives of the people. Today it has the strongest base in India as well as in most parts of the world.

There are two major advantages to a democracy. First, it is the form of government that is most likely to protect the people’s rights.Second,it is the form of government that is least likely to make huge mistakes in a hurry. The course of policy in a democracy cannot generally be changed radically and quickly, thus, democracies are not as likely to make terrible mistakes like The great leap forward in China.

The major disadvantage to a democracy is that it can be slow to respond to important issues.  Our present situation is a case in point. It is obvious that something must be done to reform our system of entitlements, go example , but there is no political will to do so. If we had a more autocratic ruler, that person could simply order the government to do something about  the problem. But because we are democracy and the voters are not sure what they want, nothing gets done.

ADVANTAGES OF DEMOCRACY

• safeguards the interest of the people.
• based on the principle of equality.
• stability& responsibility in administration.
• political education to the people.
• little chance of revolution.
• stable government.
• helps in making people good citizens.
• based on public opinion.

DISADVANTAGES OF DEMOCRACY

• more emphasis on quantity than quality.
• rule of incompetent.
• based on unnatural equality.
• voters don’t take interest in elections.
• lowers the moral standard.
• democracy is government of rich.
• misuse of public funds and time.
• no stable government.
• bad influence of political parties.

In countries like indie parliament reflects the voice of the people equal to the voice of God under the framework of this parliamentary  democracy with a  President at the head weather many storms, brave  many obstacles and ward off a number of wars from across the border. There are ample opportunities for undaunted public opinion, bold freedom of expression and legitimate rights to equality without discrimination of caste, color creed or economic status. Apart from them, there are social evils such as cistern, communalism, fundamentalism, accelerated by parochialism and linguistic hierarchy. In one way or another all these were striking at the roof of world democracies.

Read More : Advantages and Disadvantages Of Democracy

Fissiparous, tenancies such as fanaticism jingoism, secessionism extremism and terrorism are rampant here and there bagged by foreign elements with their operation in camera.

Conclusion Advantages and Disadvantages Of Democracy

In a democracy such as ours, which has a representative form of governance, whereby we vote for people who will make decisions on various matters for us, this is an advantage and a disadvantage. When we election to make these various decision, it is not at all clear whether they are elected because we want them to exercise their own intelligence, logic, experience and ethical values or we want them to represent our opinions. There is no law governing this in our democracy, and it is indeed a two -edged sword. Should our representatives former or the later? There are advantage s and disadvantages inherent in each. Few of us as individuals are able to be fully informed on every issue that comes before a legislature, an executive oar judge. But democracy is of the people, by the people and for the people.

On the democratic cum political front, India too has proved her agility and mettle. Since 1952, 12 General Election have been held, when every adult citizen was able to exercise his franchise in a free, fair, frank and fearless manner to the envy to the rest of the world. In such a condition India did not need to go the anti-democratic way but stood with firm feet on the democratic path. This shows the stability and maturity of Indian democracy. There is no temptation or opportunity for, military junta on the Indian subcontinent. For, this is a country where the mind is without fear and the head is held high as Tagore played in the Gitanjali. Let us pray, with regard to Indian democracy,

“To the heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake”.

Essay 2: Advantaged and Disadvantages of Democracy

Advantages and Disadvantages of Democracy [Pros and Cons]

Merits and Demerits of Democracy

When we talk about Democracy, the first thing that comes in our mind is “by the people”.

In a democratic country, the supreme power is vested on the people and they elect a representative for the country. This is done through elections that take place in every country under the ‘Universal Adult Franchise’ i.e. , people who are eighteen years of age and above, are eligible to vote to choose their desired government representatives.

Democracy is a political system where people’s choices are the main factors. But there are some advantages and disadvantages of Democracy that can be looked upon.

Advantages of Democracy [ Benefits of Democracy ]

It offers freedom to the citizens of the state or the country to elect members of the legislature whom they wish to see running the government.

Due to this procedure, the deserving candidates get opportunities to prove themselves on the political grounds, unlike the self-proclaimed kings and rulers of the ancient times who dominated the people of his empire and lacked the knowledge to run the empire.

The tenure is limited to a given time so that if people find the current representatives not keeping up to their word and not doing their job well as per their oaths, they can change the government in the next election for the country’s betterment. By this, the monopolistic authorities can be prevented.

The existence of democracy shows that the citizens are equal as per the law and independent of their choice.The creation of the government by the people puts greater responsibility on the members and thus they always have pressure to work and develop the country.Elections brings change in the country. It also decreases public revolts as votes are casted by the secret ballot system by the people.In most governments, democracy functions with consensus so the chances of public revolt are less.

The presence of democracy and politics imparts political knowledge to the people of the country. Thus today, people get politically educated as well.

Disadvantages of Democracy [ Drawbacks of Democracy ]

In many countries, not all the people are literate but are over eighteen years of age and are eligible voters.(note: literacy or illiteracy has nothing to do with in being an eligible voter)So, the illiterate voters often cast their votes on influence of other literate people.

In few countries the right to vote is not properly exercised. Many people are reluctant to cast their votes and have no idea about the impact of their votes when casted or not.Sometimes in few countries people are forced and dominated behind the law using unfair means so that a particular political party can win in the elections. Money and power is also used to slander the opponent political parties.

It takes a lot of time to complete the voting process and counting the votes for each political party is also time consuming. This is a basic problem for the countries that have dual government system like India. Also, the existence of numerous regional parties arises greater competition and problems.

Sometimes people vote for the wrong candidates as they are successful in influencing and promising development and growth to the people just before the vote which is realized later.A wrong decision may lead to corruption and unfair practices like misuse of public finance and funds and people are unable to do anything unless the tenure of the government ends.

Conclusion on Pros and Cons of Democracy

Democracy is people’s choice and people’s right. So it is on the people how they use their democratic power. Just electing a leader is not the only duty that a citizen should possess for his/her country. The citizens should equally participate for the well being of each other and the nation.