X Civics Chapter 5 OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY

X Civics Chapter 5

OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY

 

Common features of democratic government

Democracies are commonly based on the idea of liberty , equality and justice for all

Some of the common features of democracies are as follows

(i) In a democracy, elections are held at regular intervals and are fair and free.

(ii) Major decisions by elected leaders .

 (iii) Freedom of speech, expression and thought is another feature of democracy. The media also helps in building a sound public opinion.

(iv) Democracy gives to its citizens a sound political system based on social and political equality.

One person, one vote, one value.

(v) Another feature of a democracy is a strong opposition which keeps in check, the ruling party or the government.

(vi) In a democracy, the dignity of the individual is recognised and one can correct one’s mistakes in a democracy and avoid conflicts.

(v)  Democracies have formal constitution. Rule of law

(vi)A democracy has a multi-party system and elections are held on the basis of universal adult franchise.

 

 

Previous questions

 

1.Explain any four features that are common in all democratic set-ups of the government.[2010]

2. What are the common features of all type of democracies?

3.Examine any three features on the basis of which maximum number of countries claimto practise democratic politics ? 2011

4.explain any three characteristics of democracy  11

 

Democracy is a better Government

Democracy is a better form of government when compared with dictatorship or any other alternative.

Democracy is better because it:

* Promotes equality among citizens.

* Enhances the dignity of the individual.

* Improves the quality of decision making.

* Provides a peaceful method to resolve conflicts.

* Allows room to correct mistakes. Either the rulers have to change their decisions or they can be changed.

 

Democracy a better form of Government

Merits of democracy

Democracy is considered to be the best form of government and most of the countries in the world have adopted it. Following are the merits of democracy-

1.  It safeguards the interest of the people. Democracies ensure rights of citizens

2. Democracy promotes equality among citizens each citizen is given equal rights .there is no discrimination on the basis of religion caste and color.

3. Democracy improves the quality of decision making in democracy every citizen takes part in decision making either directly or indirectly through the representatives.

4.  Democracy represents the general view*

5.  Democracies develops competitive attitude: Little chance of revolution. It Provides a method to resolve conflicts;

6.  Based on public opinion

7.  Helps people to become good citizens

8.  Accommodate all diversities and differences

9.It enhances the dignity of the individual;

10.  It allows room to correct mistakes.

11. Democracy solves the social and political and economic problems of the country.

12.Democracy provides accountable ,responsive and legitimate government .

 

 Hence, it is a better form of Government.

 

Previous questions

 

How are democratic governments better than other forms of governments? Compare 2016

How does Indian democracy meet the expatiation of Indian people regarding democratic outcomes . explain with examples 13

A democratic government is efficient and effective . analyse the statement. 14

Why is the democratic government better then other alternatives 15

How is the democratic government known as responsive form of government . explain with an example . 14

Explain any three conditions under which democracies are able to accommodate social diversities 13,12

how do you feel that democracy is better then any other form of government . explain 13

How is democracy is a beter form of government in comparison with other forms of government , explain 14

How do democracy accommodate various social division explain with example. 14

Which form of the government is considered  the  best ?15

Why do we feel that democracy  is a better form of governmet  then any other. Explain 15

Why is the democratic government known as legitimate government explain.14

How can you say that democracies are based on political equality 15

What is meant by transparency 15

Democracy is more affective then its other alternatives . justify the statement . 15

How is democracy accountable and responsive to the needs and expectations of the citizens . Explain 15

There is an overwhelming support for the idea of democracy all over the world support the statement.15

How are democracies able to accommodate social diversities . Explain with three examples . 12

Explain any three merits of democratic government over dictatorship 12

Democracies lead to peaceful and harmonious life among the citizens. Support the statement with examples 13

 

Demerits

 

(i) Takes more time to follow procedures before arriving at a decision as compared to a nondemocratic government. *So many people have to be consulted in  a democracy that leads  to delays.

(ii) Most democracies fall short of elections that provide a fair chance to everyone and in putting every decision to public debate.

(iii) Democratic governments do not have a very good record when it comes to sharing information with citizens.

(iv) Democracies often frustrate the needs of the people and often ignore the demands of its population.

 

(v)Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.

*Frequent changes in leadership sometimes can set back big decisions and affect the government’s efficiency.

Elected leaders don’t know the  best interest of people. It leads to bad decision.

*Ordinary people don’t what is  good for them   they should not decide anything .

In democracy  people take their own decisions. This does not guarantee that their

decisions will be good. People can make mistakes.

 

*Economic disparity – *The poor are becoming poorer and sometimes they find difficult even to meet the basic needs of life like food, shelter, health and education.

*It is unsuccessful in reducing economic exploitation.

 

Social injustice – Other discriminations – corruption –

Democracy can only create conditions for achieving our goals. ‘In actual life democracy do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.

 

Previous questions

 

Why do some people think that democratic Governments are less effective?

Democracy is a good form of government in principle not in reality. Explain.

Expected outcomes of democratic Government

i.  It helps to form an accountable, responsive and legitimate Government.

ii.  It brings economic growth and development.

iii.  It helps to reduce inequality and poverty in society. .

iv.  It allows to accommodate social diversity.

v.  It upholds dignity and freedom of citizens. ( Explain points)

 

Political outcomes of democracy

Democracies are based on political equality. All individuals have equal weight in electing representatives. Parallel to the process of bringing individuals into the political arena on an equal footing

 (i) People have the right to choose their ruler and also have control over the rulers.

(ii) Whenever possible and necessary, citizens should be able to participate in decision making that affects them all.

(iii) People have the right to stand up for any political post.

 

Mention the political outcomes of democracy. 2011

 

 

Democratic governments are accountable:

Democratic governments in practice are accountable to the citizens because :

 

1.It is the govt. of the people and made by people and for the people. The representatives elected by the people are responsible to them.

2. Decision-making is based on norms and procedures . democratic government  follows procedures and is accountable to the people.

3. Whenever  possible  and  necessary,  citizens can take part in decision making that affects them all. Democracy is based on the idea of deliberation and negotiation.

4.Leaders are accountable to the citizens. in the democratic government people have the right to choose  their  rulers  and  people   have control  over  the  rulers. If it ignores the will of the people and   does  not  work properly  ,  people  can  overthrow  them.  Citizens can change the leaders in coming elections

5. Decision-making is transparent.  Citizens have the right and the means to examine the process of decision making.  The right to information(2005) enables  the citizens to examine the process of decision making this makes democratic government accountable. This type of transparency

is not available in non democratic govts.

6.Democracy provides people the power to demand answers from their representatives

Thus, democracy produces an accountable, government.

A nondemocratic government may and can respond to the people’s needs, but it all depends on the wishes of the people who rule. If the rulers don’t want to, they don’t have to act

according to the wishes of the people.

A democracy requires that the ruler have to attend to the needs of the people.

 

A democratic government can be made accountable by :

 

(i)  Conducting discussions and negotiations.

(ii)  Ensuring transparency.

(iii)  Holding regular, free and fair elections.

(iv)  Having open public debates. 

 

RTI

Right to information was enacted in 2005

Under its provisions any Indian citizen can request information from government authorities

This act mandates timely response to the applicant by these authority .

The basic objective of this act is to empower the citizens , promote transparency and accountability in Indian democracy.

 

Democratic governments are responsive

A democratic government has to be responsive to the needs of its citizens.

1.  Democracy is a government that is attentive to the needs and demands of the people. A government which is able to respond to grievances faster is able to avoid confrontation and provide good governance

2.Democracies should not frustrate the needs of the people and  ignore  the  demands  of  a  majority  of  its  population.

3.Through pressure groups, and public protests, the democratic government can check the popularity of its decisions and mechanism of administration.

 Thus  it  a  responsive Government.

 

Democratic governments are legitimate

1. Democratic  government  is  a  legitimate  government.  Democracies follow the provisions of constitutions. Democractic government cannot violate the constitutions

2.Democratic countries are ruled by the law

3.It  is  people’s  own  government. People  elect  the  rulers.  The  party  that  gets  majority  seat  in  the  legislature  forms  the government. If they lose the majority, they have to resign.

4.Democracy generates its own support from its citizens. its decisions are more acceptable

5.It has planned institutions and practices for its functioning.

5.Democratic government take transparent decisions citizens can examine the process of decision making.

 

Previous questions

 

A democratic government is a legitimate government .support the statement with arguments 16

How do democratic government ensure transparency ? Explain any three points 2011

What is the most basic outcome of democracy?

 ‘Democracy is an accountable, responsive and legitimate form of government.’ Explain.11

 

 

Democracy can accommodate diversity

 

(i) Democratic governments try to keep peace and harmony among its citizens. This they do by maintaining discipline and accommodating various social divisions. For example, Belgium has peacefully solved her ethnic problems and solved the differences.

It can be accommodated by power sharing as in the case of Belgium.

(ii) Democracies develops competitive attitude: All democracies  develop a procedure to conduct competition, among social classes. i.e. conduct elections, power-sharing, etc. This reduces the possibility of tensions, due to social divisions, turning violent or explosive.

Social  diversities  can  be  accommodated  by  deliberation,  negotiation,  and  mutual understanding.

(iii) Democracy teaches people to respect the differences and resolve conflicts among different groups peacefully. In non-democratic countries, rulers either turn a blind eye to or suppress

internal differences. For example, Sri Lanka. The plus point in democratic regime is the ability to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts.

 

(iv)Democracy represents the general view: A democracy is not just a rule by majority opinion. The majority always needs to work with the minority so that the government represents the general view.

 

(v) A democratic government ensures that the rule by the majority does not become autocratic in terms of religion, race or linguistic group etc. It tries that in case of every election, different persons and groups can form a majority. It tries to see that every citizen has a

chance to be in majority at some point of time and is not barred on the basis of birth.

All these things ensured by a democratic regime lead to a peaceful and harmonious life.

 

 No  society  can  fully  and  permanently  resolve  conflicts  among  different  groups. However,  we  can  certainly  learn  to  respect  these  differences  and  we  can  also  evolve mechanisms  to  negotiate  the  differences.  Democracy  is  best  suited  to  produce  this outcome.

Previous Questions

 

Democracy accommodates social diversities. Support the statement with the examples . 16

How do democracies accommodate social diversity ? Explain 11

What are the conditions under which democracies accommodate social diversities?

Explain with examples how democracy can accommodate diversity. [2011

How does democracy lead to peaceful and harmonious life among citizens? Explain.[2011

 

Decision making process

The decision making process of the non-democratic rulers is very quick. They are also efficient in decision making and even in the implementation of the decisions. This all happens because non-democratic rulers do not have to bother about deliberation in assemblies or about the public opinion.

On the other hand, democratic form of government is based on deliberation and negotiation. This causes the process slow. *Consultation and discussion help democracy prosper.

*A democratic decision always involves many persons, discussions and meetings.

*When a number of people put their heads together, they are able to point out possible mistakes in any decision.

*This reduces the chances of rash or irresponsible decisions. Thus democracy improves the quality of decision-making.

They followed procedures, their decisions may be more acceptable to the people and are more effective.

 

When do people start blaming democracy?

i.  Our interest in and fascination for democracy often pushes us into taking a position that democracy can address all socio-economic and political problems.

ii.  If some of our expectations are not met, we start blaming the idea of democracy. Or, we  start doubting if we are living in a democracy.

 

What are the differences between democratic and non-democratic governments in the decision making process? [2011

Dignity and freedom of citizens

 

 (i) Dignity of citizens: Democracy promotes dignity and freedom of the individual. Every individual wants to receive respect from fellow beings. Democracies have achieved this to a certain degree in many countries  In  a democratic country people have the freedom to  pchoose their representatives on the basis of universal adult franchise.

ii.  Democracy transforms people from the status of subjects under a king or a dictator to the status of citizens with rights and duties. Many Fundamental rights are granted to citizens in a democratic country. One such right is the right to freedom, which is a cluster of many rights like freedom to travel anywhere, freedom to assemble anywhere, freedom to choose any profession, to choose any religion etc.

iii.  Dignity of women. Most  societies  across  the  world  were  historically  male  dominated.  Equal  treatment and respect of women is the necessary  requirement of a democratic society. Women can now fight against gender inequality what is now unacceptable legally and morally.Thus, their status in democratic countries improved. In a non-democratic set-up, women would not have a legal basis to fight for equality.

iv. Dignity of disadvantaged and discriminated castes: In India, the disadvantaged and discriminated castes have gained in strength due to democracy. They have now the legal and moral right to fight for equal status and equal opportunities. Caste and racial discrimination not supported by law in democracy.

Previous questions

1.Examine with the help of three examples how the dignity and freedom of citizens are best guaranteed in a democracy. 2011

2.Democracy stand much superior in promoting dignity and freedom of the citizens justify the statement .16

3. Explain any three ways in which democracy has succeeded in maintaining dignity and freedom of citizens . 12

 

Democracy and the economic outcomes

 

i. Slow economic development and economic growth due to population.

 

ii Democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities. Although majority of voters are poor, yet democratically elected government do not address the question of poverty.

 

iii  Situation is much worse in some of the countries where people depend upon rich countries for food supplies. In Bangladesh, more than half of its population lives in poverty.

 

Iv .Unjust distribution of resources and opportunities – resources are allocated in few hands.-A small number of ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth and incomes. Not only that, their share in the total income of the country has been increasing. Those at the bottom of the 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.

 

v. If we consider all democracies and all dictatorships for the fifty years between 1950 and 2000,  dictatorships  have  slightly  higher  rate  of  economic  growth.  The  inability  of democracy to achieve higher economic development worries us.

However  democratic  government  provide them opportunities by giving concessions, grants, and reservations.  But even then democracy is favoured because it provides the opportunity to change the rulers

 

Democracies are not appearing to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities . Analyze the statement.16

 

Economic Role of democratic government 

 

Democratic governments play important role in reducing economic disparities by adopting following measures

i.  Economic  inequality  and  poverty  are  the  twin  problems  of  India.  Different  political parties  are  committed  to  remove  these  since  it  is  included  in  their  election  manifesto. They are responsive to the needs of the people.

 

ii. The elected Government from time to time started a number of poverty alleviation programmes to reduce poverty in India.

 

iii.  More  over  many  employment  schemes  like  Rural  Works  Programme,  National  Rural Employment Programme etc. are started by democratic Government in India.

iv. Government ensures  equitable distribution of wealth to reduce the gap between the rich and poor.

v..Government provides equal opportunities to all and reduces the chances of economic discimintion.

 

Factors of economic development

 

Country’s population, size, global situation, cooperation from other countries, economic priorities adopted by the country, etc.  are the factors on which economic development of a country depend.

The first step towards thinking carefully about the outcomes of democracy is to recognize that democracy is just a form of government. It can only create conditions for achieving something.  The  citizens  have  to  take  advantage  of  those  conditions  and  achieve  those goals.

Previous questions

How does democracy help reduce inequality and poverty?

Explain the role of democratic governments in reducing economic disparities .11

Explain four ways in which democracies have been able to reduce inequality and poverty  12

What are the factors on which economic development of a country depend?

Democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities . examine the statement  13

A public expression of dissatisfaction with democracy shows the success of democratic project justify the statement 16

 

Corruption

An ideal government could not only keep itself away from corruption but also make fighting corruption and black money a top priority.

The statement can be justified by highlighting the  following values

1. Corruption and black money are the source all social evils like poverty , inflation and poor political ethics. A government which fails to control corruption losses its legitimacy.

2.  Democratic government should respond to the eradication of corruption and black money. If it is not done , people get discouraged to reelect such corrupt government .

3. For the fair distribution of resources corruption should be removed. Transparency should be maintained in the process of governing.

 

Corruption and Democracy

 

*Corruption weakens the democracy and weak democratic institutions are less able to control corruption.

*Many democratic poor countries are unable to control the growing corruption.

*Increasing rate of corruption leads to weak democratic institutions , poor economic conditions , infrastructure, low quality of health care and education services .

An ideal government could not only keep itself away from corruption but also make fighting corruption and black money a top priority. Justify the statement by highlighting the value attached to it 13

 

Public dissatisfaction

 

A public expression of dissatisfaction with democracy shows the success of democracy . this statement can be justified by the following arguments.

1.when citizens show their dissatisfaction , it clearly shows that they are actively taking part in democratic project because this system is their own .

2. a public expression of dissatisfaction shows that people are not just forcefully following or agreeing with whatever they are told .

3. it shows that they are enjoying thie right to freedom and hence they are no subjects but are responsible citizens .

4.   As  people  get  some  benefits  of  democracy,  they  ask  for  more  and  want  to  make democracy  even  better.  That  is  why  when  we  ask  people  about  the  way  democracy functions, they will always come up with more expectations, and many complaints.

5.it shows  that  people  have  developed  awareness  and  the  ability  to  expect  and  to  look critically at power holders and the high and the mighty.

Q. How do expectation from democracy function as the criterion for judging a democratic country? ( The fact that people are complaining itself is a testimony of the success of democracy. Justify the statement with three appropriate points.

 

 

 

 

 

Evaluation

Democracy is seen  to be good in principle but felt to be not so good in practice. we can prove the statement by citing the following arguments

1.in democracy citizens expect that their demands, needs, and expectations should be fulfilled but democracies have diverse  culture and religions . it is not possible to look after everyon’s need.

2.even though democracy is not a rule by majority , there are instances where the minorities are ignored.

3.in corrupt democracies citizens lose their faith in the government and then they do not feel the need to vote which is not healthy for a country because democracy is the government f the people .

4, regular elections may lead to change in ruling party which causes political and economic instability .

5.if people are not wise in choosing their representatives then the countey and its citizen will suffer .

Economic disparity – Social injustice – Other discriminations – corruption –not having a good record of sharing information.

 

1.Some people think that democracy produces less effective government . Analyze the statement .15

2. Democracy is seen  to be good in principle but felt to be not so good in practice. Justify the statement 13

 

Practices and institutions

Regular,  free  and  fair  elections,  open  public  debate  on  major  policies  and  legislations, and  citizens’  right  to  information  about  the  government  and  its  functioning  are  the practices and institutions to measure democracies on the basis of the expected outcome.

(Add common features )

 

Q. What are the practices and institutions to measure democracies on the basis of the expected outcome?

Q. What do you expect from democracy when we try to find the out comes of democracy?

Q.What is the first step towards thinking carefully about the outcomes of democracy?

 

 

 

 

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