We can understand some representative definitions of democracy.
Prof. C. D. Burns, ' Democracy is a word with many meanings and some emotional colour'.
Willoughby, ' The word democracy is unfortunately used in popular discussion, and indeed in much political literature, in two quite different senses: as designating a society or community in which class distinctions are absent or relatively unimportant, and as designating a distinct form of government.
T. S. Mill - 'Democracy is a form of govt. wherein the whole people or some numerous portion of them exercise the governing power through deputies periodically elected by themselves'.
The Oxford English Dictionary, ' Democracy is a system of government by the whole population run usually through elected representatives.
These definitions of democracy bring to us various aspects.
Three dimensional concept of democracy –
Initially democracy had only political content. In today's world, it has assumed economic and social characteristics. Now it is studied as a three dimensional concept.
(i) Political (ii) Social and (iii) Economic dimension.
(i) Political Dimension of democracy-
It really means a system of government in which everyone has a share of power.
Under democratic system, the government is based on consent of the people. Hence public opinion, criticism, differences of opinion are part of the system. Not only this, in a democratic polity, Fundamental rights of the individual are guaranteed. In modern democracies even group rights are also granted. In India we have 'cultural and educational rights ' granted to minorities which are linguistic and religious minorities.
(ii) Social aspect-
It is not enough to have political democracy. It must come along with social democracy. Under this concept, dignity of human being is honored. He should be respected in all walks of social life.
He should be able to easily become member of any union/
association of his choice. He should not have to suffer discrimination because of his caste, race, gender, language, religion, etc.
(iii) Economic aspect -
This is the ultimate and most important aspect of democracy.
Unless this aspect is achieved to large extent, social and political democracy would be meaningless. It aims at reducing the gap between the rich and the poor. It means ' freedom from hunger, guarantees employment, old age benefits, social security, affordable medical services, etc.
Classical Democracy -
This form can be traced back to Greek era in 4th century BC. Those days, there were city-states like Athens, Sparta. Hence direct democracy was practiced. The citizens of city-states were full time into assemblies- debating, discussing, legislating etc. Since all citizens had slaves to look after their economic interests, they could easily be full time legislators. In city-states, - women, slaves, foreigners had no citizenship.
Direct democracy was possible due to small size and population of city-states. Take the case of Athens; which was regarded as the largest city-state. It had a population of (approx.) three lakh. Out of these, citizenship was given only to 5040 people. Also its size was half of Mumbai city. No wonder it was then to practice direct democracy.
Liberal Democracy –
England is regarded as mother of classical democracy. Later this form became popular in many other European countries and USA.
The liberal democracy has evolved through two phases - (i) Classical Liberalism (ii) modern Liberalism
Classical Liberalism - The contribution & thoughts of British philosophers like Thomas Hobbes (1581-1679), John Locke (1632-1704) and French philosopher Ian Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) laid the foundation of liberal democracy. They had discussed 'natural rights' which are to be protected and promoted by the state.
Their thoughts were a powerful reaction against arbitrary authority of monarchs. Hence they also suggested a limited role to the state.
They strongly supported private property, free enterprise , etc.
Modern Liberalism –
Classical liberalism protected natural rights of an individual, but it left him totally at the mercy of market forces. Since the thinkers supported 'free enterprise', poor people had no protection in the economic field. Next generation thinkers realized that if classical liberalism is not controlled, it will create unmanageable gap between the rich and the poor. This will lead to social unrest. Hence state must assume an active role in the economic field.
Modern Liberalism believes that state should be pro-poor, manage the economic affairs in such a way that poor are not left high and dry. For this, there should be national planning, government should regulate prices. The idea is that state should assume bigger role in socio-economic life of the society.
Participatory democracy –
To understand the concept of 'participatory democracy' better, we must understand the conditions prevailing in Europe between two world wars. The first world war ended in 1918. During this, President Wilson of USA announced the concept of 'self-determination'. After world war-I, three empires, ( Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Russian) ended and in their place, new nations were born. Not many of these new nations had conditions necessary for the successful functioning of democracy. Also the economic cost of world war-I made many European countries very poor. These European societies faced challenges in the form of Nazism, Fascism which came to power in Germany, Italy.
However, Fascist and Nazi forces were defenders in world war-II which ended in 1945.
The lessons of two world wars focussed on the participatory nature of democracy. People should be more aware of political issues, problems of governance. They should actively participate in the process of governance. Participation can be achieved through political parties, through civil society initiatives, through Non-Government Organizations(NGOs), through pressure groups, etc.
This is how democracy should be made more participatory. Hence one can say that 'participatory democracy' is not a model of democracy, in fact it is an evolver, advanced stage of democracy.
Over a period of time, scholars have identified some important aspects of participatory democracy. These are discussed below – (i) Majority rule - Here ruling class is elected by majority of the people. But it does not mean that majority will be insensitive towards minority. In participatory democracy, ' minority rights ' is an important concept.
(ii) Public consent- free, fair elections held periodically is an important aspect of participatory democracy. Hence there should be powerful, autonomous, independent Election commission to supervise elections.
(iii) Public opinion - Though elections, are held periodically in a free, fair manner, during the time between two elections, government must be sensitive about public opinion.
(iv) Discussion, Criticism,-
A participatory democracy moves in a situation where it is willing to face adverse reactions, informed criticism and is willing to discuss various options. The ultimate idea is to move towards consensus building.
These are some important aspects of participatory democracy.
Strengths and weaknesses of democracy-
Though democracy is a favoured form of governance, it does not mean that it has no disadvantages, weaknesses. We must know both-strengths, as well as weaknesses-
a) Strengths / merits of democracy -
(i) Equality of all- The model of democracy is based on the principle of 'equality of all'. It automatically means 'equal opportunities to all', equal protection of law to all.' Here no discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed, colour, religion etc. allowed.
(ii) Freedom- under democracy, every citizen is given freedom of speech and expression, free movement anywhere in the country, freedom of religion, freedom of trade / occupation, etc.
(iii) Stability- Since democracy means majority rule, it offers stability. The government enjoys support of maximum number of people.
(iv) Responsive government - Under democracy, government is not only responsible to people, it is also responsive to people's needs, public opinion.
(v) Interest of all-
Today all over the democratic world, 'welfare state' is an established concept.
It means government will be looking after welfare of all people.
(vi)World peace - In democracy, the principle of peaceful co-existence is quite important. A democratic set-up will strive for world peace.
Demerits / Disadvantages -
(i) Rule of small number- In democracy, smart, manipulative leaders, can appeal to people on emotional ground to get votes.
Even in a political party, the real power is concentrated in the hands of few. Hence it can be dangerous.
(ii) Ignorant rulers- All over the world, whether developed or developing, ordinary citizens are not knowledgeable. They elect somebody from among them who is equally ignorant. Hence democracy becomes a system run by ignorants.
(iii) Lack of efficiency- Since democracy means discussion, deliberation, the time taken for decision making is long. This results in inefficiency.
(iv) Corruption- Here too, the experience of all democratic societies is educative. One finds corruption at all levels of the administration.
Today contesting elections have become quite expensive. For this, all corrupt ways are used to generate money.
These are the advantages and disadvantages of democracy.
Though there are disadvantages, it does not mean that we throw away democratic model. The idea is to remove these disadvantages and make democracy a perfect model.
Conditions necessary for the success of democracy.-
We have noted the disadvantages of democracy. We have also learnt how democracy can create conditions which finally becomes dangerous. Hence we must understand the conditions which are necessary for the success of democracy .
(i) Educated, citizens- A citizen should be knowledgeable about his rights and duties. They should be able to protect their rights. Not only this, they should be able to hold government accountable.
(ii) Free, Fearless media- Today media is regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy. Media covers newspapers, periodicals, radio, TV channels, internet. Media informs people, It airs their problem. It criticizes government about its programmes & policies.
(iii) Political parties- A good democracy must have well-developed party system. If one party is in power, then there should be equally powerful, competent opposition party to oppose the government.
(iv) Local self-government- Today it is accepted that local self- government bodies are ideal training grounds for the future leaders of democracy. Hence a democratic country must have a good system of local self-government.
(v) Leadership- A democratic system needs a set of good leaders across the political spectrum. Such leaders inspire people, make people knowledgeable. They are wise, sensitive and well-read.
(vi) Economic security- Since in a democracy, welfare state is an accepted form, it offers economic security of maximum number of
people. It creates employment, and educational opportunities. It creates a sound public health system.
These are some important conditions for a successful democracy.
Challenges to democracy-
Though democracy is liked by many societies, it faces some serious challenges; These challenges should be studied properly so that one can meet these challenges.
(i) Communalism and religious fundamentalism This challenge is faced by many democracies. However, in India we also face communalism which results into communal riots. In other countries, there are sectarian riots like Shia-Sunni fights in Pakistan, Catholic- Protestant fights in UK.
(ii) Terrorism and militarism-
After 9/11, USA declared that terrorism is the global enemy. India has been facing this problem for many years in Jammu & Kashmir, some North-East states. In other countries like BanglaDesh, the danger of military take-over is always present. Today many countries of Asia and Africa are under military rule.
(iii) Casteism- This is a peculiar Indian problem. we have caste- based politics, caste-based voting pattern and caste based wars. In states like Bihar, there are inter-caste wars. In many states of Indian union, we find dominant caste controlling maximum centers of power.
(iv) Criminalization - Increasing criminalization of politics is the real threat to democracy. Here law breakers become law makers. As a result we often witness breakdown of law and order. Many political parties have contacts with gangs of criminals. Such gangs are often used during elections.
(v) Corruption- Whether developed or developing country, corruption is noticed at all levels. Political leaders use political power to collect illegal wealth. They use police dept. to grant undue favours.
(vi) Poverty & illiteracy- These are unique to Asia and Africa. Here even today many people are illiterate and are quite poor. For a poor person, what matters is satisfaction of his basic needs- food, shelter, clothes. He is not much worried about democracy. Similarly an illiterate person cannot understand the basics of democratic government.
These are challenges that democracy faces globally. Out of these challenges, some are unique to India. We must fight these
challenges. Otherwise we will have to suffer under dictators. Here democracy must be saved and must flourish.