The word Democracy has been derived from the Greek word ‘Demokratia’, where ‘demos’ means people and ‘kratia’ means the rule. Accordingly, democracy literally means people’s rule. It’s a form of govt. where rulers are elected by the people. Here, those currently in power have a fair chance of losing as it is based on “free & fair” election. Each & every adult citizen has the right to cast one vote and each vote has one value. In this form of government, the final decision making power rests with those elected by the people.
Three arguments in favour of democracy are as below:
1. A non-democratic government may sometimes even not respond to the people’s need, but that completely depends on the wishes of the citizens of the country. If the rulers don’t want to, no one can force them. They even don’t act. Whereas in democratic government, it is important for the rulers to attend the need of the people. Hence, it’s a more accountable form of govt.
2. A democratic decision when taken involves more people, several discussions, consultation & meetings. Yes, it takes time but lessens the chances of rash or vague decisions. It also improves the quality of decision-making. In a diverse society, especially in a country like India, people are bound to have differences of opinions and interests. To iron out these differences, democracy is the only known solution as there is no permanent winner and no permanent loser.
3. In a democracy, mistakes are bound to happen like in any other forms of government. But the advantage is that it can’t be hidden for a long time. Public discussions and correction always have room in democratic government. Either the rulers have to change their decisions or the rulers themselves can be changed by the people. Hence, we can state that it allows us to correct our own faults.
Today, modern democracy is the best form of power for ruling any country, whether it is large or small, rich or poor, educated or uneducated one. One should always strive towards a liberal democracy, which is considered to be the ultimate goal for all the governments. The most humane way of ruling people with governance is also called democratic republic form.