This article presents the main conditions which should be in place for successful democracy in any democratic nation.
(1) Sound System of Education:
Where there is illiteracy, it becomes difficult to make
democracy successful because many qualities are needed to make democracy a
success.
The citizens can acquire these qualities only through
literacy. The people should have the sense of understanding political problems.
They should possess such qualities as sacrifice, sympathy, selfless
service of the country discipline, fraternity, etc. As far as possible,
education should be free and the rich and the poor should be given equal
opportunities for their development. The citizens should strive for mental and
physical development through education. They should be able to earn their
livelihood though education. Otherwise unemployment shall prove harmful for
democracy. In short, ideal citizens are prepared through education without
which democracy cannot become successful.
(2) Enlightened Citizenship:
People should have
the knowledge of their rights and duties to make democracy as success. So long
as the citizens do not perform their duties, the question of the success of
democracy cannot arise. If the performance of duties is essential, it is
equally essential for the citizens to become conscious of their rights, without
which there is every possibility of the government becoming autocrat.
Therefore, it is said that ‘Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
(3) Political Awakening:
It is essential to inculcate political awakening among the citizens
to make democracy a success. Where there is no political awakening, the
citizens fail to understand the political problems. They are also unable to
elect their representatives properly. Political disinterestedness does not help
the citizens to understand the economic and political problems of the day and
contribute their mite to the implementation of various national plans defense
efforts of the country
(4) Freedom:
Democracy guarantees the citizens th6 freedom of expression, freedom
of profession, freedom of religion and freedom to form associations. A free and
fearless press is the basic need of democracy in order to keep under check the
autocratic activities of the government. In the countries where press is not
free, citizens cannot criticize the government with the result that they cannot
fully enjoy much freedom. In Russia, China and other Communist countries, the
press is not free to criticize the government. Press is also not free in the
countries where there is military dictatorship.
(5) Equality:
Democracy does not recognize class distinctions. It is based on
social, economic and political equality. In democracy all are equal before law
and there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, colour, religion, sex and
economic status. Economic equality does not mean that everybody should be given
equal emoluments it means equality of opportunity, and a fair and open field
for all. This kind of equality ensures social justice which is the very
life-breath of a democracy. Equality thus means giving everybody right to vote
and contest election irrespective of caste, religion, property, sex, colour and
creed.
(6) Law and Order:
The maintenance of law and order in society by the government is
another essential condition for the success of democracy. Anarchy prevails
where government fails to maintain law and order and the people’s faith in
government is shaken. They look towards dictatorship in order to get rid of
anarchy.
(7) Spirit of Co-operation:
Every democracy has to face many economic, social, religious and
political problems. In dictatorship, these problems are solved by the dictator
according to his own whim. In absolute monarchy, the situation is similar to
dictatorship, but it is different in a democracy. In democracy the Prime
Minister or the President cannot act arbitrarily but they have to find the
solution of problems according to the wishes of the Parliament or of the
people. These problems can be solved by the co-operation of the people. Further,
a democracy can flourish only if there is no big gap between the thinking of
the people and of the government and when there is a spirit of co-operation
between them.
(8) Decentralization of Powers and Local Self-Government:
For the success of a democracy, decentralization of powers is
essential. The concentration of power makes the government autocratic. With the
division of power between the Centre and the provinces, the burden of the
Centre is reduced and the provinces get autonomy which ultimately brings
efficiency in the administration. With the introduction of local
self-government, people take interest in the administration and they give full
support to the government. The French writer De Tocqueville has rightly said
that, “Local institutions constitute the strength of free nations. A nation may
establish a system of free governments but without municipal institutions it
cannot have the spirit of liberty.”
(9) High Moral Standard:
The success of democracy also depends upon the high moral standard
of the people as well as of the government. Where there is dishonesty,
black-marketing, hoarding and smuggling and where the ministers and public
servants are corrupt, the question of the success of democracy does not arise.
People should have the spirit of patriotism, discipline, self-control, honesty
in payment of taxes and willing obedience to the laws of the land. The
government should follow the ideal of service to the community, because a
welfare state and a democracy are two inseparable things.
(10) Social and Economic Security:
Economic security is essential for the success of democracy. The
people should be given the right to work and it is the duty of the government
to provide them with suitable employment. In case the government is unable to
provide it to the people, it should at least provide them with shelter,
clothing and food. In Russia and in many other Communist countries, the
government has given this right to the people in their constitution. Our
government should also recognize this right of the people for the success of
democracy in our country.
Besides, social security is also essential. Now-a-days, the
government fixes hours of work, salary, bonus, paid holidays and compensation
for fatal accidents in order to save the labourers from exploitation by the
capitalists.
The government should provide social security to the people m case
of their being disabled due to old age, illness, accident or any other cause.
Without this provision, democracy shall be considered useless. People in Russia
have full social security. In India, too, some concrete steps have been taken
in this direction.
(11) Tolerance and Spirit of Unity:
It is the responsibility of the people to make democracy a success.
For this, the spirit of tolerance and unity is needed. In a country like India
where we have a number of religions, languages and castes, and where we find a
disparity between the rich and the poor, these qualities are very essential. In
spite of mutual disagreements, the people should join together to face a national
crisis. In case of foreign aggression, the people should forget their
differences of caste, religion, language and province and try to preserve the
freedom of their country with a spirit of devotion and sacrifice.
(12) Sound Party System:
In a democracy difference in views is not only tolerated but it is
encouraged, because constructive criticism has an important place in a
democracy. For this reason, many parties crop up in a democratic set-up. In the
countries where there is only one party, and where other parties are banned,
democracy cannot develop, only dictatorship develops there.
It happened in Germany during the time of Hitler and in Italy during
the regime of Mussolini. This type of dictatorship was found in Russia, China,
East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria and Poland.
In order to make democracy a success, a healthy and influential
opposition is a must; otherwise the ruling party will become an autocrat alter
winning the election. The Opposition keeps a check on the autocratic activities
of ministers.
Without it, there is every likelihood of then being power-corrupt.
Where there is a bi-party system the task of making democracy a success becomes
easier because one party rules and the other keeps an effective check over its activities.
Where there are many parties, the legislature is divided into many
small groups and no single party is in a position to form the government. The
result is that coalition governments are installed which are not stable.
Therefore, bi-party system is better than multi-party system. There
is a bi-party system in England and in the U.S.A. There is a multi-party system
in France, Italy and West Germany. That is why democracy is more successful in
England and the U.S.A., than in other countries where there is multi-party
system. In France during the Third and Fourth Republics the government was very
unstable. As compared to France, there are fewer problems in Italy and West
Germany, because certain parties are very powerful in these countries.
(13) Written Constitution and Independent Judiciary:
For the successful functioning of democracy, people are given
fundamental rights and written constitutions are introduced with a view to
checking autocratic activities of the government. Where there is no written
constitutions the government can extend and exercise its powers in an
autocratic manner.
Judiciary is the guardian of Constitution and fundamental rights,
and the independence of judiciary from the control of executive has been
guaranteed. Where judiciary is not independent, there is no guarantee of the
fundamental rights of the people and the constitution becomes useless. This is
the condition in Russia, China and many other Communist countries.
(14) Independent, impartial and periodical elections:
Independent, impartial and periodical elections help in establishing
faith of the people and the opposition in democracy, otherwise the opposition
party will not get an opportunity for forming the government and there will be
no respect for public opinion. In the absence of independent, impartial and
periodical elections, the opposition parties shall try to change the government
by a revolution with the help of military or by the use of violent force. In
Pakistan, elections were not held for many years. The result was that military
dictatorship of General Ayub Khan was established in 1958 which gave a server
blow to democracy.
(15) Political security, good administration, economic prosperity
and wise leadership:
Efficient administration is another condition for the success of a
democracy. In fact, the success of democracy depends upon efficient
administration. People’s faith in democracy is shaken in a corrupt
administration.
Political security is also essential because people start feeling
the necessity of dictatorship, if a democratic government is unable to protect
the sovereignty and integrity of the country at the time of foreign invasion.
If a government fails to remove the scarcity of essential
commodities, if the prices of these commodities are abnormally high and if
people starve owing to abject poverty, the people’s faith in democracy is
shaken and they start feeling the necessity of some other type of government.
Thus to protect democracy from being usurped by dictatorship,
intelligent leadership is very essential. For example, when Hitler started
invading other countries, England was not prepared to face the challenge, but
under the able and enlightened leadership of Winston Churchill, not only
democracy was saved but Hitler’s dictatorship was also smashed. An able leader can bring about economic prosperity in
his country and give a clean administration to the people. Thus, he can make
democracy very stable. Democracy is like a game. A game can be played only when
the players respect the rules of the game. Hence, democracy will be successful
if the citizens are democratically minded and have the desire to respect the
principles of democracy.
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