Written by Democracy is a political system in which political positions are filled through the vote of the people.
It is a form of government in which citizens directly or indirectly participate in the governance of a state by electing representatives.
According to Abraham Lincoln, “Democracy can be defined as the government of the people, by the people, and for the people”.
The word ‘democracy’ is a combination of two greek words “Demos”, which means people, and “Cratos” which means “power”.
So democracy etymologically means “the power of the people”.
This means that the governance of a democratic state is through the consent of the citizens.
Types of Democracy
1. Direct democracy: This is a form of democracy where citizens are directly involved in the governance of the state.
In a direct democracy, all adult persons gather in a public place to vote on legislation and other public policies.
Direct democracy was practiced in small cities in Greece, where the entire population usually gathered at town hall meetings to decide on emerging public issues.
However, instances of direct democracy are extremely rare due to the huge population and size of modern states.
2. Indirect democracy: This is a form of democracy in which citizens elect their representatives to represent them in the governance of the state.
It is also known as representative democracy. Indirect democracy means citizens do not make laws and decide on public policies directly.
So, they elect representatives that will enact laws and policies on their behalf.
Examples of indirect democracy are US and India.
Advantages of Democracy
1. Citizens are given the opportunity to participate in state governance: Democracy gives citizens of a state the chance to participate in the governing of their state.
Since governmental activities are done through the direct or indirect consent of the citizens, democracy gives citizens the ability to actively participate and influence the governance of the state.
For example, through balloting, citizens can get to vote out leaders that introduced unfavorable public policies.
2. Allows citizens to hold government accountable: Another benefit of democracy is that it allows citizens to hold their government accountable and demand good governance from them.
Citizens can hold the government accountable by holding protests and other forms of political rallies.
For instance, If a government enacts laws and policies that are unfavorable to the masses, citizens may engage in peaceful protest to draw the attention of the government and hold them accountable.
Citizens can also hold the government accountable by using the legal system.
If citizens feel the government has violated their fundamental human rights, they can sue the government and demand that the government corrects its wrongdoings.
3. Ensures continuity: Democracy, more than any other form of administration, is thought to guarantee the continuation of government.
In most democracies, citizens can choose their leaders through elections, which are held periodically.
These periodic elections ensure that there are smooth and regular transfers of powers and allow for new ideas and perspectives to be continuously introduced into the government.
4. Economic prosperity: According to research, democratic countries typically experience greater economic growth and prosperity than non-democratic countries.
The stable political environment associated with democracy offer business the opportunity to operate and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.
Disadvantages of Democracy
1. Ineffectiveness resulting from uneducated voters: The effectiveness of democracy is only realized when voters are adequately educated.
If a large portion of the electorates is uneducated, it will be very difficult for them to fully participate in the democratic process and make informed decisions about the issues that affect their lives.
As a result, they will not be able to choose the right candidates during elections.
Additionally, uneducated voters may be more susceptible to political propaganda and misinformation, which could hinder their ability to make better political decisions and undermine the integrity of the democratic process.
2. Possibility of marginalization of the minority: As democracy is a government done with the consult of the people, there is a possibility the minority may not be adequately represented in the political process.
In a democracy, representatives are elected on the basis of gaining a majority vote.
So, if the representatives win elections through the majority vote, there is a possibility that the representatives may choose to only represent the interest of the majority and ignore the interest of the minority.
For example, the representative may choose to only uphold the beliefs or values of the majority, even when they run contrary to that of the minority group.
Therefore, it is possible that minority groups will be marginalized in a democratic society.
3. Delay in decision-making: This is one of the most inherent disadvantages of democracy.
In a democracy, there are usually different branches of government such as the executive, legislative, and judiciary.
Because there are multiple branches of government, before any decision and law can be made, it must go through each branch of government.
For instance, before a bill may become law, the legislature must debate it for a while before sending it to the president for his approval.
The court can still overturn a law through the legal process even after the executive has signed it into law.
Decision-making can be delayed as a result of the constant back-and-forth passing of legislation and decisions between the various branch of government.
4. Expensive: It is a well-known fact that democracy is one of the most costly forms of government to operate.
Democracy comes with certain costs such as the costs of holding elections periodically, the costs of maintaining democratic institutions, and the costs of enumerating workers.
To illustrate, to conduct an election in a democracy, money has to be spent on printing ballot papers, settling up polling stations, and paying election workers.
The implication of democracy is that the ultimate burden for this high cost of governance is ultimately borne by taxpayers.
Conclusion
We just learned about the meaning, types, advantages, and disadvantages of democracy.
To recap, democracy is a political system in which political positions are filled through the vote of the people or political decisions are made by the people directly.
There are two main types of democracy: direct democracy, in which citizens directly participate in governance, and indirect democracy, in which citizens elect representatives to rule on their behalf
Advantages of democracy include the opportunity for citizens to participate in state governance, the ability to hold the government accountable, the continuity of government, and economic prosperity.
On the flip side, democracy has some disadvantages, which are: ineffectiveness resulting from uneducated voters, the possibility of the majority imposing their will on the minority, and delay in decision-making.
