essay on importance of democracy
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Answer:
Democracy is known as the finest form of government. Why so? Because in a democracy, the people of the country choose their government. They enjoy certain rights which are very essential for any human being to live freely and happily. There are various democratic countries in the world, but India is the largest one. Democracy has withstood the test of time, and while other forms have the government has failed, democracy stood strong. It has time and again proved its importance and impact.
Significance of a Democracy
Democracy is very important for human development. When people have free will to live freely, they will be happier. Moreover, we have seen how other forms of government have turned out to be. Citizens are not that happy and prosperous in a monarchy or anarchy.
Furthermore, democracy lets people have equal rights. This ensures that equality prevails all over the country. Subsequently, it also gives them duties. These duties make them better citizens and are also important for their overall development.
Most importantly, in a democracy, the people form the government. So, this selection of the government by the citizens gives everyone a chance to work for their country. It allows the law to prevail efficiently as the rules are made by people whom they have selected.
In addition, democracy allows people of various religions and cultures to exist peacefully. It makes them live in harmony with one another. People of democracy are more tolerant and accepting of each other’s differences. This is very important for any country to be happy and prosper.
Democracy is a derivation from two Greek terms “Demos” and “Kratos”. The former word means the people and the latter word means power. So democracy means “power of the people”. In democracy the preeminent factor is the people. There the government is run by the people and the main concern is the welfare of the people.
Democracy has a great educative force, because it strives for the development of the personality of the citizens. So democracy is not only a form of government but a kind of upgraded society. These are the warp and woof of a culture which may be called democracy culture.
There are several definitions of democracy Lord James Bryce defined democracy:
“Democracy is that form of government in which the ruling power is vested not in any individual, or in a particular class or classes but in the members of the community as a whole.” Albert Venn Dicey characterised it as – “A form of government in which the governing body is comparatively a large fraction of the entire nation.” Abraham Lincoln gave the historic definition by calling democracy as “government by the people, of the people and for the people.”
Sir John Seeley gave a simple definition by describing democracy as- “A government in which everybody has a share.” For John Spencer Bassett- “Democracy is a political method by which every citizen has the opportunity of participating through discussion in an attempt to reach voluntary agreements as to what shall be done for the good of the community as a whole.” As a matter of fact, democracy is both a form of government and a way of life.
Although democracy has a definite and set method of its own, it has such a strong appeal that everybody and every institution tries to go by the name of democracy. The position has been nicely delineated by Carl J. Friedrich- “Democracy has been the battle cry of the twentieth century.”
Everyone is for democracy as he understands it. In the USA democracy means the existing scheme of things or some idealized version of it or even what the men of Philadelphia intended the constitution to be. In Britain too it means whatever one considers the government and politics of the country to be, but also more particularly what the Labour Party aspires to and has been seeking to accomplish, when it has been in power. In the USSR and communist China such American and British views are laughed at as reactionary.
According to each, their particular brand of communism is ‘true’ democracy. Such democracy presupposes a classless society and can only come after capitalism has been destroyed by the dictatorship of the proletariat since the end of the Second World War, and especially in the period of the Cold War these classes of outlook became acute.
Importance of democracy:
Democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people. It is a sovereignty form of governance. It is the concept of choosing a government through elections. It guarente elections that are free, fair and regular. "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard" are the words about democracy by H.L. Mencken. Democracy guarente individual freedom and rights but democracy need not be liberal though there are some liberal democracies. The right to free expression of political preferences cannot be guarenteed by any other government. Peaceful competition between different interest and ideas are ensured democracy. The citizens are empowered to bring change in democracy. Such things are not guarenteed by other government.
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