What is a must for a successful democratic government?
Answers
‘Democracy’ means the ‘rule of the people’. The people elect their representatives from themselves to govern the nation. So if there is good Government the credit goes to the people, and if the government is bad, the people have no one to blame but themselves.
For whatever reason, perhaps due to today’s context, democracies are supposed to be the best and most advanced form of Governments. But it is not always the case. Very few democracies can be said to be successful, and almost none which are perfect. But as Churchill puts,’ “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” So, we can suppose that it’s the best of the bad lot.
For a democracy to be even halfway successful certain main existing conditions are absolutely necessary. Some of the main ones are:
1. A certain level of education and civilization of the population
The seeding of power is from the individual vote. In a democracy the Government and the people reflect each other. ‘As the people, so the Government.’ So the elected have to be elected by intelligent, informed minds.
2. Freedom of speech and press, personal freedom (culture, religion, lifestyle,art etc) All rights, and freedoms should be strictly coupled with responsibility and accountability. The capacity to handle these freedoms derives from the above condition of education and civilization.
3. The 4 pillars of democracy: Intact, free standing, independent from each other, pillars of democracy - the legislature, the executive, the judiciary and the media.
The legislature are the elected representatives who sit in the parliament and frame, introduce and modify laws and policies by which the nation is governed. Again, it takes an educated population to recognize educated and worthy candidates to elect as their representatives.
The executive are the largest manforce which man the government. They need to be absolutely uncorrupt and conscientious.
The judiciary. They are the last resort of the people. The courts of the land dispense justice and instill confidence in the people, and must be efficient and squeaky clean and quite independent of the government or any other temporal power..
The media are the watchdogs of the nation and the ones who keep communication channels alive between the government and people. They need to be objective, frank, truthful, neutral and highly knowledgeable on whatever subject they are reporting on.
4. A strong security and law and order framework and force, internal and external. However civilized and self disciplined a populace is, they can function easily and without fear only in a safe environment. This is ensured by a good security, police for the internal and army for external.
5. A strong sense of nationhood and patriotism. When we say a ‘country’ we mean a geography. When we say ‘nation’ we mean a people - a people with an identity and a commonality of belonging to a particular country. An identity cannot be a aseptic sterile thing. It is a feeling and includes some level of patriotism and nationalism. This is what makes a nation.
[ If you ask me for a sixth condition, I would definitely add an understanding of what exactly constitutes wealth - and an uncompromising integrity in the wielding of it. All the four pillars of the Government have to be manned by men of integrity. Money can undermine, weaken and destroy anything in the world]
hope it helps!!