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Essay Example on Democracy
At least every individual in the world is familiar with the term "democracy", nonetheless, its underlying concept is still widely misused and misunderstood. Democracy and freedom are in most cases intended to have a similar meaning, but they are not in any way the same. In encapsulation, it may simply mean that people within a democracy tend to have numerous rights, which does not necessarily translate to freedom. Democracy as a term stems from a combination of Greek Terms, mainly, "Demos†meaning "the people†and "Kratos" meaning "power." Therefore, in hindsight, it means "people's power," whereby the people run the government and the main objective is the welfare of the individuals within the government. The precincts of democracy hold that the state has the obligation of protecting the rights of its citizens and in return, the citizens pledge their allegiance to the nation.
Due to the verity that democracy is considered as being a gift of patriotic and national leaders to the citizens, people ought to abandon their blind faith in the media to improve democracy. The citizens of a nation should therefore appreciate and realize the great value of democracy. In this particular write-up, we are going to delve deeper into the meaning of democracy through the eyes of various political founding fathers to better understand the term. According to the wise words of Winston Churchill, "numerous forms of administration will be tried and have been tried in this planet of woe and sin. No individual is inclined to imagine that egalitarianism is ideal or all-wise. Undeniably, is said that democracy is the worst form of administration, excluding all other forms of government that have been tried from time to time†(Espada 31).
Discussion
As mentioned earlier, Winston Churchill, one of the most prolific political figures said that achieving a perfect democracy is elusive. According to him, democracy is not in any way perfect, and also, no government that has over the millennia managed to be created so far is perfect. Every type of government has weaknesses, no matter how successful it is. The meaning of government, according to Webster's Dictionary, is "a government by the people; particularly; rule of the majority; a government in which the people hold the supreme power" (Garber n.p.). Without the people, democracy cannot function, especially if the people are stupid, ill-informed, or simply concerned with their interests. It takes time to build a functioning democracy, and citizens ought to get educated to make effective and well-informed judgments.
The latter is one of the reasons why democracy in Russia is failing and one of democracy's weaknesses. Democracy is also a long process, and the checks and balances that make it effective are also inefficient. Before legislation gets passed, it spends a significant amount of time in the hands of congressional leaders, including the president. "Democracy is not a sustainable system of government. It can only exist once a majority of voters realize that they have the power to vote themselves riches from the public coffers." Alexander Tyler is a fictional character. While this quote is not accurate in its entirety, the sentiment behind it is (Graham 26). Democracy, usually described as a dictatorship of the majority, can appear to be true at times because a minority's thoughts and ideas are not always accurately represented. In truth, a dictatorship has some advantages over democracy, including being more efficient. A dictatorship, like an oligarchy, is a very efficient type of governance, but it can be difficult for people's views and opinions to get heard in those governments.
Take the nation of Pakistan as an example; the country did not and still has not realized democracy due to several contentious reasons such as institutional instability, economic insecurity, together with political immaturity. According to Bernard Shaw, his view on democracy was that it is, "a social order striving for the highest possible prosperity of the entire population rather than a specific class†(Espada 46). The nation's social and political structure has deteriorated due to sectarianism, ignorance, and the caste system and when it comes to elections, voters are either bribed or blackmailed into voting for unreadable and irresponsible candidates. Power usually is abused to further self-interested goals. There is a lot of corruption and favoritism going on. As a result, legislators become lawbreakers. Also, the country's democratic system usually is destabilized by the country's constant military incursions. Back to Winston Churchill's quote on democracy, and a sober harsh reminder that the final and less frequently used statement is a beautiful declaration of the democratic creed as a quote (Garber n.p.). However, despite the beautiful rhetoric, Churchill's entire speech reveals that his argument was far more a political response to the current dispute than a sweeping assertion of democratic principles. Notably, "No free nation of which I have heard of up to the current, which is taking pleasure in democratic organizations, has accepted a single assembly administration,†Churchill argues.
Conclusion
If we look at democracy from the perspective of our own country, we can see that it has never worked. Insufficient education, insufficient political intelligence, together with disruptions from non-political elements are the main causes. There has never been a government that has been allowed to smoothly run its affairs. Regardless of the issue, our opinionated leaders would be successful rulers if they followed the golden rules of both dictatorship and democracy.
Works Cited
Espada, C. João. The Anglo-American Tradition of Liberty: A view from Europe. 2016. Print.
Garber, Larry. Churchill on democracy: Lessons for today. 2019. Web.
Graham, David. Inside the mind of George Bernard Shaw. 2014. Print.
