REDEFINING DEMOCRACY

REDEFINING DEMOCRACY

We began this tour of democracy last year with a minimal definition of democracy. Do you remember that? This is what Chapter 2 of your textbook said last year: democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.

We then looked at many cases and expanded the definition slightly to add some qualifications:

*  the rulers elected by the people must take all the major decisions;

*  elections must offer a choice and fair opportunity to the people to change the current rulers;

*  this choice and opportunity should be available to all the people on an equal basis; and

*  the exercise of this choice must lead to a government limited by basic rules of the constitution and citizens’ rights

You may have felt disappointed that the definition did not refer to any high ideals that we associate with democracy. But in operational terms, we deliberately started with a minimalist but clear definition of democracy. It allowed us to make a clear distinction between democratic and non-democratic regimes.

You may have noticed that in the course of our discussions of various aspects of democratic government and politics, we have gone beyond that definition:​​​​​​​

*  We discussed democratic rights at length and noted that these rights are not limited to the right to vote, stand in elections and form political organisations. We discussed some social and economic rights that democracy should offer to its citizens.

*  We have taken up power-sharing as the spirit of democracy and discussed how power-sharing between governments and social groups is necessary in a democracy.

*  We saw how democracy cannot be the brute rule of the majority and how respect for minority voice is necessary for democracy.

*  Our discussion of democracy has gone beyond the government and its activities. We discussed how eliminating discrimination based on caste, religion and gender is important in a democracy.

*  Finally, we have had some discussion about some outcomes that one can expect from a democracy.

In doing so, we have not gone against the definition of democracy offered last year. We began then with a definition of what is the minimum a country must have to be called a democracy. In the course of our discussion, we moved to the set of desirable conditions that a democracy should have. We have moved from the definition of democracy to the description of a good democracy.

How do we define a good democracy? What are its features? Which are the features a democracy must have to be called a good democracy? And what must not take place in a democracy if it is a good democracy?

You decide that.

Reading between the Lines

Activity:

Here is your space for writing your own definition of good democracy.

1.   (Write your name here)                                                      ’s definition of good democracy (not more than 50 words):

2.   Features (use only as many points as you want. Try to compress it in as few points as possible).

How did you like this exercise? Was it enjoyable? Very demanding? A little frustrating? And a little scary? Are you a little resentful that the textbook did not help you in this crucial task? Are you worried that your definition may not be ‘correct’?

Here then is your last lesson in thinking about democracy: there is no fixed definition of good democracy. A good democracy is what we think it is and what we wish to make it. This may sound strange. Yet, think of it: is it democratic for someone to dictate to us what a good democracy is?

Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK