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SIDDHARTHA LAW

COLLEGE

DEMOCRACY
SANKALP SHARMA

DATED- 26/10/2015
Siddhartha Law College, Dehradun
Project submitted for the partial
fulfilment for the degree of B.A.LL.B.
BATCH: 2015-20

Submitted to
Submitted By
Dr. Ateeq-Ur-Rahman
SANKALP SHARMA
(Faculty of Political Science)
(BA.LLB 1st Semester)

Siddhartha Law College, Dehradun


(Affiliated to Uttarakhand Technical
University, Dehradun)MEANING OF
DEMOCRACY
In words of Abraham Lincoln democracy is a
government-of the people, by the people, and for the
people.
J.R lucas said-Democracy is a noun but should be
an adjective.

Cranston writes-Democracy is nothing but different


doctrines in different peoples minds.
Sir John Seeley defined democracy-a government in
which everyone has a share.
Dr. Finer observes,Democracy has come to mean
different things,some very hostile to each other,that
it needs careful analysis if misunderstanding and
idle controversies are to avoided and if the possible
and quite legitimate differences of connotation and
its very varied institutional arrangements are to be
revealed.
E.M. Burns said in his Ideas in CONFLICT(1960);
Few words have been more lossely and variously
defined than democracy.It has almost literally meant
all things to all men.

DEFINITIONS OF DEMOCRACY
Lord Bryce defined democracy in these words, The
word democracy has been used ever since the time
of Herodotus to denote that form of government in
which the ruling power of a state is legally
vested,not in any particular class or classes,but in

the members of community as a whole. This means


in communities which act by voting,that rule belongs
to the majority as no other method has been found
for determining peaceably and legally what is to be
deemed the will of a community which is not
unanimous.Usage has made this the accepted sence
of the term and usage is the safest guide in the
employment of the word.
Basset writes, Democracy is essentially a matter of
political method. Democracy is not a particular kind
of civilization; it is rather a civilized way of taking
political action. Democracy constitutes an attempt
to reconcile freedom with the need for law and its
enforcement. It may be defined as a political method
by which every citizen has the opportunity of
participating through discussion in an attempt to
reach voluntary agreement as to what shall be done
for the good of the community as a whole.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY


There are certain basic principles of democracy.
Democracy allows evry individual to speak,crisize
and disagree with others. Democracy is based on the
principles of tolerance. Democracy believes in the

method of persuasion and peace both in internal and


international spheres. Democracy upholds the
dignity of human personality and various kinds of
rights are given to every individual. Liberty and
equality are the foundations of democracy.
Democracy is based on the principles of majority
rule, but this does not mean that the rights of the
minorities can be ignored. The rights of all have to
be protected .democracy aims at the welfare of all.
It believes in change in government through
constitutional methods and not through violence. In
a democracy, the power of taking basic decisions
relating to the government harvested in all the
members of the community and not in any particular
class of person.

PRESUMPTIONS IN A DEMOCRACY
There are certain presumptions in a democratic
state. One presumption is that the individual is
rational and he has the capacity to think and discuss
the general problems of the community and also
take decisions . hum,an beings are egoistic . their
happiness is purely personal. The individuals is
sovereign over his body and mind . there is no scope
for the use of physical force or violence in solving
problems . very human being is fallible and can make
mistakes. There is no conflict between the good of
the individual and the good of the community
individuals do not resort to violence to get their
grievances redressed .

FORMS OF DEMOCRACY
According to Sartori, there are four major forms or
types of democracy.
1. Social democracy- is neither capitalist nor
socialist. It is partly liberal and partly socialist.
It aims at social equality and welfare of the
people.
2. Karl Marx replaced political democracy with
economic democracy as the determining factor
of politics. it is the economic democracy which
determines political democracy and not the viceversa . True democracy is one where in addition
to political democracy; there is economic
democracy which in other words is economic
equality. There cannot be absolute equality but
there should not be too much of economic in
equality in society.
3. Industrial democracy- is basically a guilt
socialist idea and Cole was its exponent. Its aim
is the management of industry by workers on
self-governing lines.
4. The term peoples democracy is commonly used
by communist states. It is intended to put
emphasis on the politico economic, macro

micro and supra infra nature of their


democracy.

KINDS OF DEMOCRACY

Democracy is of two kinds: direct and indirect .


in a direct democracy all the people at one place
and decide the matters which concern them. In
city-states of ancient Greece the adult male
citizens were expected to take active part in the
assembly and discuss issues of the day. In
modern times direct democracy is only found in
Switzerland . the main features of direct
democracy is referendum , initiative and recall .
In diect democracy ; also known as
representative democracy is that form of
government in which the people elect their
representatives to carry on the administration of
the country . repsentative democracy is the
prevailing form of democracy in the world . the
most important feature of this form of
government is the sovereign authority lies in the
hands of commoners (citizens).

CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR


DUCCESSFUL WORKING OF
DEMOCRACY
THE serveys conducted and the researches
made shows that democratic institutions works
successfully only in a particular atmosphere and
if that is lacking they do not work satisfactorily.
Democracy demands that there should be high
standards

of

honest

and

honor

among

the

people. There should be honesty and equality not


only among the political leaders but also among
the commoners of the country .

The people should have high level of intelligence


and a sound system of education .if the people
do

not

possess

the

spirit

of

normal

reasonableness , democracy degenerates into


morb rule which is set aside by dictatorship .
a strong sense solidtarity , and intense
conviction of unity , a pervasive feeling of
communal life

MERITS

1. The great merit of democracy lies not in its


efficiency but in the fact that it gives the
people an opportunity to rule themselves.
2. The best government in long run is one that
nurtures a people strong in moral fibre , in
integrity, industry,self-relianceand courage
according to Laswell
3. Democracy develops the political
intelligence of the people. It demands from
all citizens a certain degree of
intelligence,honesty,public spirit and
discipline.
4. Self possession,self mastery,the hjabit of
order and peace and common counsel and
reverence for law which will not fail when
they themselves become the makers of the
law;the steadiness and self control of
political maturity
5. A democratic system gives enough
opportunity for a change in government
through peaceful means. There is enough of
freedom of action and expression opinion

6. Democracy is based on the principle of


equality of all men and women.it does not
believe in the foolish principle that some
are born to rule and others to be ruled.even
the humblest person has the chance of
rising in life.
7. No discrimination is practiced against any
particular individual or class.all are equal
before the law and the same punishment is
meted out to all if law is broken.
8. Democracy protects the interests of all the
people.it is not expected to serve the
interests of a particular individual or class
but to serve the larger interests of all.that is
not the case with monarchy or aristocracy or
dictatorship
9. Democracy upholds liberty.every individual
is free to think,speak and act and develop
his own personality in his own way .he has
the freedom to live in his own way,speak the
language he likes,read the books of
choice`,express his opinion in his own way.
10.
Democracy is a revolutionary form of
government . for its aim to find a place for
continual change within government .its law

exists to foster freedom; its force exists to


protect law.

DEMERITS
1. DEMOCRACY is a very expensive form of
government .in democracy ,everyone has
to be cared for and consequently it
requires a lot of money to satisfy the
needs of all.
2. The paraphernalia of democracy is very
costly.compared to monarchy or
dictatorship,democracy is expensive
because the government machinery is
complex and complicated
3. Democracies are proverbially slow and
sluggish in their movement. They take a
lot of time to execute their plans.
Democracy is governed by consultation
and criticism and hence it takes a lot of
time to arrive at decisions.
4. Democracy is the cult of incompetence. It
means an irresponsible government .it is a
government by amateurs by those who are
hopelessly amateur.

5. The people are short-sighted and do not


see far enough in the future . in certain
democratic countries,there is a strong
tendency among the people to exercise
interference in the work of government by
means of mandates ,petitions and protest.
6. Democracy is the rule of the people but
the masses do not appreciate the
significance of liberty and
individuality.there the intolerance of the
crowd .even the most gifted persons
become victims of tyranny of the masses.
7. Bribery and corruption are the common
abuses of democracy .not only the votes
are brought, even the members of the
legislatures are bribed.
8.

Conclusion
In spite of the elitist theory contains
truthb regarding the working of Western
democracies.it cannot be denied that
there is political apathy among the
people.all democracies are controlled by
the elites of one type or another.Veney
writes, General and equal participation
seems indeed almost like a temporary
aberration. Inequality preached by the
elistist theory is a universally accepted
fact.elite control in a liberal democracy
and in a communist state do not mean the
same thing . to quote Verney, elite rule
appears to be more tolerable when elites
are open and not closed,that is to say
when there is comparative freedom to
access the elite for those who merit or
demand it. In spite of its criticism, the
concept of Michaels holds good. Whether
it is a law of beaurocracy or organization,
it has not been invalidated. What was true
of the German Social Democratic party in
1940 was also true of all other European

parties at that time. Hence, the


generalization of Michaels was not of the
mark. If political parties are not
democratic, democracy also cannot be
democratic. We may conclude by saying
that the elitist theory is an interesting
theory so long as it is understood as a
description of contemporary liberal
democracies, but it is a bad theory if we
look at its justification of Western
Democracies. Its value lies in the fact that
it exposes undemocratic nature of
contemporary Western Democracies.

Acknowledgement
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK PROFESSOR DR. ATEEQ UR
REHEMAN, FOR ENLIGHTENING ME ON THE ABOVE
TOPIC. I FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING AND
ENLIGHTENING.

Bibliography
THE REFENCE FOR THE ABOVE TOPIC HAS BEEN
REFERD FROM THE FOLLOWING: -

POLITICAL THEORY [ PRINCIPLE


OF PLOITICAL SCIENCE ] by DR.
VIDYA DHAR MAHAJAN S.
CHAND AND CO. NEW DELHI.

POLITICAL THEORY by DR. R.S.


AGARWAL S. CHAND AND CO.
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THE CONSTITUION by DR P.M.


BAKSHI UNIVERSAL LAW
PUBLICATION CO. NEW DELHI.

POLITICAL SCIENCE by PRAVIN


KUMAR JHA UNIVERSAL LAW
PUBLICATION CO.NEW DELHI
PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL SCIENCE by A.C
KAPOOR. S. CHAND AND CO. NEW DELHI

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