Democracy: Is it good or bad??

The great man, Abraham Lincoln, said after the Civil War that “This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." The meaning of this short statement announces the fact that at that precise moment, the 16^th American President declared his nation to be a democracy. This word has been used by various independent nations who have wanted to be registered as nations wanting the betterment of the human race. But is it rightly so? Do democracies work to better the lives of people? Or do they erode into people’s life and danger the continuity of the human race?

Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the creation of laws. It enables the free and equal practice of political self-determination. Democracies tend to exist in two ways- direct, and representative. In representative democracies, a group of representatives is elected by the people who work on behalf of the whole populace for the betterment of the nation. Elections take place at periodic intervals, and between these intervals there can not be a change in the Government. If a wrong choice has been made by the citizens, it is them who will suffer for the period of time. But, as we say this statement, we make a lot of assumptions. Isn’t it the people who chose the representatives? If they made a wrong decision, shouldn’t they pay for it? From this we can say that true democracies do tend to make wrong decisions and suffer for short periods of time, but in the long run, they do tend to prosper as the people want the nation to.

On examining an economic free market- managed by the private sector- we take note that the free market responds extremely quickly to provide what people want. When we compare this to a democracy, we can notice the indirect similarities in both of them. As a democracy is ruled by its people, it will tend to provide what people really need and want. Thus the satisfaction of people in the government and the nation is bound to increase. And as the satisfaction and confidence of the people increases, a democracy is bound to strengthen and grow.

There are some specific times, when a direct democracy can work against global objectives. Situations like wars, terrorist attacks and fights for religion, caste, etc have a propensity to cause people to make decisions not rightful on the global front. These decisions seem right for the people of the nation, but may be harming the world as a whole. But aren’t some of these impulsive decisions needed? Wasn’t the assassination of Osama bin Laden needed? That decision was made covertly by the American Government in action to its’ citizens wants. A nation has no right to harm a citizen of another nation without proper legal notice, but this impulsive action did work for betterment of the human race.

Politics is not a lay man’s job. It requires proper training and a certain intellectual level. But democracies bisect this theory and oppose this principle. By allowing normal people to make decisions for their nation, countries may work to escalate global issues to very high levels which may harm the human race as a whole. Also, in the decision-making process, nations include the opinions of people uninterested by harmony and peace. This is how democracies may harm the world.

Summarizing this topic, we can say that democracies usually work towards being positive for people. They take all the views of all the people and add them up to better living standards and living conditions. Development of nations will progress as the people want, and they are the ones who will shape their and their country's future.