Democracy Facts

8/8/2019 Democracy Facts

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DEMOCRACY VS. DICTORSHIP

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Definition of Democracy

Democracy, by definition, is a political system in which the supreme power lies in a

body of citizens who can elect people to represent them. It can also be defined as the

political orientation of those who favour government by the people or by their elected

representatives.

Advantages of Democracy

Peaceful Modifications in the Government

Democracy can offer modifications in government without hostility. In a democracy,

authority can be reassigned from one party to another by the mode of elections. The

power of the general public of a country decides its ruling power.

Averting Monopoly

Furthermore, any government is confined to an election tenure after which it has to

contend against other parties to recover power. This method averts monopoly of the

reigning party. The reigning authorities have to ensure it functions effectively for its

people as cannot continue being the authority subsequent to carrying out its term unless

re-elected by the people.

Feeling of Gratitude

This inculcates a feeling of responsibility towards the citizens. The reigning party owes

their accomplishment in the elections to the people of the country. This leads to a

feeling of thankfulness towards the citizens. It can act as their inspiration to function for

the people for it is the general masses that have absolute authority over selecting their

government.


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Social Responsibility of the Citizens

An additional vital advantage of democracy is that the citizens achieve a sense of

contribution in the procedure of selecting their government. They get the chance to

speak out their views by method of electoral voting. This gives ascend to a feeling of

belongingness in the brains of the masses towards their society and its well being.

Disadvantages of Democracy

Making the wrong choice

In a democratic country, it is the common man who has the supreme right to choose

their legislature and their prevailing authorities. As per a general study, not all the

people are completely conscious of the political circumstances in their nation. The

common masses may not be acquainted of the political matters in their society. This

may lead to common man taking an erroneous selection during election.

Authorities May Lose focus

As the government is bound to changes and modification after each election tenure, the

authorities may function with a interim objective. Since they have to go through an

election procedure after the conclusion of each tenure, they may lose focus on

functioning effectively for the citizens and instead might concentrate on winning

elections.

Hordes Have Influence

A further disadvantage of democracy is that hordes can manipulate citizens. People may

vote in support of a party under the pressure of the bulk. Constrained or influenced by

the ideas of those around, an individual may not put across his/her accurate judgment.


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Democracy averts radicalism and encourages teamwork and synchronization. It also

slow things down, stop those in authority doing what they wish regardless of the

majoritys desires.

Definition of Dictatorship

Dictatorship can be defined as a form of government in which the power is centralized.

It either lies with a single person or a small group of people. The general population has

no say in the functioning of the government. The people do not have any choice with

regards to by whom or how their country will be run. In a dictatorship form of

government, the people are expected to do, whatever is decided for them by the

dictator. China, Zimbabwe,EgyptandCuba, among many others, follow dictatorship

form of government.

Whenever we come across the word "Dictator", images of a ruthless leader who

commits atrocities on people to get his own way come to our mind. If we look at some

of the famous dictators in the past, such as Adolf Hitler in Germany and Saddam

Hussein in Iraq, they have reinforced this point of view of dictators being ruthless and

doing anything to hold on to the power. However, there are certain dictators such as

Mustafa Kamal Pasha of Turkey, who have brought a lot of progress to their country.

So, it can be rightly said that just like all other different types of governments, there are

both disadvantages as well as advantages of dictatorship.


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Advantages of Dictatorship Government

Stable Government

As in a dictatorship, the decision making lies with only one person and others do not

have any say in the working of the government, it offers a kind of stability to the

country. Problems such as frequent elections, as in the case of democracy, or a

disruption of peace due to political factions, do not arise in a dictatorship.

Less Room for Corruption

Another of the dictatorship advantages is that a dictator is very stringent with regards to

the rules, regulations, penalties, punishments and rewards. This makes the people

working under him less liable tocorruption.

Most Efficient During Emergencies

When a country faces any kind of emergency situation such as a war or a health

epidemic, a dictatorship government can prove to be the most efficient one. The reason

being that all the decisions are taken by one person, so there is no ambiguity with

regards to the plan of action as well as individual responsibilities that are fixed to cope

with the emergency situation. So, one of the main advantages of dictatorship

overdemocracy is that it is better equipped to face emergencies.

Lesser Crime Rate

Most of the dictatorship governments are police states. So, in a way there is low crime

rate under such regimes. Another reason for a better law and order situation in these

states is that various laws are passed immediately, without any discussion or waiting for

the public opinion on them. This leads to better control over crimes too.

"Things Happen" Quickly

In a dictatorship form of government, all things, whether related to governance or


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businesses or anything else, happen much quicker than in other types of government.

The reason for this is the same i.e. decision making lies with a single person.

These are some of the advantages of dictatorship. Although, for these advantages to

translate into real life, a dictator needs to be self-less, benevolent, well experienced and

intelligent. As a dictator has unlimited power, if he does not possess these qualities, the

disadvantages of dictatorship, such as oppression of people, no freedom of choice for

the people, accumulation of wealth in a few hands, loss of civil rights, flawed decision

making, etc. can lead the country toward a wrong path. Looking at the stakes associated

with a dictatorship form of government, many countries under such a regime are

considering becoming democracies, which is a form of government for the people, of

the people and by the people. Today, looking at the progress democracies such as

America and India are making, democracy is considered the best form of governance.

Dictatorship vs Democracy

Definition

Democracy is defined as a government of the people, for the people and by the people.

Such a government is formed through elections in which the adult citizens of a county

cast vote to elect their representatives. Thus, in a way, the government is ruled by the

citizens of the country, in a democracy.

Dictatorship is a form of government in which a single individual or a group of

individuals hold power and take all the decisions pertaining to running the country.

There is complete centralization of power, with the dictator deciding what is expected of

all the citizens of the country. Thus, in a dictatorship form of government, people have


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no say in how the country will function or how they will lead their lives.

Stability of the Government

If we compare dictatorship vs democracy on how stable a government these can

provide, then certainly dictatorship wins hands down. As there is no other alternative to

the government in a dictatorship, combined with the people having no rights whatsoever

to choose their leaders, problems such as re-elections or people revolting against the

government do not ever arise.

Rights of the People

When it comes to comparison between dictatorship and democracy, in terms of the

power that people have, there is no doubt about the fact that democracy offers much

wides avenues of freedom, liberty, equality and opportunities to the citizens. In a

democracy, if people are unhappy, they can raise their voices through various platforms

such as the media. However, such a thing would never be tolerated in the dictatorship

form of government, where people are expected just to follow and never to question.

Efficiency

In dictatorship vs democracy, one of the advantages of dictatorship is that it is believed

to be much more efficient than a democracy. Incidences of crime and corruption are

much lesser in a dictatorship as rules and regulations are much stricter. As decision

making in dictatorship lies with just one or a small group of people, not much time is

wasted in debating over passing regulations or making amendments in law. Also,

proponents of dictatorship say that in case of an emergency such as a war, a dictatorship

is better prepared to meet it as not much time is wasted in debating decisions.


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Dictatorship vsDemocracy : The Verdict

In today's world, democracy is considered to be the best form of government, reason

being that people are treated equally and have full rights to live a life of their liking.

Unlike in a dictatorship, where people are treated like cattle and are expected to simply

obey and follow the government, democracy contributes to development of the

individuals as well as the society. Dictatorship has many wrongs such as there is

ruthless oppression of people or there might be flawed decision making, which may

ultimately lead the country towards ruin. Looking at these disadvantages of democracy,

many dictatorships today are contemplating to become democracies in future.

In the end, it can be rightly said that in dictatorship vs Democracy, democracy is the

ultimate winner. The picture becomes even much clearer, if we look at the track record

and progress which democracies like USA and China have made in past few decades.

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