Chapter 5 Outcomes Of Democracy

How Do We Assess Democracy’s Outcomes?

Reflecting on earlier discussions, democracy is generally considered a superior form of government compared to alternatives like dictatorships or monarchies. This preference is based on the belief that democracy promotes equality, enhances individual dignity, improves decision-making, provides a method for resolving conflicts, and allows for correcting mistakes.

Expectations From Democracy

Based on its principles, democracy is expected to deliver various positive outcomes.

Dilemma: Good In Principle, Not In Practice

However, there's a common dilemma: while democracy is viewed favorably in theory, people often express dissatisfaction with its practical implementation. This raises questions about whether our support for democracy is purely for moral reasons or if there are also prudential (practical, outcome-based) justifications.

Expectations From Every Democracy

Today, many countries claim to be democracies, possessing formal constitutions, holding elections, having political parties, and guaranteeing citizen rights. Despite these common features, these democracies differ significantly in their social, economic, and cultural contexts, leading to varied achievements. Yet, we need to consider if there are certain minimum outcomes that can be expected from any democracy, simply by virtue of it being a democratic system.

Democracy As A Form Of Government

Our enthusiasm for democracy can sometimes lead us to believe it's a panacea for all problems. It's important to recognize that democracy is fundamentally a form of government. It creates the necessary conditions for achieving certain goals, but it is up to the citizens to utilize these conditions to realize those goals. To assess democracy's outcomes critically, we must distinguish between what it can provide the framework for and what citizens must actively achieve within that framework.

Accountable, Responsive And Legitimate Government

A fundamental expectation from democracy is that it produces a government that is accountable to its citizens and responsive to their needs and demands. Citizens should have the right to choose their rulers, exercise control over them, and participate in decision-making processes that affect them.

Ensuring Choice And Control

Democracy is primarily concerned with empowering people to choose their leaders and hold them accountable.

Efficiency Questioned

A common criticism is that democratic governments are less efficient than non-democratic ones. Non-democratic rulers can make and implement decisions quickly as they are not constrained by assemblies, majorities, or public opinion.

Deliberation And Negotiation

Democracy, based on deliberation and negotiation, inherently involves some delay in decision-making. However, this procedural cost may be worthwhile.

Transparency Through Procedures

Democratic governments follow established norms and procedures, ensuring **transparency**. Citizens can examine the process of decision-making, which is often lacking in non-democratic regimes. While democracy may take more time, its decisions, being based on procedure and negotiation, are likely to be more acceptable and effective.

Expected Practices And Institutions

To measure democracy's success in providing accountable and responsive government, we would look for: regular, free, and fair elections; open public debate on policies; and citizens' right to information. Democracies have a mixed record, succeeding in establishing regular elections and conditions for public debate, but often falling short on ensuring fair elections for all or open debate on every decision. Transparency and information sharing with citizens are also areas where democracies could improve.

Actual Performance Record

Democracies are better than non-democratic regimes in these respects but are not perfect. They often fall short of being fully attentive to people's needs and are not consistently free of corruption. Tales of corruption are common in democracies, and there's no clear evidence that non-democracies are less corrupt or more sensitive to the populace.

Legitimacy As A Key Outcome

One undeniable advantage of democratic government is its **legitimacy**. It is the people's own government. Even if it is slow, less efficient, or imperfectly responsive/clean, democracy garners overwhelming support globally because people prefer to be ruled by their elected representatives and believe democracy is suitable for their countries. Democracy's ability to generate this support is a significant outcome in itself.

Economic Growth And Development

If democracies are expected to provide good governance, it is also reasonable to expect them to promote economic growth and development. However, empirical evidence presents a mixed picture.

Expectation Of Development

A key expectation is that democratic governance should lead to economic progress.

Comparing With Dictatorships

Studies comparing democracies and dictatorships between 1950 and 2000 show that dictatorships had a slightly higher average rate of economic growth. While this might be concerning, it's important to consider other factors.

Factors Affecting Economic Development

Economic development is influenced by various factors beyond the form of government, including population size, global economic conditions, cooperation from other countries, and national economic priorities. The difference in growth rates between poor countries under dictatorships and democracies is negligible.

Democracy Not A Guarantee, But Should Not Lag

While democracy is not a guaranteed path to economic development, it is reasonable to expect that it should not significantly lag behind dictatorships in this regard. Considering the other positive outcomes associated with democracy, the slight difference in average growth rates alone may not be a sufficient reason to reject it.

Economic Performance Data:

Reduction Of Inequality And Poverty

A crucial expectation from democracies, perhaps even more significant than economic development, is the reduction of economic inequalities and poverty. While economic growth may occur, the question is whether the resulting wealth is distributed fairly among all citizens, leading to a better quality of life for everyone.

Expectation Of Reduced Disparities

Democracy is expected to lessen economic disparities among its citizens.

Political Equality Vs Economic Inequality

Democracies are founded on the principle of political equality, where each citizen's vote carries equal weight. However, paradoxically, we often observe increasing economic inequalities alongside this political equality. A small segment of the population, the ultra-rich, controls a disproportionately large and growing share of national wealth and income.

Concentration Of Wealth

Wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few.

Poor At The Bottom

Conversely, those at the bottom of the economic ladder have very limited resources, and their incomes may even be declining, making it difficult for them to afford basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter, education, and healthcare.

Limited Success In Reducing Inequality

In reality, democracies have not been very successful in substantially reducing economic inequalities. While the poor constitute a large proportion of voters, democratically elected governments do not always show sufficient urgency in addressing poverty.

Poverty In India And Elsewhere

The situation of poverty remains challenging in countries like India and is significantly worse in some others, where populations are highly dependent on external aid for even basic needs.

Income Inequality in Selected Countries (Table 2):

Accommodation Of Social Diversity

Democracies are expected to foster peaceful and harmonious social lives among citizens, particularly in diverse societies. They are seen as capable of accommodating various social divisions.

Peaceful And Harmonious Life

A reasonable expectation is that democracy contributes to social harmony.

Accommodating Social Divisions

As discussed in earlier chapters (e.g., Belgium), democracies have the capacity to manage differences among diverse social groups.

Procedures Reduce Tension

Democracies typically establish procedures for political competition that can help reduce the likelihood of social tensions escalating into explosive or violent conflicts.

Respecting Differences And Negotiating Mechanisms

While no society can permanently eliminate all conflicts, democracy provides the best framework for learning to respect differences and developing mechanisms to negotiate and resolve them. This ability to handle social divisions and conflicts is a significant advantage of democratic regimes compared to non-democratic ones, which often suppress or ignore such differences.

Conditions For Achieving Outcome

However, achieving social harmony in a democracy requires fulfilling two key conditions:

Not Rule By Majority Opinion

Democracy is not simply about the rule of majority opinion in a rigid sense.

Majority Working With Minority

The majority must constantly work with the minority to ensure that the government represents the general view. Majority and minority positions are not fixed and can change over time.

Rule By Majority Community

Crucially, rule by majority should not become the rule by a majority community based on factors like religion, race, or language. Rule by majority means that in any given decision or election, different individuals and groups can potentially form the majority.

Chance Of Being In Majority

Democracy remains accommodative only as long as every citizen has a fair chance of being part of a majority group at some point. If someone is permanently excluded from being in a majority based on their birth or identity, the democratic system fails for them.

Dignity And Freedom Of The Citizens

Democracy is significantly superior to other forms of government in its ability to promote the dignity and freedom of the individual. Every person desires respect from others, and conflicts often arise when this respect is lacking. The desire for respect and freedom is a fundamental driving force for democracy.

Promoting Dignity And Freedom

Democracy excels in upholding individual dignity and freedom.

Passion For Respect And Freedom

These fundamental desires are key foundations of democracy.

Recognizing Equality

Globally, democracies have, at least in principle, recognized the importance of these values. Achieving this recognition to varying degrees has been a process, particularly challenging in societies historically built on subordination and domination.

Dignity Of Women

Consider the dignity of women. Historically, most societies were patriarchal. Long struggles by women have raised awareness that respect and equal treatment are essential components of a democratic society. While women may not always receive equal treatment in practice, the recognition of this principle makes it easier for them to challenge unacceptable practices legally and morally.

Caste Inequalities

The same applies to caste inequalities in India. Democracy has empowered disadvantaged and discriminated castes to assert their claims for equal status and opportunity. While caste-based inequalities and atrocities still occur, they lack the moral and legal legitimacy provided by a democratic framework that enshrines principles of freedom and dignity.

Strength To Disadvantaged Castes

Democracy has provided a platform for marginalized castes to demand equality.

Recognition Of Democratic Rights

It is perhaps this recognition of their rights that leads ordinary citizens to value their democratic freedoms.

Conclusion

Expectations from democracy serve as important criteria for evaluating any democratic country. What sets democracy apart is that its assessment is continuous; as it meets one challenge, others emerge. As people experience the benefits of democracy, they demand further improvements, seeking to make it even better.

Expectations As Criteria

The hopes and demands placed on democracy are used to judge its performance.

Democracy's Examination Never Ends

Democracy is constantly under scrutiny and faces ongoing challenges.

Complaints Show Success

The very act of people complaining about how democracy functions is, paradoxically, a sign of its success. It indicates that citizens have gained awareness and the capacity to have expectations and critically evaluate those in power.

Transformation To Citizen Status

Public expression of dissatisfaction marks the success of the democratic project in transforming people from passive subjects into active citizens.

Belief In Vote Efficacy

Today, most individuals believe that their vote has an impact on how the government operates and on their own interests.