Forms of Government

DEMOCRACY

Priyamvada Yadav

B.A. LL.B (H)

Self-finance

Introduction
There are different forms of government that exist in today’s political world and most
popular of them all is ‘Democracy’. Democracy has been defined as ‘a type of society
and a manner of life’, as an ideal or as an end in itself and not just a form of choosing and
authorizing government. A concept that has its roots in Ancient Greece. The word
‘democracy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘kratos’ meaning ‘power’ or ‘rule’ and
‘demos’ meaning ‘the many’ or ‘the people’, hence the rule of the people.1 Until the
nineteenth century, the cause of democracy was not widely taken up by the political
thinkers and was just referred as a rule by the ignorant and unenlightened masses.
However, in today’s scenario, it seems that we are all democratic.

Democracy, today is thus, described as a system of government under which the people
exercise the governing power either directly or through representatives periodically
elected by themselves. This means that a State may, in political science, be termed a
democracy if it provides institutions for the expression and, in the last analysis, the
supremacy of the popular will on basic questions of social direction and policy2. The
modern understanding of democracy is dominated by the form of electoral democracy
that has developed in the industrialized West, often called liberal democracy.

1
Andrew Heywood, Political Theory: An Introduction, 143 (Palgrave, US, 4th edn., 2015).
2
R.C. Vermani, An Introduction to Political Theory, 262 (Gitanjali Publishing House, New Delhi, 2nd edn.,
2011)

1
Role of Democracy
The opportunity for political participation, political equality and the possibility of an
alternative government- these make a state democratic in form. The conditions for the
successful work of democracy include firstly, the widespread habit of tolerance and
compromise among the members of a community, a sense of ‘give and take’. This is
necessary because democracy involves the conception of majority rule, and the
acquiescence of the minority in the decision of the majority. If either of them presses its
demands at the expense of the other, democracy becomes difficult to work. The second
condition involves the provision of adequate opportunities for the individual to develop
his personality: access to knowledge through a system of state-aided free education,
security against unemployment, a minimum wage (which should include provision
against sickness and for old age), coupled with fair conditions of work, leisure, and some
voice in determining the conditions of work to guard against economic slavery. This
implies that vast disparities in the distribution of national wealth should be progressively
reduced.

‘Survey the countries of the world’, writes Dubs: ‘you may find elsewhere greater
political achievements, but assuredly in no country will you meet so many good citizens
of independent opinions and sound practical judgment; nowhere so great a number of
public men who succeed in fulfilling their functions in minor spheres with dignity and
skill; nowhere so large a proportion of persons who, outside their daily round, interest
themselves so keenly in the welfare and in the difficulties of their fellow citizens.’3

Certain features of democracy involve:

a) a form of government of the poor and the disadvantaged;

b) a government that is direct and continuous;

3
John Hoffman, Paul Graham, Introduction to Political Theory,117 (Dorling Kindersley, New
Delhi, 2nd edn., 2010)

2
 c) a system of equality and individual merit;
d) a system of decision making i.e. a majority rule;
e) a government that tries to secure rights of minorities.

The difficulty and the importance of leadership in democracy arise from two facts:

i. In the complex society of modern days, on most of the questions which matter in
government, a general will – in the sense of a clearly desired end related to the
means by which this end may be realized- simply does not exist.
ii. For most people, government is only a part and, with many, the least important
part, of the business of life. For such people, earning a living, family and social
calls and amusements occupy a good part of their time and attention.

The functions of leaders in a democracy involve the protection of the rights of the people,
to think out what are the best interests of the community in a given period, to rouse men
and women to a sense of their common interest and their public duty and to reshape their
interests in the light of altered circumstances.

Models of Democracy
1. Classical Democracy: It was direct democracy and Athens was the abode of
such a democracy. The classical democracy of Athens assumed the form of mass
meeting. The Athenians periodically met together to take stock of the situation of
the state and make policies and decisions. All the full time public officials were
chosen by the Athenians through lottery or election.
2. Protective Democracy: It highlights a quite different aspect. In the words of
Heywood, “democracy was seen less as a mechanism through which public could
participate in political life, and more as a device through which citizens could
protect themselves from the encroachments of government, hence protective
democracy”. Here democracy has been viewed as a means at the disposal of
individuals which they can use to safeguard their rights and liberties.
3
 3. Developmental Democracy: According to J.S. Mill democracy was a very
powerful mechanism of moral self-development and highest and harmonious
expansion of individual capacities. We are thus in a possession of two elements of
development. One is moral self-development and the other is development of
individual capacities.
4. People’s Democracy or Marxist Model of Democracy: In communist
ideology, a country or form of government in transition from bourgeois
democracy to socialism. In this stage there is more than one class, the largest
being the proletariat, led by the Communist Party, which is therefore the dominant
power.

Direct and Indirect Democracy

At the time of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln extolled the virtues of what he
called ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people’.4 Through this, he
drew a distinction between two contrasting notions of democracy. The first, a government
by the people which is based on the idea that the public participates in government and
indeed governs itself: popular self-government. The second, government for the people,
is linked to the notion of the public interest and the idea that government benefits the
people, whether or not they themselves rule.

4
Andrew Heywood, Political Theory: An Introduction, 143 (Palgrave, US, 4th edn., 2015)

4
Conclusion
The history of democracies shows that these conditions are rarely fulfilled. In practice,
democracy is the rule of ignorance. It pays attention to quantity, not to quality; votes are
counted, not weighed. A large number of citizens still regard government as something
quite apart from the main business of life, in which they have no vital concern; they work
and play; practice the professions and the arts; plough, sow, harvest, and sell, and forget
that they are the governors. There is a real danger in democracy that citizens may not be
sufficiently educated to appreciate the meaning of issues which come before them at
elections. Further, it may be argued that modern democracy is capitalistic, i.e. the
political state represents nothing but the rule of a propertied oligarchy- an opinion held
particularly by socialists. The principle and the practice of representation are also faulty.

However, democracy, with all its defects, implies recognition of the duties of government
and the rights of the people. It postulates a measure of personal freedom and equal
consideration for all classes. As John Stuart Mill said, it is superior to other forms of
government because the rights and interests of every person are secure from being
disregarded only when the person interested is himself able and habitually disposed to
‘stand up’ for them; and the general prosperity attains a greater height and is more widely
diffused in proportion to the amount and variety of the personal energies enlisted in
promoting it. The participation in governmental affair lifts the individual above the
narrow circle of his egoism and broadens his interests. It makes him interested in his
country and gives him a sense of responsibility.

The truth seems to be that democracy contains within it the seeds of dissolution and
decay, as well as of life and progress. It may conceivably lead to the despotism of a
collective mediocrity, the negation of freedom, the free play of self-interest and a
deterioration of individual and national character. But, under favorable conditions it
encourages the intelligence, self-reliance, initiative and social sense of free man by
placing the ultimate responsibility for government on the citizens themselves; it makes
authority a trust, and ensures equal consideration for all. Its success depends on the

5
spiritual efforts the people put forth and the re-adjustment of democratic institution in
accordance with changing conditions.