Ch 5Outcomes of Democracy

Chapter 5: Outcomes of Democracy

Democracy is the dominant form of government of our times, yet it faces the question: does democracy actually deliver? This chapter teaches us to think about the outcomes of democracy realistically — how to judge it, what it can be expected to achieve, and where it actually stands on government quality, economic growth, inequality, social differences and dignity.

1. How Do We Assess Democracy's Outcomes?

Democracy is considered better than any other alternative (dictatorship, monarchy, army rule) because it:

1. Promotes equality among citizens;
2. Enhances the dignity of the individual;
3. Improves the quality of decision-making;
4. Provides a method to resolve conflicts; and
5. Allows room to correct mistakes.

But is this support just a feeling, or is it based on real performance? We must be careful: democracy is only a form of government. It can create conditions for achieving our goals, but the citizens have to take advantage of those conditions. Democracy cannot get us everything and is not the solution to all problems — so we should first identify what outcomes we can reasonably expect of democracy, and then examine the record.

2. Accountable, Responsive and Legitimate Government

The most basic outcome expected of democracy is a government that is accountable to citizens and responsive to their needs and expectations.

• Cost of decisions vs their value: non-democratic rulers can be quick and efficient because they need not bother about deliberation or majorities. Democracy is based on deliberation and negotiation, so some delay is bound to take place — but because decisions follow due procedure, they are more acceptable and more effective.
• Transparency: a citizen who wants to know whether a decision was taken through the correct procedures has the right and the means to examine the process of decision-making in a democracy — this is transparency, which is mostly missing in non-democratic governments.
• Measures of accountability: democracies hold regular, free and fair elections, have open public debate on major policies, and give citizens the right to information about the government. The record here is mixed — elections are held everywhere, but conditions for open debate are not always available, and governments are not as attentive or public-spirited as expected.
• Legitimate government: democratic government may be slow, less efficient, not always very responsive or clean — but it is the people's own government. That is why there is overwhelming support for democracy across South Asia and the world: people wish to be ruled by representatives elected by themselves.

3. Economic Growth and Development

If democracies are expected to produce good governments, can they also produce development? The evidence (1950–2000) shows that dictatorships have a slightly higher rate of economic growth than democracies. But this inability to achieve higher growth cannot be a reason to reject democracy:

• Economic development depends on many factors — country's population size, global situation, cooperation from other countries, and the economic priorities adopted by the country.
• The difference in growth rates between less-developed democracies and dictatorships is negligible.
• Democracy has other positive outcomes — so we can prefer democracy even with a slightly lower growth rate.

4. Reduction of Inequality and Poverty

Perhaps more than growth, we expect democracies to reduce economic disparities. In reality:

• Democracies are based on political equality — every vote has equal weight — but alongside this we find growing economic inequalities: a small number of ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth and incomes, while those at the bottom have very little to depend upon and find it difficult to meet basic needs (food, clothing, house, education, health).
• The poor constitute a large proportion of voters, and no party would like to lose their votes; yet democratically elected governments do not appear as keen to address poverty as one would expect — e.g., in Bangladesh more than half the population lives in poverty, and people in several poor countries depend on rich countries even for food supplies.

5. Accommodation of Social Diversity

No society can fully and permanently resolve conflicts among different groups, but we can learn to respect differences and evolve mechanisms to negotiate them. Democracy is best suited to produce this outcome — the example of Belgium shows that even divisions along religious and ethnic lines can be negotiated. Democracies usually develop a procedure to conduct their competition, which reduces the possibility of tensions becoming explosive or violent. But this is subject to two conditions:

1. Majority always needs to work with minority so that the government represents the general view — majority and minority opinions are not permanent.
2. Rule by majority must not become rule by the majority community in terms of religion, race or language. Majority should mean that different persons and groups may and can form a majority; every citizen must have a chance of being in the majority at some point. If someone is barred from being in the majority because of birth, the democratic rule ceases to be accommodative for that person or group.

6. Dignity and Freedom of the Citizens

Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting the dignity and freedom of the individual. Every individual wants respect from fellow beings; conflicts often arise when some feel they are not treated with due respect. The passion for respect and freedom is the basis of democracy, and democracies throughout the world have recognised this, at least in principle — achieved to varying degrees in different societies.

• Dignity of women: long struggles by women have created some sensitivity that respect and equal treatment of women are necessary ingredients of a democratic society; once acknowledged in principle, it becomes easier for women to wage struggles against unacceptable practices legally and morally.
• Caste inequalities: democracy in India has strengthened the claims of disadvantaged and discriminated castes for equal status and equal opportunity.

7. The Examination Never Ends — Expectations as a Criterion

Democracy's examination never gets over: as it passes one test, the next test arrives; as people get some benefits, they ask for more. People now complain about democracy's functioning — and that itself is a testimony to its success: it shows that people have developed awareness and the ability to expect, and to look critically at power-holders. The fact that people ask more from democracy — that public expressions of dissatisfaction are possible — shows the success of democracy: it transforms people from the status of a subject into that of a citizen.