CBSE Class 10 Social Science Outcomes Of Democracy Notes Set 03

These CBSE Class 10 Political Science notes for Chapter 5 Outcomes of Democracy cover what democracy promises to deliver: accountable, responsive and legitimate government; its actual record on economic growth, poverty and inequality; how it accommodates social diversity; and how it protects the dignity and freedom of citizens, with important terms defined at the end.

What Should We Expect from Democracy?

Democracy does not, by itself, guarantee outcomes — it only creates the conditions and opportunities through which citizens can work to achieve their goals.

Accountable, Responsive and Legitimate Government

In a democracy, the government is always accountable to its citizens: if policies or laws are not implemented properly, citizens can vote against the government in the next election, and they can also approach the judiciary if the government acts against their rights. If people are dissatisfied with a decision, policy or law, they can protest, campaign and organise rallies, and the government has to respond. A democratic government is a legitimate government, since it is elected by, and enjoys the confidence of, its citizens, who retain the right to choose and control their rulers and to participate in decision-making, directly or indirectly.

Economic Growth and Development

Comparing all democracies and all dictatorships over the fifty years between 1950 and 2000, dictatorships recorded a slightly higher average rate of economic growth.

There can be significant inequities within democracies. In countries such as South Africa and Brazil, the richest 20% of the population takes home more than 60% of national income, while the poorest 20% receive under 3%; countries like Denmark and Hungary perform far better on this measure.

Economic development depends on several factors besides the type of regime — a country's population size, the global situation, cooperation from other countries, and the economic policies it adopts, among others. So democratic government, by itself, does not guarantee a country's economic growth and development.

Reduction of Poverty and Inequality

Inequality and poverty remain among the most pressing economic problems in most countries of the world. Since democracy is government of, by and for the people, one might expect democracies to reduce economic disparities. In practice, in most democracies a small number of the ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of income and wealth, and this share has tended to grow over time, while those at the bottom have had comparatively little to depend on, with their incomes often stagnating or falling in relative terms. In reality, democracies do not appear to be especially successful at reducing economic disparities.

India's own widespread poverty is well known: the poor form a very large part of Indian society, and no political party can afford to lose their support, yet democratically elected governments have often appeared less determined to solve the problem of poverty than one might expect. In many other countries, the situation is worse still — for example, more than half of Bangladesh's population has lived in poverty, and people in a number of poor countries have become dependent on wealthier nations even for basic food supplies.

Accommodation of Social Diversity

No government can fully or permanently resolve tensions between different social groups, but societies can learn to respect their differences and develop ways to negotiate them — and democracy is the best available system for achieving this. Democratic regimes have a demonstrated ability to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts, which is one of democracy's real strengths; non-democratic regimes, by contrast, often simply ignore or suppress such internal social disparities.

To accommodate social diversity successfully, a democracy needs to meet two conditions. First, it must be understood that democracy is not simply rule by the majority opinion of the moment — a governing majority always needs to work with and respect minority viewpoints too, since majority and minority positions on any given issue are not fixed or permanent. Second, rule by majority must never become rule by a permanent majority community defined by religion, race, language or similar factors — a true democratic majority is one that different people and groups can come together to form on any particular issue or election. Democracy survives only as long as every citizen has a genuine chance of being part of the majority at some point; when a person or group is permanently excluded from the possibility of being in the majority simply because of who they were born as, democratic rule ceases to be truly accommodative of them.

Dignity and Freedom of Citizens

Democracy is best placed to secure the dignity and freedom of citizens, for several reasons.

The right to examine the process of decision-making: democratic countries are required to be transparent in their procedures. In India, the Right to Information (RTI) Act, passed in October 2005, gives every citizen the right to obtain information about the functioning of government departments.

The dignity of women: most societies across the world have historically been male-dominated. Electing more women to positions of public leadership is one way to ensure that women's issues receive due attention, which requires making fair representation of women in elected bodies mandatory. India's Panchayati Raj system reserves one-third of seats in local government bodies for women.

From subject to citizen: democracy transforms people from mere subjects of a ruler into citizens with the right to choose, and exercise some control over, their rulers.

Strengthening the claims of disadvantaged and discriminated castes: when governments are formed, political parties usually try to ensure that representatives of different castes and tribes find a place in them. While some parties are seen as favouring particular castes, democracy as a system provides for equal status and opportunity for all castes.

Important Terms

Democracy: a form of government in which the government is elected by the people.
Dictatorship: a form of government in which a person, or a small group, controls all organs of government without constitutional restrictions.
Accountable Government: a government open to its citizens and responsible for explaining the choices and actions it takes on their behalf, whether by elected or unelected officials.
Legitimate Government: a government widely recognised as the rightful governing authority of a country.
Transparent Government: a government whose workings are honest, open and easily seen through by its citizens.
Efficient Government: a government that takes decisions quickly and delivers its schemes effectively to citizens.
Deliberate: to think about or discuss something fully before reaching a decision.
Negotiations: discussion aimed at reaching an agreement.
Majority: the largest part of a group of people.
Social Diversity: the differences found within a society in terms of religion, culture, economic background, language and similar factors.
Disparities: differences caused by unfair or unequal treatment.
Minority: a smaller part of a group.
Atrocities: acts of very cruel treatment toward a person or group.
Civil Liberties: rights and privileges considered essential for democracy to function well.
Poverty: a situation in which a person's income from work is insufficient to meet basic human needs.
Inequalities: situations in which people are unequal in their economic conditions and the opportunities available to them.