Is Democracy the Best Form of Political System?
Although there are many virtues to enjoy about democracy and democratic forms of government and political systems, this form of government has still many impending challenges yet to be accomplished. In that sense, I agree with Winston Churchill, on the grounds that “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried” (Churchill). Looking at democracy through both its weaknesses and strengths in comparison to other forms of government makes it evident that it is the best form of political system we have, democracy has been subject to problems with, tyranny of the minority, and collective action. Despite all the democratic weaknesses of this form of government, democracy is still highly consistent in terms of Unpredictable outcomes, managing diversity.
Lipset, in Political Man, described democracy as “ a political system which supplies regular constitutional opportunities, and a social mechanism which permits the largest possible part of the population to influence major decisions by choosing among contenders for political office”(Glazer). This definition is generally accepted in a democratic heaven in which the heavenly chorus does not sing with a strong upper-class accent (lecture), but this is not always the case. Despite the democratic institutions based on the principle of equal opportunity, political power is not always distributed equally in a democracy. This is clearly seen in India where the “high cost of campaigning and the opaque system of election finance have titled the electoral odds heavily in favour of the very rich or the easily corrupted” (Ronjoy Sen 90). Although, similar problems can be found in other forms of governments and political system, what differentiates democracy from other regimes is how it manages to deal with those problems. For instance, in Germany’s authoritarian Fascist regime, “Hitler was very much his own master” (Henry Turner), and his war aims eventually led Germany to a world war conflict.
Lipset, in Political Man, described democracy as “ a political system which supplies regular constitutional opportunities, and a social mechanism which permits the largest possible part of the population to influence major decisions by choosing among contenders for political office”(Glazer). This definition is generally accepted in a democratic heaven in which the heavenly chorus does not sing with a strong upper-class accent (lecture), but this is not always the case. Despite the democratic institutions based on the principle of equal opportunity, political power is not always distributed equally in a democracy. This is clearly seen in India where the “high cost of campaigning and the opaque system of election finance have titled the electoral odds heavily in favour of the very rich or the easily corrupted” (Ronjoy Sen 90). Although, similar problems can be found in other forms of governments and political system, what differentiates democracy from other regimes is how it manages to deal with those problems. For instance, in Germany’s authoritarian Fascist regime, “Hitler was very much his own master” (Henry Turner), and his war aims eventually led Germany to a world war conflict.