17 pros and cons of democracy (2023)

Last updated on March 11, 2021 byFilip Poutinzew

Let's define first"Democracy".

Democracy is the system of government established by the people themselves, where they have the possibility to choose who they want to be governed by.

Eligible candidates speak and represent their party to meet people's needs. It is one of the fairest ways to establish a good government, where each person has the power to elect their representative who works for and for society.

Here are some pros and cons of democracy.

9 advantages of democracy

1. Democracy encourages the public

In a democracy, the public has the power, their right to vote decides the fate of the country/community. You can vote for the right candidates with the right policies against each other.

Whatever the result, maybe you can express your personal opinion by voting. This process allows each community to work on its own behalf. If the system has not gained confidence, they can easily change the governing body in the next election.

ANDstructure of democracybring together all communities and people and build a society that benefits almost everyone.

2. Democracies decentralize power

All political candidates go public with their needs and problems during the election campaign, assuring them that there is something for the people and that if they form a government, all these problems will disappear.

These are the issues and engagement that the public wants and votes for. Once elected, you can expect a more accountable government. Because the government is governed and run with a sense of piety, and people in this system discuss issues and problems at length to reach sensible decisions.

3. Policy change

The visible difference in a democracy that makes it better than other government structures is that it allows for a smooth transition when the leader's government changes. There is no discussion, delay or violence as in public, and even within parties the same thing happens with the leader's successor.

Democracy uses voting as an important tool to prevent violence and conflict. There is also the flexibility to change policies like some rules or update some points of the constitution and this is also done by majority vote in Parliament. Any necessary changes can easily be handled by the government.

4. Democracy promotes economic growth

Democracy offers equality and prevents one person from harming another, this freedom is structured and offers the possibility of seeking other and new professional and educational opportunities or even places of residence.

It encourages people to think outside the box or follow their passion and break all barriers, which will certainly increase productivity, work and citizenship. The country's economic growth continues to increase and the number of working citizens is increasing.

5. Democracy guarantees equal and fair justice

Democracy promotes equality in society and has laws that also preserve peace. These laws apply to all citizens of the country, regardless of their power and status in society.

All guilty parties are treated equally in court, and the person sitting in the judge's chair has full power to decide who is guilty, looking at the case and the evidence presented. Who is guilty of theft, from police officers to high political leaders, everyone is treated equally in a democracy.

This is the greatest advantage that faith has over democracy for the cause of the people, regardless of the state or situation of countries. You can get justice by going to court, but you can also go against the government.

6. Democracy eliminates violence

Democracy keeps the peace in times of disagreements within political parties. Not only citizens, but also political parties must adhere to certain rules and barriers in all measures.

It does not incite violence because all deputies, governments and parties are elected by the people. They were believed to work for the community and country and keep the peace. Therefore, extremism is not an option for the parties, as they are responsible for all situations that arise during the crisis.

Therefore, in a democracy, it is popular to encourage negotiation, discussion and voting to solve problems.

7. Democracy prevents war

In the last 50 years there have been fewer conflicts between two nations than at any other time in history, except a coup within a nation and an internal war or rebellion within society.

Democracy represents not just the concept of a political party or individual leader, but the nation and the people that comprise it. As statistics show, 167 countries have democracies and 164 areUN members. Statistics show how it is possible to maintain or eliminate any conflict that leads to war between countries.

The UN helps countries in any kind of political, natural or social crisis, and becoming a member country is decided by Parliament by vote. In this way, conflicts are ignored and resolved, and wars are avoided in favor of the citizen and the country.

8. Democracy produces good citizens

Democracy can create an ideal environment for personal development, character formation, and good habits. As experts say, the political system works like a school to form good citizens, where individuals learn their rights and duties from birth to death, not written in books, but for society.

As for the right to vote, they feel responsible for certain decisions and laws they have, which makes them feel like an active part of society. Empowering and engaging people will certainly have an impact on the country as a whole.

This process helps people build relationships with their communities, and this is how patriotism and loyalty initially develop.

9. Democracy is equality

Democracy treats all citizens equally. It gives people the right to experience and enjoy the same political, social and economic rights, regardless of their social status, gender, religion or property.

Every citizen has the right to vote, even in prison, the vote is cast and these votes are counted, it is a perfect example to understand equality in voting, as the guilty have the same rights as citizens. The person with the legal document can vote or accept a candidate's vote, or even form a party that doesn't demand power like other traditional political parties.

If a candidate can gain the trust and belief of his people, he can found any party with the smallest possible number of members. Democracy has provided so much flexibility that even a teacher, a taxi driver, a shoeshine boy can vote in the street and become prime minister.

8 Disadvantages of Democracy

1. Lack of knowledge

Many people are not aware of the voting process, they just know that they have to vote. People need to know the importance of their vote, they need to know about the candidates and why they voted for that ballot.

It is very important that people know this. Due to lack of knowledge, the wrong candidate will be elected and will have to suffer throughout his term.

2. Encourage crowd dominance

Democracy fraud is mafia rule, political parties keep the mafia on their side. Each party will have a group on their side during the election to interfere or force voters to vote for them.

Having the backhand of political parties gives them the privilege of continuing to commit many crimes. Mob, once hired by the group itself, is unable to get them to leave, as the group's members were also invisibly linked to the crime. The mafia's criminal activities and their illegal works are punished and protected, which harms the society and the country.

3. It takes time to implement the change

If some important changes are made or changed, they will be decided only by vote, as suggested by the democratic structure. The process takes time, if they need to collect more votes this change could take years to implement.

If the declaration is made by the majority, that's fine, otherwise it takes a long time to be sanctioned. Therefore, it may take some time for the important and useful decision to be implemented in the democracy.

4. Divide and conquer

The worst downside of democracy is games of divide and conquer. When major incidents or events occur, they must interfere with divisions between people based on religion, race, and language. Many of these incidents occur mainly at election time to distribute votes.

When politicians need to make unfair deals, these types of policies are used to do their work behind the scenes and silently. When people talk about the other big problems, these illegal activities are happening in the background.

This serves as a distraction from many important events.

5. People think of themselves first.

The disadvantage that weighs both for the country and for society is the engaged citizen. People tend to vote based on interest or favor rather than voting for the right candidate and a better future.

Choice is basically an individual right, no one can exercise it, but people must be aware of their power, when people vote based on personal interests, it leads to discrimination in a society where the majority oppresses the minority. They vote based on how their bill, taxes, or general living expenses are affected.

6. Corruption

Every leader wants to rule the country and the party during his lifetime. They'll have these kind of face-to-face conversations with each other and with their egos. When they need a decision in their favor, they spend a lot of money on social works and, when they reach that position, they think about balancing the account with the money under the table.

This corruption is the worst democracy has ever produced, at least before it was hidden away, but today there is no shame in facing it head-on. As a result, public funds are misappropriated and all work is done on the basis of money which discriminates between rich and poor. Victims will always be poor.

7. Useless promises

There is no ethics in democracy and politics. If you can achieve your goal with mere words without fulfilling these promises, you will see more lies than truth. The politician uses emotional manipulation as a weakness in the area in question and makes the speech as if the change was his if he won the election.

Once there, not only do they ignore the policies they offer, but they don't back down until the next election. But the people have to suffer until the end of the mandate and wait for the next elections.

8. Greed increases

Once in power, a politician always wants to be in power, the amount he earns increases the greed in him. It manipulates what they started their careers with and what they've become.

The status he gains in society, family and friends, especially his attitude during his tenure makes him aspire to office for a long time, and any position he wants to have and just enjoy the luxury.

Read more about other political systems:

• socialism
• monarchy
• Constitutional monarchy
• communism
• direct democracy