Saurabh SharmaAIR 23 · CSE 2023 · 173 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening · a quotation
Winston Churchill described democracy as 'worst form of government except all forms tried till date'
Body · points
Larry Diamond has described how democracy has arrived in phases in different countries. However early perception of democracy wasn't as positive.
Plato equated democracy as 'mobocracy' and even Machiavelli was in favour of 'strong state'.
It was the work of Hobbes and Locke which brought democracy in a positive light.
Pluralists describe how efficient mechanism of checks and balances are inherent in democracy.
However, democracy has been subject to following critic by different scholars:
T.B. Bottomore: describes elections as rituals as a form/way to divert attention.
Elite theory like that of Pareto, Mosca described how power is usurped by few. Robert Michels has described the same through 'iron law of oligarchy'.
Feminists argue that women representation in democratic sphere remain abysmally low.
Neo Marxist like Gramsci argue that State represents hegemony.
Close · a summary
Despite these critics, democracy which was present since the Ancient Greece and local self republic in India, has the potential to self correct and thus self sustain.