Is Democracy Is The Worst Form Of Government?

“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried” is a famous dictum quoted from Sir Winston Churchill, during his November 11, 1947 speech in the House of Commons. Churchill was known for his sharp and witty public persona- this statement was made when he lost in the 1945 elections despite winning the war. Overlooking the fact that this statement could have been made in his state of bitterness, democracy is actually better than other forms of government despite its flaws. There is no ‘perfect’ form of governance, the core idea of it being shaped by political ideologies, which condition government strategies, institutional reforms and even personal relationships. (Gudelis, 2011) Personally, what
Many have condemned the efficiency of democracy, reasoning that most voters are not adequately informed on political issues to be rational in the casting of their votes. The argument is that the public might not be able to predict the possible advancements of the community they belong to, as well as having an inaccurate judgment of their prospective leaders. Furthermore, voters can be easily swayed through the charismatic rallying of a candidate or be lured through monetary benefits and promises. Due to the conventional practices of electing new leaders after a certain window, there will be changes in the policies of countries under the democratic system. External forces such as protests, unforeseen scandals, and harsh criticism from mass media can also cause abrupt changes in political policies. Thus, democracy is deemed as not being politically stable and undesirable in the long run, especially so for developing countries with economic growth being its main concern, as frequent changes in policies can deter the flow of foreign investment, hindering economic
(Spina, Cha & Dana Cha, 2011) The biggest virtue of a democratic government is that it represents the views of the majority. Autocracy is a system of government by a single person with absolute power, usually characterised by exerting force to take control of a group of people reluctant to be under his rule. A fundamental problem of politics in the past, and even the present, is that autocracy and dictatorship should be avoided. Such systems undermine the individual’s liberty, as the autocrat is the driving force behind all decisions of the state, giving little or no consideration to his advisers. It is such that these tyrants of state leadership sometimes make wrong decisions which led to the decimation of many human lives. Adolf Hitler of Nazist Germany is a famous example of an autocratic leader. Hitler was power hungry; his lofty goal led to the epoch of World War II, causing the deaths of 17 million people. Another example is of Joseph Stalin, past leader of the Soviet Union, and the cause of the Holodomor. Almost half a million Ukrainian civilians who objected to Stalin’s new law of agricultural collectivisation were shipped to remote areas such as Siberia where they are left to fend for themselves, which will lead to their eventual deaths. Democracy is the contrast and thus a preferred form of government in comparison to autocracy.