Democracy And Prosperity
They Can Be Linked

DEMOCRACY has triumphed over non-democratic polity. The world is all for democracy and democratic rights of the people. Freedom and democracy have charged ahead and no country in the world has remained detached or untouched from the callings of democracy and freedoms. The US Freedom House Survey 2001 finds that seventy five per cent of the world’s countries are free or partly free. Among the countries that are no free most of them are in the Middle East and some of them are in Africa. According to the Freedom House Survey more than sixty per cent of the African countries are free or partly free.

Democracy may be defined in various ways. Even the states lacking legitimate democratic institutions and not permitting people to express their voices and choices claim to be free or democratic. Some states reject the liberal or western notions of democracy contending that these can not fit in the local realities and practices. They claim to have evolved their own unique and special mechanism and institutions reflecting indigenous values and traditions. Liberal democratic notions are alien to the societal norms and ethos and they are therefore said to be unfit in local contexts and situations. However, there are certain core values and norms associated with democracy and freedom that should be regarded as universal. They form the flesh and blood of democracy. They should not be separated from the notion of democracy as substracting or diluting them from sum total would take away inner core of democracy. Taking leaf from the endless debate on democracy Robert A Dahl in his book ‘On Democracy’ writes "Democracy has been discussed off and on for about twenty five hundred years, enough time to provide a tidy set of ideas about democracy on which everyone or nearly every one could agree. For better or worse, that is not the case. Democracy has meant different things to different people at different times and places."

However today, the context is much more favourable for democracy. There evolved some convergence of ideas and opinions regarding the elements of democracy. Even those who spent most of their life time struggling for peoples democracy have come to realise that democracy is impossible without liberal ideas and political pluralism. Robert A Dahl has developed five standard criteria for democracy . The criteria are effective participation, voting equality, enlightened understanding, control of agenda and inclusiveness Effective participation is very crucial for democracy. It is assumed that members in society are equally qualified to participate in decisions provide that they have adequate opportunities to learn about the matters by inquiry, discussion and deliberation. Democracy , according to Robert A. Dahl produces some interesting and desirable consequences as avoiding tyranny, general freedom, self determination, human development, political equality, peace seeking and prosperity.

However, regarding consequences of democracy as claimed by Robert A Dahl it is often difficult to correlate. As an ideal political framework, democracy can lead to prosperity building and equitable distribution of social dividends. However, in empirical terms it has not become a reality in several contexts. We can take the context of Nepal. Following the restoration of multiparty democracy in Nepal in 1990, we have got liberal political values incorporated in the national body polity. We have an independent press, free and competent, competitive multiparty elections and such other qualities of democracy. This is the aspect of political socialisation and development in which we have achieved some progress. People are politically more conscious and aware of their rights for participation and development. Their role in social awareness building has increased significantly and they have been able to exert more influence upon decision making process. However, this political development does not have its corresponding impact on the economic development and prosperity of the people. It is largely felt that people are not getting economic dividends of democracy so that poverty is alleviated and unemployment is meaningfully curtailed. However, this has not happened to the desired extent.

But one should understand that multiparty democracy cannot work miracle. It has the potential to provide an appropriate framework for happiness and development. Democracies have economic advantage over most non democratic systems though they may not be able to produce quick and tangible impact. Democratic countries foster the education of their people, and an educated workforce is helpful to innovation and economic growth. Rule of law is usually sustained more strongly in democratic countries. Property rights are more secure and stable. Modern democracies, therefore, provide more hospital environment for development and economic growth. We in Nepal have much more opportunities created for development and individual self initiatives. However, an absence of strong economic base coupled with lack of critical literate mass has handicapped out growth and development. Democracy gives us room for finding out shortcomings and mitigating them. It can be expected that we can prosper in the time to come.

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