[lwptoc]
Amid the various forms of governments in the current global setups, the debate of democracy vs. dictatorship is everlasting and not all of them give equal opportunities to people.
Democracy is better than dictatorship because it allows more involvement of people in government and results in more participatory decisions. Contrary to dictatorships, human lives carry much importance in democracies. Dictators can only appease a small fraction of the population to justify their rule compared to democracies.
Why are Democracies Better than Dictatorships?
Following are the reasons why democracies are better than dictatorships
Democracies Respect the Right to Live
Dictators do not give any respect to human lives; freedom of speech is denied more often than not.
Under Saudi’s dictators, the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered. Saudi dictators managed to get away with the high-profile murder, which made headlines across the globe for more than a year. Even the US failed to bring the case to justice.
The Chinese government is no different, as their president is well known for his notorious ambitions that defy all the basics of human rights.
The same goes with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, where human rights violations are at an all-time high there as well. However, this does not happen in a democracy. Democratic governments may not be perfect on all fronts, but they are certainly not willing to recognize opposing voices.
In Australia, a man asked the country’s prime minister to get off his lawn on camera, something which could never happen in North Korea or China.
Dictators do not Believe in Participatory Politics
Policies are made through participation in democratic government, compared to dictatorship regimes, which makes democracies better than authoritarian governments.
For legislation, a legislature is present in countries that obey democracies. However, this is not the case under dictators’ rule, as they can order a decree without consulting anyone and without measuring the consequences of their actions. This makes democratic regimes better and smooth.
Autocracies do not Respect Public Sentiments
Autocratic leaders are immune to public pressure because they do not go to elections. Public perception has no meaning for them, which means they can make political decisions without concern for the consequences on the lives of the masses.
All they have to do is satisfy a lot of landlords or religious leaders who are supportive of them and get their share of the pie. This allowed them to capitalize on the natural resources of any country and exploit them until the end.
The prominent example in this regard is Saudi Arabia, which is the victim of the curse of oil, which allows its leaders not to promote any development in the country, as they are not dependent on people for tax revenue. They get all the money from the oil; hence they justify their rule without giving fundamental rights to their citizens.
War Becomes a Routine Under Dictators
Dictators are pro-war people, as this is the very model on which their regime lies. They are power grabbers, and they try to expand their power when they invest in militaries.
Democracies can be held accountable for war not only by public pressure but also by international organizations, which most authoritative leaders reject unilaterally. Russia trying to invade Ukraine or China wanting to capture Taiwan and Hong Kong are the basic examples.
Reality is Easy to Hide Under Dictatorial Regimes
Media is being controlled by the state in states run by dictators, which means that any wrongdoing of the government would never be uncovered or publicized.
This results in the rise in human rights violations, as governments know that the media is not powerful enough to report any of their brutality.
Media in China, Russia, and North Korea is state-controlled, which contributes to the people’s misery.
Government Machinery Fails Under Monarchies
State institutions die under dictatorial rule, as it is usually a one-person army. Be it the police, bureaucracy, or any other law enforcement agency, everything is being run by the decisions of only one person, ultimately destroying the whole of the country.
And even if dictators go away from these countries, the nations require a complete overhaul, as these institutions take time to build and start serving people.
Dictators are the Chosen Ones
Dictators are the “chosen ones” just because they are born in privileged families. They are not elected people, so only if someone is born in their houses do they stand a chance to replace them in the future. This defies the fundamental concept of elections, where everyone has an equal chance of getting elected as it refuses people to give their right to vote.
While there are many forms of government, democracy is by far the most adaptive method which has proven its efficacy over time.
While the wave of democracy in the world after the end of the cold war was welcoming, some democracies failed considerably because the transition was too fast to handle for the new, inexperienced rulers. But still, it beats dictators by a long distance.
https://www.thesheel.com/why-are-democracies-better-than-dictatorship/?feed_id=750&_unique_id=635c5033a7b1d
