Social Studies Democracy Assignment and English Blog Commentary
Democracy Brings Stability to a Country
Democracy is a form of government, in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. There are several characteristics of a democratic government, all of which are crucial to the success of a democracy. One of which is active citizen participation, either in referendums, or in choosing their representatives through an election. Another key feature of democracy is equality among men, as well as political tolerance, free speech, transparency and the protection of human and minority rights. Another important feature is rule of law.
The key feature of democracy is that every citizen has the right, or even the duty, to have a say in his or her country’s politics. In every election, in all democracies, all citizens of the country have the right to vote. In some countries, such as Singapore, it is even compulsory to vote. The citizens will then vote for a representative that will represent them and speak out for them. This is known as a representative democracy. In a direct democracy, such as Switzerland, the citizens can call for a referendum. They will thus personally vote on their country’s policies. Therefore, as the citizens are able to choose, the citizens will often choose what will benefit their country most, and the entire society as a whole. In this manner, governments are theoretically unable to take advantage of the country and drain the country dry. An example of this is America. In America, elections are regularly held so as to ensure that the government is working for the interests of America. If not, the government will be voted out. Thus, in a sense, the party in power is answerable to the citizens of the country. This contributes to the stability of a country, as the government will work in the country’s best interests, which would be via the social and economic stability of the society, for fear of being thrown out of power.
Another key feature of democracy is that of the rule of law. In every democratic country, there is a set of laws that no one is above, not even the ruling members of the government, not even the President or the Prime Minister. Every citizen has to abide by the constitution. In this way, because of the rule of law, the people in power cannot abuse their authority, for if they do so, the law can bring them to court, and they stand to lose all they have. Thus, this brings stability to a country as the government will not disrupt the social balance as they respect and both fear the law, which keeps the country’s law and order, which yet again contributes to social and economic stability. The government will also strive to run the country in accordance with its constitution. In this way, the democratic feature of the rule of law contributes to the stability of the country. This is seen in Singapore, where no one is above the law, and everyone has to respect the constitution. At present, we can see that Singapore is indeed stable and flourishing. This can then be attributed to the feature of the rule of law in a democratic government.
Yet another important feature of a democracy is freedom of will and transparency. Of course, this freedom is within the law, so as to maintain law and order, and in turn foster stability within a country. This freedom of choice is seen elections, where citizens can choose what is best for them. This freedom is also seen in the freedom of speech, where citizens are able to voice their opinions to provide constructive criticism to the government and society. Transparency is seen as the government being responsible to their citizens, informing them of what their taxes are being used for, as well as consulting the general populace and industry people in policy making. This contributes to the stability of a country as there is balance. This balance is brought about by the diverse view and opinions that are aired by the citizens. These views serve to correct the government’s mistakes. Also, the freedom of the people makes citizens generally more relaxed and happy, and they will not foment riots or dissent, which helps a country maintain social and economic stability. For example, in America, protests are often a method for the citizens to peacefully get the attention of the authorities, and to ask for them to rectify any perceived injustices on their part.
Therefore, if the democratic government of a country in question fulfills and has these features, democracy in that country contributes to their social and economic stability. Without these key features, democracy is often incomplete, and especially when features such as the rule of law are not present, the democratic state will often collapse into an authoritative totalitarian state.
Thus, as long as these crucial tenets of democracy are present, I agree with this statement, that democracy does bring stability to a country.
But will Singapore continue to be a stable society? I believe that Singapore is truly blessed in that the Singapore government, while holding a monopoly on Singapore politics, does not appear to be corrupt. Singapore is essentially a one party state. It would be easy for the PAP to go from a benevolent, if I may say, totalitarian government to a hostile one. I'm not saying that the PAP is a dictatorship. But they certainly do have a very firm hold on much on Singapore society. And so far, results have been good. Singapore's one-party system of government only works to bring stability as the leaders are so far all working more for the good of Singapore and the people, rather than for their own good. At least, this appears to be the case. If the PAP wishes, they can actually bring out policies to the detriment of Singapore AND still win the elections, due to the lack of a credible opposition. It is a miracle that the PAP has not gone the way of so many one-party states in the past.
But if Singapore's leaders in the future become corrupt, Singaporean society will destabilize and our one-party form of government will no longer become viable, as we can see from the case study of Sri Lanka's one party government. Therefore, Singapore should slowly proceed from our present form of democracy, which I believe that in the long run (1oo years) to be unsustainable, to a 'truer', if I may say, form of democracy.
