The World’s Biggest Democracy

Michael Backman

Chapter Chapter 28 in The Asian Insider, 2004, pp 226-232 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The ballot box is a good way for the electorate to communicate to its leaders its satisfaction with their performance. It’s not simply a case of whether this or that politician is re-elected but by how much. But it also serves as the means by which sectional interests can hold nations hostage. The need to cobble together coalitions means that voices are given a say that otherwise would go unheard. But there is another, perhaps more pernicious aspect. Democracy allows an impoverished, uneducated majority to punish an educated minority. It allows the poor to inflict damage on the rich and force the introduction of policies that do not aid freedom, the market and the economy but are anti-market and ultimately add to poverty. So when education and wealth are concentrated in the hands of a few, democracy is not so much a means of empowerment as a tool for revenge. Political freedom in this case is not compatible with economic freedom and good governance. It tramples it. Welcome to India.

Keywords: Economic Freedom; Criminal Case; Caste System; Lower Caste; Congress Party (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-4039-4840-3_28

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DOI: 10.1057/9781403948403_28

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