Question

Mention two limitations of a democratic government.

Answer 1

Hint: Democracy is a representative form of government wherein the leaders are elected by the majority. Even if it combats dictatorship, democracy has its own limitations as the government can’t do whatever it pleases once in power. Besides, freedom of speech may be misused or curbed.

Complete answer:
Democracy does give ample power to its people. It allows them to choose their own leaders. However, every coin has two sides, including that of democracy’s. It is a double edged sword.
People can be easily influenced , especially by the media. There can be vast ideological propaganda which can polarize masses and even cause internal conflicts. Media can be manipulated by the political houses, and information with dissent may be censored. The masses are therefore not entirely aware of the political issues in the country, and hence, not always form the best hands to vote for a country’s future. They can be misguided. People also tend to follow a crowd as a part of social proof. It is possible that they may vote for a party under the influence of the majority, and not voice his/her true opinion. In addition, they don’t view or analyze the candidates on an individual basis, but the party they belong to.
In the presence of freedom of speech, it can’t be assured that hate speech, propaganda, fake news or irrational ideas wouldn’t be spread. In fact, allowing too many opinions would mislead the path of development and slow down its pace.
The government, once in power, can be slow and inefficient as it tries to consider opinions of all citizens. It can’t do what it pleases in an instant. There are some procedures and basic rules which need to be followed. To conclude, two limitations include that masses can be polarized for personal agendas, and democracy requires more time to implement changes.

Note: It can require individual voters to accept an entire mandate for a single issue. The voice of minorities may not be well heard, and more often than not, suppressed. Democracy poses its own challenges which are hard to overcome as a growing number of countries begin to adopt it. However, there is a general consensus that the contemporary world can have the best form of government as democracy in comparison to other forms like dictatorship or monarchy. This is because if people are dissatisfied, they have the power to make a change.