Democracy in Developing Countries: Pros & Cons

[jamesb-uk]

Is democracy always good for countries? While of course, a democracy in which people can freely and openly state their views and can vote for who they want to be their leader is a preferable situation, a democratic system like that of most developed 'western' countries, is not always a good thing in developing countries. People in China for example, have far better medical care and education overall than most countries in central Africa, or indeed many countries neighbouring China. I might also point to the recent violence at the Kenyan elections.

I believe the problem arises when there is a change of government, and a major change in the views of the people running the country, because the previous government may have invested in one thing, but the new government diverts money away from that to something else. This wastes a huge amount of money in all countries, but it is particularly noticeable in developing countries.

I'm not saying it would be better to get rid of democracy in such countries, rather adapt it to fit them, perhaps using coalition governments, so all parties can have some substantial power in how the country is run. What do you think?

 

[russ_watters]

"Good" is not a real useful word here - what you should be examining is if it is better than other systems for developing countries.

 

[WhoWee]

The population must be educated on the subject of individual freedom and the right to vote...or (think derivatives trading) the only people who know the rules might be tempted to take advantage of the circumstances...it's human nature.

 

[rootX]

Is democracy always good for countries?

No.
You also missed things like corruptions in the developing countries. WhoWee pointed out other important thing: literacy, poverty etc (I remember reading that poor people vote more than middle class particularly in India. It had elections recently.).

Democracy doesn't work the way the books describe.