The best form of government is one that is both intrinsically and instrumentally valuable, that both satisfies the wants and needs of its population and allows the country not only to function adequately but to thrive as a growing power. Democracy is “a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system” (dictionary.com). Democracy is the best form of government because, as Churchill once said “democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms” (1943); essentially stating that despite democracy’s flaws and problems, there is no better existing structure. Although some may believe that dictatorships or monarchies are the best forms of government, it is democracy which most often manages to be both instrumentally and intrinsically valuable, which cannot be said for any other form of government, making it the best governmental system.
As a philosophical concept, democracy is the best type of government because it allows the population to control their own life and future, while also providing two key values, freedom and equality by giving the people the power to choose who rules over them with each vote counting equivalently. These combined principles are offered by no other ruling systems. For example, in a dictatorship, individual freedom is sacrificed, and meritocracy discounts equality. Democracy is therefore intrinsically valuable, because human nature is wired to seek liberty and control over their own life, so it is valuable no matter the outcome. Furthermore, democracy is a critical factor in allowing an individual’s personal development. Not only is one of democracy’s fundamental values is freedom of expression and belief, which allows the population to articulate and expand their opinion unreservedly, but the responsibility of choosing one’s own government encourages the people to analyse their actions critically. If an unsuitable government is elected, the electorate will learn from their mistakes and continue to improve in their judgement of the best candidate; meaning that in theory, the government will be increasingly successful. This development of the critical mind allows a further enlightenment of the population, and as stated in a New College of Humanities article, “Since society is made up individuals, individual progress will lead to social progress” (O’Connell, 2018). These merged elements show that democracies bring happiness and self-fulfillment to the individuals within the democratic system, and that as a result, this form of government is extremely intrinsically valuable.
In practice, democracy is also an instrumentally valuable system in many different ways. For example, according to Condorcet’s Jury Theorem where it is conjectured that a large group of people who are at least 50% likely to be right can reach a practically perfect conclusion, the voting system most often reaches the right decision. Furthermore, the leaders of a democracy are often more qualified, and know how to make a country successful more effectively than other power systems like monarchy or dictatorship for instance, where very often the leader is incompetent, greedy and not invested in the country’s future; more motivated by his own gains than by the nation’s. Whereas if the leader is elected by the people, it is almost positive that they are fully invested in the country’s wellbeing and future. This is further reinforced by the fact that there is more than one leader in a democracy, making unwise and destructive decisions more difficult to be made. To add onto this point of democracy’s instrumental value, this form of government facilitates peace. International relations between democracies are generally better, which can be illustrated by what is known as democratic peace, the fact that no two countries have ever been at war against each other. War is not only disastrous in its human cost, but also in terms of the country’s economic state. For example, war leads to “loss of buildings, infrastructure, a decline in the working population, uncertainty, rise in debt and disruption to normal economic activity” (Tevjan Pettinger, 2017). This links to the next point, that democracies heighten long-term economic performance in a nation. This can be demonstrated by Amartya Sen’s research which asserts that “no famine has ever taken place in the history of the world in a functioning democracy” (1999). Sen explains that this is because democratic governments “have to win elections and face public criticism, and have strong incentive to undertake measures to avert famines and other catastrophes.'' All of these factors contribute to making most democracies powerful, influential and economically growing places.
However, one of the biggest flaws of democracies is the faith and power placed in the population’s hands. While being one of the fundamental strengths to democracy, this has a serious potential to backfire, because the wrong leaders could be elected or worse, the people could endanger democracy itself. This case is happening for example in Turkey with President Erdogan, who is slowly but surely reducing democratic rights such as freedom of the press and thus free expression; becoming the world’s largest jailer of journalists. This problem stems in part from a lack of sufficient political education. A good political education is needed to be able have an overall understanding of the problems society faces in order to be in a position to elect a government competent enough to solve such issues. This problem can be solved by providing a quality politics course in secondary school, but there still remains the issue of humanity’s susceptibility to manipulation of the mind. Politicians are specialised in the arts of persuasion and magnetism; and address the population with the main goal of coming to power. This leads to many promises made during the electoral campaign being left unfulfilled once in office. For example, extremist nationalist parties offer highly simplified solutions with no clear action plan to counter controversial issues and have been receiving huge amounts of support in the past decade. This can perhaps be countered by raising awareness to the potential corruption and lies that a politician can perpetuate. To counter further, as the previously mentioned Condorcet’s Jury Theorem demonstrates, voting does manage most often to yield the most competent and beneficial for the situation leader. The ultimate fragility yet beauty of democracy is in its inherent trust of humanity.
As Churchill once said, “democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms” (1943). Democracy is the best form of government because it is the best option of all the other governmental systems. Monarchy is stable and unifying, but there are no criteria other than birth for leading, has a tendency to disregard human rights, and is expensive to uphold. Aristocratic government intends to put highly qualified people in power and can in theory do what is best for the country without fear of public opinion but may not reflect the needs of the general public who does not get the right to vote and generally does not work towards repairing the divide between the rich and poor. Communism embodies equality and strives towards a utopian, classless society but this is an impossible task escalates quickly into an oppressive, entirely too controlling system, obstructing personal liberty and development. These are just a few examples of the many forms of government, but it demonstrates how democracy is the lesser evil among its category.
In conclusion, democracy is the best form of government because it is the most intrinsically valuable system by providing a wealth of human rights and allowing the self-expression of the population, while also proving to be instrumentally valuable by providing the conditions necessary for economic and influence growth. Despite democracy’s flaws, it is still superior to the other systems because it has a solid moral foundation, places the right level of faith in humanity and respects our basic human rights. Democracy is invaluable in terms of individual, collective and political welfare.