WITHOUT DISCIPLINE, DEMOCRACY IS
MEANIGLESS.
Outline:
1. Introduction:
Thesis
Statement: Democracy devoid of discipline is akin to a body lacking its soul.
2. Discipline
plays a crucial role in democracy, manifesting itself at both national and individual
levels.
a.
National Level (Government)
b.
Individual Level
3. The
establishment of a framework of rules, such as constitutional and
administrative principles, is essential within democratic systems to uphold
discipline.
4. Adherence
to these rules is indispensable for realizing the fundamental objectives that
render democracy significant.
a.
Sustainable Progress
b.
Welfare of the populace
c.
Inclusivity fostering equality and participation
d.
Pluralism within society
e.
Collective well-being and peace
5. Nonetheless,
the absence of discipline renders democracy futile, impeding a state's ability
to achieve its objectives.
At the National Level:
a.
Fiscal indiscipline undermines revenue
generation and obstructs developmental initiatives for sustainable progress.
b.
Lack of discipline hinders states from
effectively working for the welfare of their citizens.
c.
Institutional discipline alone cannot ensure
inclusivity and pluralism.
At the Individual Level:
a.
Indiscipline compromises the rule of law,
resulting in instability and insecurity.
b.
The democratic objective of securing people's
rights is unattainable without discipline.
c.
Prioritizing individual interests over
collective well-being contradicts democratic principles.
d.
True representation of the populace remains
elusive in the absence of discipline.
6. Nations
characterized by discipline thrive and progress under democratic governance.
a.
Examples: The United Kingdom, The United States
of America
7. Undisciplined
nations like Pakistan must undertake radical measures to foster discipline for
a meaningful democracy.
a.
Promoting awareness through education
b.
Propagating democratic values and culture
c.
Ensuring the supremacy of the Constitution and
the rule of law
8. Conclusion:
Discipline
constitutes the essence of democracy; without it, democracy loses its meaning.
Nations that lack discipline
become victims of fissiparous. Discipline is an essential ingredient to achieve
success in every domain of life. The system of the universe and the functioning
of the human body are nature’s way of describing and highlighting the
importance of discipline. In the political domain of life, the importance of
discipline is much greater than in any other field. Without discipline,
democracy becomes meaningless and it becomes a monarchy, a government by the
divided, aimless, and anarchic crowd. To ensure discipline among the people and
in the government, different rules and regulations, are formulated by different
countries which also cater to those aims and purposes of democracy which makes
it meaningful. Indiscipline hampers the ability of a state to achieve these
goals and objectives. Fiscal indiscipline does not allow a state to materialize
the aims of sustainable progress and the welfare of people. The attempts to
create an equal, inclusive, and pluralistic society through democracy also
remains an elusive dream in the absence of discipline Indiscipline at the individual
level, makes it difficult for a state to attain the goals of democracy like the
rule of law, collective good, securing human rights and true representation of
people. Unlike undisciplined countries, disciplined countries reach the summit
of glory and growth under democracy. Therefore, it can be said that democracy
without discipline is just like a body without a soul. Undisciplined countries
like Pakistan must augment their efforts to ensure discipline among the people
to Extract maximum benefits from democracy.
To begin with, it is imperative
to explore the meaning of discipline in the political domain of life. In
Politics, discipline is required at two levels: National and Individual. At the
national level, the institutions of state like parliament, judiciary, and
executive must adhere to established Principles to work efficiently and
effectively. They must work in their assigned domains and they must not
interfere in the matters of any other institution. Similarly, individuals must
also submit themselves to the rule of law and collective good. They Should also
observe discipline while electing their representative. Discipline, at the individual
level, is to respect the rights of others and to perform one’s duties These are
some of the aspects which define the meaning and scope of discipline in the political
domain of life
To supplement the defined scope
of discipline, different sets of rules and standard administrative procedures
are devised under a democratic rule. These rules are formulated by the elected
representatives of the people and commitment to follow these rules is
obligatory on every individual of a democratic state. The most important set of
rules in this regard is the constitution. It defines the rights and
responsibilities of people, the duties of elected representatives, and the domain
of different state institutions. So, the constitution is a rule book that
everyone has to follow as it lays the very foundation of a disciplined
democracy in a country In the absence of these rules, democracy loses its
meaningfulness. Therefore, the existence of these rules is essential to achieving
those goals and purposes that make democracy meaningful.
Different aims and objectives are
attached to democracy which makes it meaningful and the best form of
government. Honest implementation of the aforementioned set of rules, which
ensure discipline, is imperative to achieve these goals. The first main aim
which makes democracy meaningful is sustainable progress. It uplifts the living
sustainable progress. It uplifts the living standard of every citizen and helps
to attain the second purpose of democracy which is the welfare of people.
Democracy works on the principle of inclusiveness and pluralism which ensures
equality and participation of every single citizen in the government. Democracy
aims to bring peace and stability to society by establishing the rule of law.
Moreover, securing the rights of people and ensuring the supremacy of
collective good over individual liberty are also the key purposes of democracy.
These Principles and objectives, which make democracy meaningful, cannot be
achieved without discipline, and therefore, discipline is vital to make democracy
purposeful.
At the national level, the
absence of financial discipline hampers the ability of a state to carry out
such tasks and projects which are vital for sustainable progress Fiscal
indiscipline is defined as the inability of a state to generate enough revenue
to execute its day-to-day affairs. Corruption is also a form of fiscal
indiscipline. The presence of fiscal indiscipline forces a state to seek loans
and aid from other countries and international organizations like. The World
Bank. Owing to fiscal indiscipline a country not only loses its sovereignty but
also undermines its ability to ensure sustainable progress which is a vital
purpose of democracy. Therefore, with discipline, democracy loses its
purposefulness.
Moreover, when a country fails to
ensure sustainable progress owing to the presence of indiscipline, it also
undermines its ability to work for the welfare of the people. Significant
importance has been given to the welfare of people in the declaration of
democracy and this aim of democracy distinguishes it from other forms of
government. Provision of health facilities, education, social security, and ’
employment come under the umbrella of welfare of projects. Any government that
faces fiscal indiscipline and administrative discipline cannot provide these
facilities to its people. Leakage of allocated financial resources and
avoidance of responsibilities by respective authorities are some of the
examples of indiscipline • in this regard. Therefore, in the absence of
discipline, democracy becomes meaningless.
Furthermore, another aim of democracy is
to create an inclusive and pluralistic society. The underlined principle of
this aim is to ensure equality and participation of every constituent in government—This
also ensures the inclusion of minorities in the social fabric of life. In the
view of John Stuart Mill, to achieve this aim,
discipline is essential as, without discipline, the majority gains
absolute power and democracy becomes a tyranny. Discipline, at the national
level, ensures that the government is working for both, the majority and
minority. On the other hand, the presence of indiscipline excludes the voice of
minorities in policy making which leads to inequality among the people.
Therefore, to achieve the. purpose of democracy to create an inclusive and
pluralistic society, discipline is vital.
In addition to that, indiscipline
at the individual level also undermines the purposefulness level and undermines
the purposefulness of democracy. At the individual level, the main purpose of
democracy is to ensure the rule of law. A society where the rule of law does
not prevail cannot exist. The rule of law only exists when every member of the
society observes and follows the laws of his country. When a person follows
these laws, he is considered to be a disciplined person. However, in the
absence of discipline, the significance of rule of law is discipline, the
significance of rule of law is undermined which results in instability, chaos,
and mob rule. All these consequences of indiscipline make it impossible to
achieve peace and stability which is a key purpose of democracy. Therefore, the
absence of the rule of law owing to indiscipline is another proof of the fact
that without discipline, democracy is meaningless.
Moreover, another objective of
democracy to secure the rights of people cannot be attained in the absence of
discipline. In a democratic rule, every citizen is entitled to certain rights
and privileges. Right to life, freedom of speech, and freedom of movement are
some of the inalienable rights of the individuals Democracy is the only form of
government that ensures the security of these rights through discipline.
However, the ability of democracy to secure these rights is undermined in the
absence Of discipline. As established earlier, indiscipline results in
instability, chaos, and mob rule, so, under these circumstances the rights of
people cannot the secured. This is in sheer contrast to democratic principles
and therefore, it can be said that without discipline, democracy is
meaningless.
Furthermore, another thing that
makes democracy meaningful is that it ensures the supremacy of collective good
over individual good. In this principle, society is treated as a single unit
and a democratic government tries to cater maximum needs of the people. The
implementation of this principle is necessary owing to. the fact that the needs
and issues of the constituents of a society are not homogenous. For its honest
implementation, discipline is of vital importance as in the absence of discipline,
individual goods and liberties overtake collective goods and liberties. Under
such circumstances, a society cannot co-exist owing to violence and chaos.
Therefore, the meaningfulness of democracy dies, and it loses its productivity.
In addition to that, another
important principle of democracy is to ensure the true representation of people
in the government. There is no other form of government which ensures the
representation of people. The right to vote gives people real power and in the
opinion of former American president, Franklin Roosevelt, a vote is more
powerful and dangerous than a bullet of a gun. However, lack of awareness among
the masses leads to indiscipline in this regard by undermining their ability to
make a right and wise choice. This kind of indiscipline in a democracy that
democracy is the divine right of the ignorant people to rule ignorantly.
Therefore, it can be said that without discipline, democracy is meaningless.
A holistic view of the world's
history depicts that the nations that gave prime importance to discipline and
democracy reached the zenith of glory and development. It was discipline and
democracy that made the United Kingdom the origin of the Agricultural and
Industrial Revolution. Owing to the presence of democracy and discipline, Great
Britain became the superpower of its time. Similarly, a strong commitment to
discipline and democracy enabled the United States of America to become the
sole superpower of the contemporary world. Discipline is the only thing that
distinguishes a successful nation from an unsuccessful nation. The
abovementioned examples complement the veracity of the maxim that discipline is
vital for the success of democracy
Furthermore, countries like
Pakistan which are subjected to political instability due to indiscipline, need
to take radical steps and reforms to ensure discipline among their people.
These reforms will enable these countries to extract maximum benefits from
democracy. The first and foremost step in this regard is to create awareness
among the masses by educating them. This will enable them to choose their
representatives wisely as Aristotle said, A right election can only be made by
those who know”. Secondly, steps should be taken to propagate democratic
culture and values among the people. A strong democratic culture is vital to
ensure the presence of disciplined democracy in the country. Last but not
least, the state should ensure the supremacy of the constituted and rule of law
to instill a sense of discipline among its people. All these steps will play
their due part to ensure discipline which will make democracy meaningful.
In a nutshell, discipline and
democracy go hand in hand. Discipline is the soul of democracy. Without
discipline, democracy is meaningless. In the absence of discipline, democracy
becomes a monarchy. Indiscipline results in mob rule and chaos which is against
the principles of democracy. Sustainable progress and the welfare of people
through democracy remain an elusive dream in the absence of discipline. The aim
of democracy to ensure peace and stability cannot be materialized in the
presence of indiscipline. Without discipline, an equal and pluralistic society
cannot exist. The rights of people and collective good, which are only
guaranteed by democracy, cannot be ensured without discipline. True
representation of people and their participation also hinges upon the presence
of discipline. The absence of discipline justifies Plato's criticism of
democracy. The whole world should follow the examples of the United Kingdom and
the United States to ensure discipline and radical reforms must be carried out
by undisciplined countries to protect the meaningfulness of democracy.
