Democracy develops slowly but surely

Democracy is a form of government that is just about one hundred years old, and in many countries, much younger. There was no democracy in any of the British, French, Spanish, or Dutch colonies. When the Brits left their crown colony and India and Pakistan were created in 1947, after long suffering and a terrible freedom fight, democracy could finally be introduced. Yet, for long periods after that time, Pakistan has had military rule. Today, though, I believe that time belongs to the past, unrealistic to imagine for future rule of the land – even now when many think that Imran Khan’s ‘Naya Pakistan’ is slower than hoped in implementing election promises. But then, to show results in politics, indeed in democracies, always take time. If a ship in deep waters, in deep financial trouble, and the course has to change, that can only happen slowly, steadily, systematically and over time.

Besides, not even leaders know exactly how to do it. It is only after you open the cupboard that you find what is in it, of good things and bad things. In Pakistan’s case, there were a lot of things hidden in the cupboard, which the new leaders are sorting out; some things to be thrown and replaced by new things, and some old things to be kept, too. Pakistan still has to borrow much more money than what is sustainable, and it is under the thumb of IMF and the World Bank. I was impressed that Pakistan put up a fight with those financial institutions of the West, which were created after WWII and the end of the colonial era. I also agree with many mainstream Pakistani politicians who have finally become critical of those financial institutions, even those who are otherwise Western-oriented and conservative. But then, the problem remains that there isn’t yet anything or anyone to replace those institutions fully, even if some alternative help can come from the Chinese or the Arabs.

Democracy was the most successful political idea of the 20th century. Why has it run into trouble, and what can be done to revive it?

 It is easy to understand why. Democracies are on average richer than non-democracies, are less likely to go to war and have a better record of fighting corruption. More fundamentally, democracy lets people speak their minds and shape their own and their children’s futures. That so many people in so many different parts of theworld are prepared to risk so much for this idea is testimony to its enduring appeal.

“Nothing is more wonderful than the art of being free, but nothing is harder to learn how to use than freedom.”