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How is poverty a major challenge to democracy? |
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Answer» Poverty has become a common phenomenon in India. Both the rural and the urban areas have a large number of\xa0people living below the poverty line. Following are the ways in which poverty becomes a challenge to democracy:(i) The poor are not able to take an active part in public affairs because most of their time is spent in arranging\xa0basic necessities of life.(ii) Poor people often lose faith in the democratic institutions as their situation remains the same year after year.(iii) Poor people often misuse their right to vote. They are easily manipulated to sell their vote for money by\xa0influential and rich candidates. Poverty is a major challenge to Society. It is what the poor are when not poor that sustains Democracy, and weakens it the more they slide back.Every person who cannot contribute to the society, (due to class, education or even the simple necessities of a regular bath, or sufficient food) is a loss of that potential contribution to that society.Any person who was concerned that the society prosper, and certainly any person with empathy for others would want to do what was possible to reduce poverty, and at least lessen the worst effects.Those cases where they have done so do indeed prosper more than those who do not.More important however is what happens to those people when they can rise above poverty and become middle class.The first gift is time, the poor have to spend hours where having minimal funds need minutes, travelling, communicating, even washing dishes, are huge chunks of wasted time that benefits nobody.But with the magic of that efficiency what can be done with that extra time is what can make or break a democracy. Because ithe is then that a person can become aware of reality around then and work to improve it.It is actually that large middle class that generates the wealth and has the political muscle of both number and money to stabilize that society. It is more the middle class that make democracy possible than the reverse.In addition it is the abuse of honor and power that create great power and wealth in a few individuals. Rarely it is simple luck that gets them there, more often it lies or unfair advantage that is, or should be, criminal.That concentration of power corrupts, and eventually destroyes the society\'s ability to act efficiently. It is only societies that have curtailed such criminality that truly prosper. And only a strong, Democratic Middle Class canext do that. |
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