NCERT Solutions Class 10 Social Science Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Outcomes Of Democracy

Key Points
1. Accountability- An accountable government is answerable to its citizens.
It is responsible for all the decisions it makes on behalf of its citizens.
2. Political equality is that the equal right should be given to vote and also to contest in election irrespective of caste, creed, religion,economic status.
3. Democracy
1. promotes equality among citizens
2. Enhances the dignity of the indivisual
3. lmproves the quality of decision-making
4. Provides a method to resolve conflicts
5. Allows rooms to correct mistakes.

4. Electorate-Group of people who have right to vote in an election.
5. Sovereignty-Supreme power of the state to take decisions in the internal as well as external matters.
6. Legitimate Government- Legitimate government is a government under which law and action of the government are revealed to the people and government function in a transparent manner.
7. Bye election/bypoll- is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
8. Dictatorship- form of government in which one person or a small group possesses absolute power without effective constitutional limitations.
9. In actual life,democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.
10. Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting dignity and freedom of the individual.
11. Transparency- A citizen who wants to know if a decision was taken through the correct procedures can find this out. She has the right and the means to examine the process of decision making. This is known as transparency.

 

Question. Study the given cartoon. Select the incorrect statements from the given options:
A. Half of the people in the world are poor and they possess very less resources.
B. People in several poor countries are now dependent on the rich countries even for food supplies.
C. In actual life, democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities
D. 2% of the poor people possess 50% resources of the world.

Answer. D

Question. ‘Equal treatment of women is a necessary ingredient of a democratic society. This means that:
A. Most societies across the world are now increasingly women dominated
B. Women are actually always treated with respect.
C. It is now easier for women to legally wage struggle for their rights
D. Women are not ill-treated anywhere in the world.
Answer. C

Question. Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in------------
A. Reducing economic inequalities.
B. Removing corruption.
C. Bringing higher rate of economic growth
D. Promoting dignity and freedom of the individual
Answer. D

Question. Which of these factors do not play a role in the economic development of a country?
A. Size of the population
B. The language of the country.
C. Cooperation from other countries.
D. Economic priorities adopted by the Government.
Answer. B

CASE BASED QUESTION 

Read the given text and answer the given questions.

Let us think in terms of costs. Imagine a government that may take decisions very fast. But it may take decisions that are not accepted by the people and may therefore face problems. In contrast, the democratic government will take more time to follow procedures before arriving at a decision. But because it has followed procedures, its decisions may be both more acceptable to the people and more effective. So, a citizen who wants to know if a decision was taken through the correct procedures can find this out. She has the right and the means to examine the process of decision making. This is known as transparency. This factor is often missing from a non-democratic government. Therefore, when we are trying to find out the outcomes of democracy, it is right to expect democracy to produce a government that follows procedures and is accountable to the people.

Question. Why the decision taken by a democratic government is more acceptable? 
Answer. Democratic governments follow procedures before arriving at a decision.

Question. Which factor is often missing from a non-democratic government?
Answer. Transparency.

Question. To what extent democracy is transparent? Give reasons. 
Answer. Democracy ensures that decision making will be based on norms and procedure. Every citizen has the right and means to examine the process of decision making.

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 

Question. List out any two merits of democracy.
Answer. Promotes equality among citizens; Enhances the dignity of the
individual; Improves the quality of decision-making; Provides a method to resolve conflicts; and Allows room to correct mista

Question. Read the data in the table given below and answer the question that follows:

Answer. South Africa and Brazil.

Question. Why is democracy unable to guarantee economic development?
Answer. Economic development depends on several factors: country’s population size, global situation, The Rich Get Buff cooperation from other countries, economic priorities adopted by the country, etc.

Question. What are the common features of democracy in most of the countries of the world?
Answer. They have formal constitutions, they hold elections, they have parties and they guarantee rights of citizens.

Question. When democracy is considered successful?
Answer. The democracy is considered successful when the rulers are elected by the people and take all major decision in favour of all people.
Elections offer a free choice and opportunity to the people. Choice available to all the people is based on political equality.

Question. Why is there an overwhelming support to democracy all over the world?
Answer. Because it is accountable responsive and legitimate government. Promotes equality among citizens; Enhances the dignity of the individual

Question. ‘The fact that people are complaining is itself a testimony to the success of democracy’ Prove the statement by giving two valid reasons.
Answer. It shows that people have developed awareness and the ability to expect and to look critically at power
It shows the it transforms people from the status of a subject into that of a citizen.

 

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 

Question. What are the differences between democracy and dictatorship in the decision making process?
Answer. Democracy:
(i) Based on the idea of deliberation and negotiation
(ii) Decisions are acceptable to people and are more effective.
(iii) A citizen has the right and the means to examine the process of decision-making. There is transparency.
Autocracy:
(i) Do not have to bother about majorities and/or public opinion, thus can be quick and efficient in decision-making.
(ii) May take decisions not accepted by the people.
(iii) Transparency is missing from a non-democratic form of government. There is no accountability of the government to the people.

Question. How do democratic governments ensure transparency? Explain any three points.
Answer. (i) Democratic government ensures that the decision-making process is based on proper norms and procedures.
(ii) (ii) Citizens have the right to examine the process of decision making.
(iii) (iii) A democratic government develops mechanisms for the citizens to hold the government accountable and mechanism for citizens to take part in decision making whenever they think fit.

Question. “Democratic government is legitimate government?” Support the statement with arguments
Answer. A democratic government is called legitimate government
because it is people’s own government.
(b) It may be slow, less efficient and not very responsive and clean, but it is people's government.
(c) People wish to be ruled by representatives elected by them. Democracy’s ability to generate its own support makes it more legitimate. People of South Asia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Nepal have no doubt about the suitability of democracy for their own country.

Question. Democracy accommodates social diversities.” Support the statement with examples.
Answer. i Democracies develop a procedure to reduce the possibility of social differences becoming explosive or violent.
ii No society can fully and permanently resolve conflicts among different groups. But we can certainly learn to respect these differences and can evolve a mechanism to negotiate these differences.
iii Ability to handle social differences divisions and conflicts is thus a definite plus point of democratic regimes iv Example: Belgium - has successfully negotiated differences among its ethnic population.

Question. Explain any 3 ways in which democracies have been able to reduce inequality and poverty.
Answer. 
1. Democracy gives equal rights to the people; it does not discriminate on the basis of sex, religion, color, caste etc.
3. Democracy provides equal opportunity for economic activities
3. In order to reduce poverty and inequality democracies made efforts to promote a more transparent form of government and thus provide people with rights such as Right to Information etc.

Question. On the basis of which values will it be a fair expectation that democracy should produce a harmonious social life? Explain
Answer. 1) A democratic country looks into the needs and aspirations of every section of society.
2) It is also able to handle social conflicts, divisions and differences.
3) Accommodating the demands of the underprivileged, the backward sections of the society and the minority communities through democratic principles, helps in building a more inclusive and a harmonious society.

Question. ‘Democracy stands much superior in promoting dignity and freedom of the citizens.’ Justify the statement
Answer. (i) The passion for respect and freedom are basis of democracy.
(ii) Democracy has strengthened the claims of the disadvantaged and discriminated castes for equal status and equal opportunity.
(iii) Long struggles by women have got them respect and equal treatment. In India, l/3rd of seats have been reserved for women in local bodies.

Question. Analyse any three values that make democracy better.
Answer. (i) Provides equality among citizens. (ii) Enhances the dignity of the individual. (iii) Improves the quality of decision making. (iv) Provides methods to resolve conflicts. (v) Allows to correct mistakes. (vi) Guarantees rights of citizens. ( Any three points)

Question. Most distinctive feature of democracy is that its examination never gets over.” Support the statement with appropriate arguments.
Answer. (i) As people get some benefits of democracy, they ask for more.
(ii) People always come up with more expectations from the democratic set up.
(iii) They also have complaints against democracy. The government always has to satisfy their public by fulfilling their demands or else they get removed.

Question. What is the basis of democracy and what are its advantages?
Answer. Democracy is based on the idea of deliberation and negotiation. Deliberation and negotiation have an advantage as they ensure that the decisions taken are acceptable to all the people.
These deliberations and negotiation may make the decision late but they provide quality decisions.

 

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

Question. ‘‘In actual life, democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.’’ Explain the statement giving an example.
Answer. (i) The wealth and means are accumulated in hands of a few people and their share in the total income of the country has been increasing.
(ii) However, the people at the bottom of society find it difficult to meet even their basic needs of life such as food, clothing, house, education and health. Not only that, their incomes have been declining.
(iii) The deprived people are a large ratio of voters and no party will like to lose their votes.
(iv) Yet democratically elected governments do not appear to be attentive to the cause of the poor.
(v) Thus democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.

Question. What are the factors which are responsible for the economic development of the country? Does democracy provide guarantee of economic development?
Answer. Economic development depends on several factors: country’s
population size, global situation, The Rich Get Buff cooperation from other countries, economic priorities adopted by the country, etc.
Most of the countries were ruled and exploited by big powers.
We cannot say that democracy is a guarantee of economic development. But we can expect democracy not to lag behind
dictatorships in this respect.

Question. Explain how democracies lead to peaceful and harmonious life among citizens.
Answer. Only the Democratic government is a form of government which provides accommodation to social differences and conflicts by making everybody learn how to respect every individual’s opinion as differences can never be suppressed completely.
• Democracy ensures inclusion of every group including minorities and its interests in the decision making.
• It reduces the probability of violence due to social differences and conflicts between different kinds of people.
• It provides right to equality, equality before the law, and equal opportunities of work and prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, gender or place of birth to every citizen or individual.
• It also ensures various other fundamental rights of the citizen.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Civics for Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy

Question. How does democracy produce an accountable, responsive and legitimate government?
Answer
-Democracy produces an accountable government: Democracy produces an accountable governments, as the people has the right in choose their representatives through the electoral process. These elected representatives form the government and participate in the decision-making process on behalf of the people. If these elected representatives not work properly, people have a chance to not elect them in next election.
-Democracy Produces Responsive Government: Democratic governments are elected by the people and are responsible towards the people and Parliament. These governments promote the formation of public opinion and take care of the needs and expectations of the people.
-Democracy Produces Legitimate Government: A democratic government is people’s own government. People wish to be ruled by representatives elected by them. They also believe that democracy is suitable for their country. Democracy’s ability to generate its own support is itself an outcome that cannot be ignored.

Question. What are the conditions under which democracies accommodate social diversities?
Answer Democracies accommodate social diversities when it is well understood that democracy is not just the rule of the majority, and that the rule of the majority is not just the rule of a single religious or social community.

Question. Give arguments to support or oppose the following assertions:
• Industrialised countries can afford democracy but the poor need dictatorship to become rich.
• Democracy can't reduce inequality of incomes between different citizens.
• Government in poor countries should spend less on poverty reduction, health, education and spend more on industries and infrastructure.
• In democracy all citizens have one vote, which means that there is absence of any domination and conflict.

Answer
-This statement is incorrect as can be seen from the examples of India and Zimbabwe. In 1947, India was included in the Third World nations, but now, it is one of the fast-growing economies in the world. On the other hand, Zimbabwe, which was a fairly prosperous nation, has run into huge international debt with the progression of Robert Mugabe's regime.
-Democracy can't reduce inequality of incomes between different citizens. This statement is incorrect. The Minimum Wages Act enacted by the government and other policies which regulate the basic price at which agricultural producers and small industries sell their goods, have helped increase the per capita income of the country, thereby making its citizens more prosperous.
-Government in poor countries should spend less on poverty reduction, health, education and spend more on industries and infrastructure. This is not a wise option as in poor countries, the people cannot afford health and education services.
-In democracy all citizens have one vote, which means that there is absence of any domination and conflict. This is not true as conflict can be eliminated only in an ideal situation. In real democracies, though every person has one vote, there are divisions among the people. These divisions lead to conflict.

Question. Identify the challenges to democracy in the following descriptions. Also suggest policy/institutional mechanism to deepen democracy in the given situations:

• Following a High Court directive a temple in Orissa that had separate entry doors for dalits and non-dalits allowed entry for all from the same door.
• A large number of farmers are committing suicide in different states of India.
• Following allegation of killing of three civilians in Gandwara in a fake encounter by Jammu and Kashmir police, an enquiry has been ordered.

Answer
-The challenge to democracy in the first statement is to provide equal status to all its citizens in spite of their caste.
-The challenge to democracy in the second instance is providing farmers with subsidies which will help them to earn profits and have a satisfactory level of livelihood.
-The challenge to democracy is to preserve the people's trust in government arms like the police.

Question. In the context of democracies, which of the following ideas is correct - democracies have successfully eliminated:
A. conflicts among people
B. economic inequalities among people
C. differences of opinion about how marginalised sections are to be treated
D. the idea of political inequality
Answer D. the idea of political inequality

Question. In the context of assessing democracy which among the following is odd one out. Democracies need to ensure:
A. free and fair elections
B. dignity of the individual
C. majority rule
D. equal treatment before law
Answer C. majority rule

Question. Studies on political and social inequalities in democracy show that
A. democracy and development go together
B. inequalities exist in democracies
C. inequalities do not exist under dictatorship
D. dictatorship is better than democracy
Answer
B. inequalities exist in democracies

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy Objective Questions

Question. Identify the correct statement about democracy.
(a) It is a good form of government due to lesser corruption.
(b) It ensures higher rate of economic growth.
(c) It is rule by majority; therefore it’s a good government.
(d) It respects the individual dignity of citizens.
Answer: D

Question. Why is the democratic government regarded as a better choice?
(a) It promotes equality among citizens
(b) It ensures economic development
(c) It provides a method to resolve conflict
(d) Both (a) and (c)
Answer: D

Question. To measure democracies on the basis of expected outcomes, which of the following practices and institutions would one look for?
(a) Regular, free and fair elections
(b) Open public debate on major policies
(c) Citizens’ right to information about the government
(d) All of the above
Answer: D

Question. If a government is providing its citizens a right and means to examine the process of decision, then we get which type of government?
(a) A unstable government
(b) An accountable government
(c) A stable government
(d) A transparent government
Answer: B

Question. What is the most basic outcome of democracy?
(a) Significant decision-making
(b) Answerability to the citizens
(c) Powerful, repressive governance
(d) None of these
Answer: B

Question. Which factor is often missing from a non-democratic government? Identify.
(a) Efficiency
(b) Effectiveness
(c) Transparency
(d) All of these
Answer: C

Question. Which one of the following is not the feature of Democracy? Identify.
(a) Election
(b) Rule of law
(c) Independent Judiciary
(d) Preference to a particular religion
Answer: D

Question. In the context of democracies, which of the following ideas is correct?
Democracies have successfully ............ .
(a) Eliminated conflicts among people
(b) Eliminated economic inequalities among people
(c) Eliminated differences of opinion about how marginalized sections are to be treated
(d) Rejected the idea of political inequality
Answer: D

Question. Match the following: 

List-1	List-2
A. Democracy is preferable	1. Pakistan
B. Sometimes dictatorship exists	2. Brazil
C. High degree of economic inequality	3. India

Codes
     A B C 
(a) 3 1 2
(b) 2 1 3
(c) 3 2 1
(d) 1 3 2
Answer: A

Question. On which of the following factors does economic development of a country depend?
(a) Cooperation from other countries
(b) The number of rich citizens in the country
(c) Political priorities adopted by the country
(d) All of these
Answer: A

Question. Democracy is based on the ideas of ……… .
(a) Freedom and Rights
(b) Negotiation
(c) Deliberation
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Answer: D

Question. Choose the correctly matched pair from the following
(a) Belgium — Here majority has suppressed the internal social differences with dictatorship.
(b) Sri Lanka — Here majority worked with the minority to produce a harmonious social life.
(c) India — Democracy has strengthened the claims of the disadvantaged and discriminated castes for equal status and opportunities.
(d) Bangladesh — More that half of its population is rich and prosperous.
Answer: C

Question. Which feature of democracy is common in most countries of the world?
(a) They have a formal constitution.
(b) They hold elections regularly.
(c) They guarantee the rights of citizens.
(d) All of these
Answer: D

Question. Which of these statement is incorrect regarding the non-democratic regimes?
(a) These do not have to bother about public opinion.
(b) These take less time to arrive at a decision.
(c) Principle of individual dignity has a legal force.
(d) These often suppress internal social differences.
Answer: C

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy Assertion-Reason MCQs

Direction Each of these questions contains two statements, Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Each of these questions also has four alternative choices, any one of which is the correct answer. You have to select one of the codes (a), (b), (c) and (d) given below.
Codes
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
(c) A is true, but R is false
(d) A is false, but R is true

Question. Assertion (A) Democracy is not simply a rule by majority of opinion.
Reason (R) In a democracy, majority always need to work with the minority so that governments can function to represent the general view.
Answer: A 

Question. Assertion (A) The democratic government will take more time to follow procedures before arriving at a decision.
Reason (R) Democratic government has followed procedures, its decisions may be both more acceptable to the people and more effective.
Codes
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
(c) A is true, but R is false
(d) A is false, but R is true
Answer: A

Question. Assertion (A) Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting dignity and freedom to the individuals.
Reason (R) Democracies have successfully reduced economic disparities.
Answer: C

Question. Assertion (A) Democracy transforms people from the status of a subject into that of a citizen.
Reason (R) Most individuals believe that their vote makes a difference to the way the governments run and to their own self-interest.
Answer: A

Question. Assertion (A) Democracy ensures that decisionmaking will be based on norms and procedures.
Reason (R) A citizen in a democracy who wants to know if a decision was taken through correct procedures can find this out easily.
Answer: A

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy Case Based MCQs

1. Read the case/source given and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct option.
If democracies are expected to produce good governments, then is it not fair to expect that they would also produce development? Evidence shows that in practice many democracies did not fulfil this expectation. If you consider all democracies and all dictatorships for the fifty years between 1950 and 2000, dictatorships have slightly higher rate of economic growth. The inability of democracy to achieve higher economic development worries us.
But this alone cannot be reason to reject democracy.
As you have already studied in economics, economic development depends on several factors:
country’s population size, global situation, cooperation from other countries, economic priorities adopted by the country, etc. However, the difference in the rates of economic development between less developed countries with dictatorships and democracies is negligible.
Overall, we cannot say that democracy is a guarantee of economic development. But we can expect democracy not to lag behind dictatorships in this respect. When we find such significant difference in the rates of economic growth between countries under dictatorship and democracy, it is better to prefer democracy as it has several other positive outcomes.

Question. On which of the following factors the economic growth of a country depends? Identify from the given options.
(a) Territory or area of the country
(b) Global Scenario
(c) Size of the country’s population
(d) Cooperation among the various nations
Answer: D

Question. Why economic growth is essential for a country?
Choose the correct option:
(a) As it increases state capacity and the supply of public goods.
(b) As it benefits the marginal sections of the society.
(c) Help in reduction of economic disparities in a country.
(d) All of the above
Answer: A

Question. Why should the gains of economic growth be evenly distributed? Identify the reason from the given options.
(a) To make an economically even society
(b) To promote the idea of social justice
(c) To reduce inequality in the society
(d) All of the above
Answer: A

Question. What can poor countries do to receive a greater share in the world’s wealth? Choose the correct option with reference to the above context.
(a) They should take initiatives to strengthen their internal democracy.
(b) They should get united to fight for the cause.
(c) They should exploit their own available natural resources.
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer: D

Question. Democracy appeals to some of our deep values. Why democracy is favored more than any other form of government?
(a) It strives to promote equality and social justice.
(b) It provides solutions to all problems.
(c) It provides scope for correction of mistakes.
(d) Both (a) and (c)
Answer: D

Question. How can the poor get a voice for a better share in a nation? Identify the correct option.
(a) When they will be given proper representation.
(b) When they will get a chance to participate in decision-making process.
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) When they will be given adequate resources and facilities.
Answer: C

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy Short Answer Type Questions

Question. How do democratic governments ensure transparency? Explain. 
Answer: Democratic Governments ensures transparency through the following ways
• In a Democracy, people have the right to choose their representatives and exercise control over them. People have the right to participate in the process of decision making that affects them all. A democratic form of governance, thus, produces a government that is accountable and responsive to the needs of its citizens.
• Democracy allows discussion, which may delay the process of implementation, but in the long run, it serves as a healthy and productive way of decision making.
• Democracy also ensures that decision making is based on a set of norms and procedures. Therefore, in case, a citizen wishes to know if a decision was taken through correct and unbiased procedures, he/she has the opportunity to discover and find it out by examining the procedure in detail, thus, ensuring transparency.

Question. List the various aspects and qualifications which help in giving a clear definition of democracy.
Answer: The various aspects and qualifications which help in giving a clear definition of democracy are
• The rulers elected by the people must take all the major decisions.
• Elections must offer a choice and fair opportunity to the people to change the existing rulers.
• Choice and opportunity should be available to all on an equal basis.

Question. List out some of the merits of democracy.
Answer: Democracy is considered to be the best form of government. The merits of democracy are
• It safeguards the social, economic and political interests of the individuals.
• It assures equality in all social, political and economic rights of the citizens.
• It improves the quality of decision making as decisions are taken by following a procedure.

Question. ‘‘Non-democratic rulers can be very quick and efficient in decision-making and implementation.’’
Do you think with this feature of non-democratic government is a better government than other government? Explain.
Answer: Non-democratic rulers can be very quick and efficient in decision–making and implementation. But it is not a better government than other government. For example,
• A democratic government can take more time to take a decision as compared to other forms of government.
The non-democratic governments can take decisions quickly. But there is a possibility that it is not accepted by all, as no procedure has been followed here.
• In democracy ‘transparency’ is very necessary. Here, the citizens has the rights to know the process of decision-making. This factor would often be missing from a non-democratic government. Thus, non-democratic government is not regarded as a better government than others.

Question. Differentiate between Democratic and Non-Democratic form of Government.
Answer: 

Democratic Government	Non-Democratic Government
Democracy is based on the ideas of deliberations and negotiations.	In non-democratic government, no such deliberations and negotiations are held.
Democratic government takes into account the public opinion before reaching a decision.	Non-democratic governments do not care about public opinions.
In this type of governments, there is some delay in taking a decision due to deliberations and negotiations but these decisions are effective in nature.	In this type of governments, they can take quick decision, but these are sometimes less effective and forced on people.

Question. “There is an overwhelming support for the idea of democracy all over the world.” Support the statement. 
Answer: There is an overwhelming support for the idea of democracy all over the world because
• Democracy can address all socio-economic and political problems.
• In democracy, there are regular and free election and there is always a scope for open public debate.
• Democracy is a people’s own government where rulers are elected by the people. People wish to be ruled by the representatives elected by them.
• Democracy is a legitimate government.

Question. “Some people think that democracy produces a less effective government.” Analyse the statement.
Answer: Some people think that democracy produces a less effective government because
• Democracies often frustrate the needs of the people and often ignore the demands of majority of a population.
• Most democracies fall short of elections that provide a fair chance to everyone and is subjecting every decision to public debate.
• Democratic governments do not have a very good record when it comes to sharing of information with citizens.
• Democracy is unable to achieve higher economic development.
• Democratically elected governments do not appear to address the question of poverty as expected by the citizens.

Question. “Democratic government is a legitimate government.” Explain. 
Answer: Legitimate government is a government under which law and action of the government are revealed to the people and government function in a transparent manner.
The features of a democratic government that make it a legitimate government are
• In a democracy, the laws are applicable to all the citizen whether rich or poor.
• In a democracy, there is a political equality i.e. every vote counts equally.
• People have the right to challenge the government policies and actions. If the people are not satisfied with the working of the government they have the right to change it.

Question. When is democracy considered successful? Explain. 
Answer: The democracy is considered successful when
• the rulers are elected by the people and take all major decision in favour of all people.
• elections offer a free choice and opportunity to the people.
• choice available to all the people is based on political equality.

Question. ‘‘Democracies accommodate various social divisions.’’ Support the statement. 
Answer: Democracies accommodate various social divisions in the following ways
• Various disadvantaged and marginal social groups can express their grievances by which the government know about the injustice faced by these groups and can initiate some necessary steps to rectify it.
• Expressing various kinds of social division in politics can reduce the intensity of the differences. This leads to strengthen the democracy.
• Marginalised people can express their demands in a peaceful and constitutional way. In this way, they seek a fair position through elections. Thus, democracy becomes a best way to fight for recognition and accommodates diversity.

Question. Explain any four ways in which democracies have been able to reduce inequality and poverty.
Answer: The ways in which democracies have been able to reduce inequality and poverty are
(i) Women have been given equal rights as those of men in most of the democratic countries like India.
(ii) Special efforts have been made to uplift the weaker sections of the society (like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes), so that they could live with dignity and honour.
(iii) Democracies everywhere try to provide a fair share to every citizen in the natural resources of the country.
(iv) In almost all democratic countries of the world, poor people are given many concessions but richer classes are made to pay more income tax.

Question. ‘‘Democracies have had greater success in setting regular free and fair elections.’’ Analyse the Statement. 
Answer: Democracies have had a greater success in setting regular free and fair elections in the following ways
• Every democracy holds elections and it has different political parties and guarantees the voting right of its citizens.
• Every citizen in democracy has the right to elect his leader and has the control over the rulers.
• In democracy whenever possible and necessary citizens participate in decision making that affects them.
• Democracy should practice regular, free and fair election.
This differentiates democracy from other form of governments.

Question. How is poverty a major challenge to Democracy? Explain.
Answer: Poverty is a major challenge to democracy as the democracies could not produce expected development. The inability of democracy to achieve higher economic development is one of the major challenges. If we consider all democracies and dictatorships for the fifty years between 1950 and 2000, dictatorships have a slightly higher rate of economic growth.
Within democracies, there is a very high degree of inequalities. A small number of ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth and incomes. Those at the bottom of the society have very little to depend upon. Yet, democratically elected governments do not appear to address the question of poverty.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Why is democracy not considered simply a rule of majority? 
Answer: The democracy is not considered simply a rule of majority because
• In democratic set-up, the majority always needs to work with the minority, so that governments represent the general view.
• Majority and minority opinions are not permanent in democracy.
• The rule by majority does not become rule by majority community in terms of religion, race, linguistic groups, etc.
• Democracy remains democracy only when every citizen of a country has a chance of being majority at some point of time.
• If someone is barred from being in majority on the basis of birth, i.e. on the basis of caste and religion then the democratic rules are not applicable for that persons or groups.

Question. ‘‘Democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting dignity and freedom of the individual.’’ Justify this statement.
Answer: A democratic form of government standsmuch superior to any other form of government in promoting dignity and freedom of the individual in the following ways
(i) Often conflict arises among individuals because some feel that they are not treated with equal respect in comparison to others. It is very common in non-democratic countries. However, in democratic countries such conflicts are recognized and resolved atleast in principle.
(ii) Most societies were historically male dominating.
The status of women was not satisfactory. After long struggles by women, democracy throughout the world has recognised equal treatment and respect to women at least in principles. Thus in democracy, it becomes easier for women to wage a struggle against what is now unacceptable legally and morally for them.
(iii) Democracy in India strengtened the claims of the disadvantaged and discriminated castes for equal status and opportunity, which is not possible in any non-democratic country.
Thus, it can be concluded that democracy stands much superior to any other form of government in promoting dignity and freedom of the individual.

Question. Should democracy be judged by its outcome?
Answer: Democracy should be judged by its outcome because it opens the path of expectations, which is one of the criteria for judging any democratic country. The examination procedure of democracy is eternal, as it passes one test, it produces another test. It automatically gives rise to expectations as well as complaints by the people when they want to know about the functioning of democracy. The fact that people also complaint about democracy indicates the awareness and the ability of people to expect and to look critically at power holders and the high and the mighty. It transforms people from the status of a subject into that of a citizen. Most individuals today believe that their vote makes a difference to the way the government is run and to their own self-interest.

Question. What are the demerits of democracy. Explain in detail.
Answer: The demerits of democracy are
• Unstable Government Lots of political parties are allowed to criticise the government and its policies.
Sometimes, it leads to the downfall of the ruling party and re-elections in the country. This gives instability to the government.
• Slow and Inefficient Government The most common demerit of democracy is that, it is slow in its functioning.
The decision-making process involves long debates and deliberations in the Parliament. This takes a lot of time before the decisions are actually taken.
• Incompetence Democracy gives every individual the right to voice his concern. As a result, everybody focusses on his personal interests and not the collective interests. This sometimes leads to incompetent and wrong selections of the candidates in the government.
• Role ofMoney in aDemocracy Money plays an important role at the time of the elections. A lot of money is needed to organise demonstrations, public meetings and
speeches. Those candidates are chosen in the elections, who can raise lot of money for the party.

Question. “Democracies lead to peaceful and harmonious life among citizens.” Justify this statement. 
Answer: Democracies lead to peaceful and harmonious life among citizens in the following ways
• It is expected from democracy that it should produce a harmonious social life. Country like Beligium successfully negotiated difference among its ethnic populations. Democracy develops a procedure to conduct the competition which reduces the possibility of tensions becoming violent.
• Democracy tries to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts. Non-democratic regimes often neglects these problems and tries to suppress internal social differences.
• Democracy is not simply rule by majority opinion.
Majority and minority opinions are not permanent things. The majority needs to work with the minority which is performed in democracy.
• In democracy every citizen has the freedom in terms of religion, race or linguistic group etc. Here rule by the majority does not denote rule by the majority community.
• In democracy every citizen has a chance of being in majority at some point of time. Nobody can be barred from being in majority on the basis of birth in democracy.

Question. ‘‘In actual life, democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.’’ Explain the statement giving an example. 
Answer: In actual life, democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities because the democracy does not guarantee economic development.
In most of the democracies, a small number of ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth and income. For example,
• In countries like South Africa and Brazil, the top 20% people take away more than 60 % of the national income. Unfortunately, those who are at the bottom of the society have a very little share (less than 3 %) to depend upon.
• In India, the elected government looks reluctant to take necessary steps for the upliftment of the large section of poor in our society.
• In Bangladesh, more than half of its population lives in poverty. People in several poor countries are now dependent on the rich countries even for food supplies.

Question. “Democratic system is better than any other form of government.” Support the statement with examples. 
Answer: Democracy or democratic system is a better form of government when compared with any other form of government because • Democracy promotes equality among citizens. Every citizen of the country has equal rights before the law.
All individuals have equal rights in electing their representatives.
• Democracy enhances the dignity of the individual.
By giving its citizens equal rights, it enhances dignity and freedom of the individual. Democracy gives equal treatment and respect to women, disadvantaged and discriminated castes in our society.
• Democracy improves the quality of decision making. As there is open debate in major issues in democracy, quality of decisions is improved.
• Democracy provides a method to resolve conflicts.
Democracy reduces the possibility of social tension which leads to peaceful social life. It allows room to correct mistakes.
• Democracy is a legitimate government. Democracy gets the popular support of the people by regular, free and fair elections.

Question. How does democracy produce an accountable, responsive and legitimate government?
Or “Democracies produce an accountable, responsive and legitimate governments.” Support the statement with suitable examples. 
Answer: Democracies produce an accountable, responsive and legitimate governments in the following ways
• Accountable Government Democracy produces an accountable government as the people have the right to choose their representatives through the electoral process. These elected representatives form the government and participate in the decision-making process on behalf of the people. This is known as transparency. If these elected representatives do not work in a proper way, people have a chance to not elect them in next election.
• Responsive Government Democracy produces a responsive government. As democratic government is elected by the people, it is people’s own government. It promotes the formation of public opinion and take care of the needs and expectation of the people.
• Legitimate Government Further, democratic government is a legitimate government because regular election after a fixed time is its key feature. It may be slow, less efficient but it is the people’s own legitimate government.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy Case Based Questions

1. Read the cases/sources given and answer the following questions.
Source A Democracy is Accountable
There are some things that democracy must provide.
In a democracy, we are most concerned with ensuring that people will have the right to choose their rulers and people will have control over the rulers.
Whenever possible and necessary, citizens should be able to participate in decision making, that affects them all. Therefore, the most basic outcome of democracy should be that it produces a government that is accountable to the citizens, and responsive to the needs and expectations of the citizens.

Question. To what extent democracy is transparent? Give reasons.
Answer: Democracy is transparent as it provide citizen the rights and means to examine the process of decision making. This is not available in non-democratic state.
In democracy, government develops mechanism for citizens to take part in decision making when it is possible.
Source C Democracy is Better than Non-Democracy Democracies have had greater success in setting up regular and free elections and in setting up conditions for open public debate. But most democracies fall short of elections that provide a fair chance to everyone and in subjecting every decision to public debate.
Democratic governments do not have a very good record when it comes to sharing information with citizens. All one can say in favour of democratic regimes is that they are
much better than any non-democratic regime in these respects.

Question. To what extent democracy is better than non-democracy?
Answer: Democracy is better than the non-democratic government as in democracy people get free and fair elections through which they apply their rights to choose their leaders.

Question. Evaluate the effectiveness of accountability of democracy.
Answer: Democracy produces a government that is accountable to its citizenas as in democracy people have the right to choose their rulers and have control over them. In this way, citizen are able to participate in decision making procedure.
Source B Transparency in Democracy
Let us think in terms of costs. Imagine a government that may take decisions very fast. But it may take decisions that are not accepted by the people and may therefore face problems. In contrast, the democratic government will take more time to follow procedures before arriving at a decision. But because it has followed procedures, its decisions may be both more acceptable to the people and more effective.
So, a citizen who wants to know if a decision was taken through the correct procedures can find this out. She has the right and the means to examine the process of decision making. This is known as transparency. This factor is often missing from a non-democratic government. Therefore, when we are trying to find out the outcomes of democracy, it is right to expect democracy to produce a government that follows procedures and is accountable to the people.

2. Read the case/source given and answer the following questions.
Perhaps more than development, it is reasonable to expect democracies to reduce economic disparities. Even when a country achieves economic growth, will wealth be distributed in such a way that all citizens of the country will have a share and lead a better life? Is economic growth in democracies accompanied by increased inequalities among the people? Or do democracies lead to a just distribution of goods and opportunities?
Democracies are based on political equality. All individuals have equal weight in electing representatives. Parallel to the process of bringing individuals into the political arena on an equal footing, we find growing economic inequalities. A small number of ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth and incomes. Not only that, their share in the total income of the country has been increasing.
Those at the bottom of the society have very little to depend upon. Their incomes have been declining.
Sometimes they find it difficult to meet their basic needs of life, such as food, clothing, house, education and health.
In actual life, democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities. The poor constitute a large proportion of our voters and no party will like to lose their votes. Yet democratically elected governments do not appear to be as keen to address the question of poverty as you would expect them to. The situation is much worse in some other countries. In Bangladesh, more than half of its population lives in poverty. People in several poor countries are now dependent on the rich countries even for food supplies.

Question. Why do some poor countries depend on the rich countries ?
Answer: People in poor countries depends on the grants of rich countries as democratically elected government`is not interested to remove the disparity between the rich and poor in the society. Sometimes the poor find it difficult to meet their basic needs, like, food, clothing, house, etc. Poor people in some countries are even dependent on the rich countries for food supplies.

Question. Why it is expected that democracy will reduce the economic disparities?
Answer: It is expected that democracy will reduce the economic disparity among its citizens as it is a rule of majority and is based on political equality.

Question. Infer the reason of inability of democracy to achieve higher economic development.
Answer: Democracy is unable to achieve higher economic development as economic development of a country depends on several factors like country’s population size, global situation, economic priorities, cooperation from other countries etc and democracy can not control all these factors.