Consider the following features: 1. Consent of the governed; 2. Political equality; 3. Accountability of the ruled to the ruler. Which of the above feature/features outline democratic rule?
- (a)1 and 2 only
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1, 2 and 3
- (d)3 only
Correct — A, 1 and 2 only. Consent of the governed — rulers deriving their authority from the people — and political equality — one person, one vote of equal value — are core features of democratic rule. Statement 3 is inverted: in a democracy it is the ruler who is accountable to the ruled, not the ruled to the ruler, so it is not a democratic feature. Hence only 1 and 2.
- (b)2 and 3 only — This keeps political equality but wrongly includes the inverted statement 3 while dropping consent of the governed.
- (c)1, 2 and 3 — This treats the reversed accountability of statement 3 as democratic; in a democracy accountability runs from ruler to ruled.
- (d)3 only — This selects only the inverted statement and discards the two genuine democratic features.
Democracy rests on rule by the people: government by consent, equal political rights for all citizens, and rulers who answer to the governed through free and fair elections and the rule of law.
The trick is statement 3, which sounds authoritative but reverses the direction of accountability. Spotting that reversal is the whole point of the item.
- Consent of the governed means government authority flows from the people's will.
- Political equality means every adult's vote counts equally, regardless of wealth or status.
- In a democracy, elected rulers are accountable to citizens, not citizens to rulers.
- Free and fair elections, rule of law and protected rights are the other pillars of democracy.
Only statements 1 and 2 describe democracy, giving option (a).
- Accepting reversed statements such as 'the ruled are accountable to the ruler' that sound authoritative.
- Confusing political equality with economic equality.
Given as a 'which features outline democracy' item with one deliberately inverted statement.
Democracy's superior virtue lies in the fact that it calls into activity
- (a) the intelligence and character of ordinary men and women.
- (b) the methods for strengthening executive leadership.
- (c) a superior individual with dynamism and vision.
- (d) a band of dedicated party workers.
Answer(a) the intelligence and character of ordinary men and women.
Same concept — what defines democratic rule. There the point is participation by ordinary citizens; here it is consent of the governed and political equality, both rooted in the same idea of popular sovereignty.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following best reflects political equality in a democracy?
- (a)Equal incomes for all
- (b)One person, one vote, one value
- (c)Rule by the majority community
- (d)Equal property for all
Answer(b) One person, one vote, one value.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In a democracy, the ultimate accountability of the government is to
- (a)The bureaucracy
- (b)The judiciary alone
- (c)The people
- (d)The ruling party
Answer(c) The people — through periodic free elections.