Moral Thinkers & Philosophers

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi was in favor of a stateless society in which life becomes perfect, people never become hindrances to one one-other’s routines, and; self-regulation, self-dependency, and mutual cooperation become essential in day-to-day human practices. Given the issues in trying to create such an order, he supported and advocated democracy. Accepting democracy to be a great institution, Gandhiji laid stress on decreasing the possibility of its misuse. He called for its constant development on the basis of high human values.

• He laid great stress on individual freedom in democracy. However, he realized that it is justice that along with freedom, provides adaptability, significance, and success to a democracy. Therefore, he advocated the importance and inevitability of social justice.
• Mahatma Gandhi laid great stress on the decentralization of power to ensure the participation of each and everyone in political and economic spheres.
• Moreover, on the strength of this participation, common men could also enjoy a standard of living, and along with intellectual growth, they could find a way to achieve equality in society.
• Through his theory of trusteeship, he wished for healthy social relations among men and on the basis of them desired ending differences between owners and servants.
• He wished to bring wealth and properties into the domain of Trusteeship with the sole purpose of self-sufficiency of each and every one by ascertaining the supply of essential commodities.

Therefore, morality occupies a central place in Gandhi’s conception of democracy. It develops a sense of responsibility in human beings on the strength of which they go forward to protect, respect, and honour the rights of each other. Significance of the given quote in contemporary period In a democracy, we often observe that the rights of the weak are sometimes not honoured. For instance:

• Tribal rights: The state may have, through statutes, ensured recognition of rights for tribals but its is argued by some that its implementation on ground is lacking. Tribals are prone to development induced displacement and additionally, their customary rights are often violated.
• Fault lines in electoral democracy: Political parties, instead of taking the message of equality and brotherhood to the masses, often use sectarian/caste/regional differences for petty electoral benefits.
• Social injustice: Despite provisions for economic and social upliftment of the weaker and vulnerable sections of the population, their educational status, standards of living and participation in decision-making are far from optimal.
• Women representation: Despite the promises, the participation of women in institutions of power and the workforce leaves a lot to be desired.

The remedy, therefore, is not avoidance of democracy but its constant development.