Please refer to Assignments Class 10 Social Science Outcomes of Democracy Chapter 7 with solved questions and answers. We have provided Class 10 Social Science Assignments for all chapters on our website. These problems and solutions for Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy Class 10 Social Science have been prepared as per the latest syllabus and books issued for the current academic year. Learn these solved important questions to get more marks in your class tests and examinations.
Outcomes of Democracy Assignments Class 10 Social Science
ONE MARK QUESTIONS
Question. What is meant by economic inequality?
Ans : It refers to disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income.
Question. Why is democratic government better than other alternatives?
Ans : a. It promotes equality among citizens.
b. It enhances the dignity of the individual.
Question. How does democracy produce an accountable government?
Ans : Democratic form of government.
Question. Which system can reduce the possibility of tension and conflict among different groups of society?
Ans : It is quite true that democracies have a plus point in resolving social differences, diversion and conflicts because they have evolved a mechanism to negotiate the differences.
Question. How can you say that democracies are based on political equality?
Ans : All individuals have equal weight in electing representatives. (Right to Vote)
Question. How can you say that democracies are based on political equality?
Ans. Individuals have equal weight in electing representatives.
Question. Which form of government is considered the best?
Ans. Democratic form of government is considered the best as it enhances dignity of the individual.
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
Ans. (d) All of the above
Question. Which one of the following is an example of outcomes of a democracy that produces an accountable government?
(a) Open to public debates on major policies and legislation
(b) Open in promoting economic development
(c) Open in reducing economic inequalities
(d) Open to rulers elected by the people
Ans. (a) Open to public debates on major policies and legislation.
Question. Democracies are very much different from each other in terms of their social, economic and cultural achievements. True or False.
Ans. True
Question. Decisions taken through the correct procedure by involving the people is known as ……………. .
Ans. transparency
Question. Growth and development of the country in the way of providing better facilities and services to the individual signifies ………… ..
Ans. Economic development
Question. In the question given below,there are two statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R).Mark your answer as per the codes provided below :
(A): At least one fourth of the globe is still not under democratic government.
(R): Because the challenge for democracy in these parts of the world is very stark.
Options :
(1) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(2) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(3) A is true but R is False.
(4) A is false but R is true.
Ans. (1) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
THREE MARKS QUESTIONS
Question. Are democracies based on political and economic equalities? Explain.
Ans : Democracy is based on political equality:
a. All citizens have equal role in electing representatives.
b. Parallel to the process of bringing individuals into the political arena, we find growing economic inequalities.
c. Democracy does not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.
d. The ultra-rich enjoy a highly disproportionate share of wealth and income.
e. At the bottom of the society, the people have very little to depend on.
f. It is difficult to meet their basic needs of life, such as food, clothing, house, education and health.
Question. How democracies have been able to reduce poverty? Elaborate.
Ans : a. Democracies do not appear to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities. Although majority of voters constitute the poverty ridden group, yet democratically elected government do not appear to be as keen to address the question of poverty as you would expect them to.
b. Situation is much worse in some of the countries where people depend upon rich countries for food supplies.
c. But even then democracy is favoured , because it provides the opportunity to change the rulers.
Question. “There is overwhelming support for the idea of democracy all over the world.” Support the statement.
Ans : There is an overwhelming support for the idea of democracy all over the world because:
a. A democratic government is people’s own government.
b. The evidence from South Asia shows that the support exists in countries with democratic regimes.
c. People wished to be ruled by representatives elected by them.
d. People believe that democracy is suitable for their country.
e. Democracy has the ability to generate its own support which in itself is an outcome that cannot be ignored.
Question. How can a democratic government be made accountable? Explain.
Ans : A democratic government can be made accountable by:
a. Conducting discussions and negotiations.
b. Ensuring transparency.
c. Holding regular, free and fair elections,
d. Having open public debates.
Question. “Democracies are not appearing to be very successful in reducing economic inequalities.” Analyse the statement.
Ans : Democracy and the economic outcomes:
a. Slow economic development and economic growth due to population.
b. Basic needs of life, such as food clothing, shelter are difficult to achieve.
c. Prevalence of economic inequalities.
d. Poverty is still a big issue.
e. Allocation of resources in few hands.
f. Unjust distribution of goods and opportunities.
Question. ‘It may be reasonable to expect from a democracy a government that is attentive to the needs and demands of the people and is largely free of corruption.’ Explain this statement in three points.
Ans : Corruption of government:
a. Democracies often frustrate the needs of people and often ignore the demands of the majority.
b. The routine tales of corruption are enough to convince us that democracy is not free from this evil.
c. But a democratic government is people’s own government and pays heed to their demands.
d. People have believed that democracy will be attentive and make policies that will free the country from corruption.
Question. Explain the condition under which dignity and freedom of the citizens can be promoted.
Ans : The conditions are as follows:
a. To promote the dignity and freedom of the citizens, all individuals should be treated as equal. Once this principle is recognised, it becomes easier for individuals to wage a struggle against what is not acceptable legally and morally.
b. Claims of the disadvantaged and discriminated for equal status and equal opportunity should be strengthened. Inequalities and atrocities lack moral and legal foundations.
Question. What outcomes can one reasonably expect of democracies?
Ans : The outcomes one can reasonably expect of the democracy are:
a. In the political sphere—Right to vote, right tp contest.
b. In the economic sphere—minimised economic inequalities.
c. In the social sphere—Equal protection to women, SCs, STs and OBCs.
Question. Discuss any three factors that describe the successful working of democracy in India.
Ans : Factors for the success of democracy:
a. Transparency of democracy.
b. It is accountable and responsible of ruling.
c. It provides legitimacy.
d. It accommodates government of social diversity.
e. It provides dignity and freedom to the citizens.
Question. Explain the ways in which democracy can be redefined to make democracy more effective.
Ans : Ways in which democracy can be redefined to make democracy more effective:
a. Ensures that views of minority are respected.
b. Eliminates caste, religion and gender based discrimination.
c. People enjoy extensive rights from right to vote to participate in elections.
d. People enjoy social and economic rights.
Question. “A public expression of dissatisfaction with democracy shows the success of democratic project.” Justify the statement.
Ans : “A public expression of dissatisfaction with democracy shows the success of democratic project” as:
a. It shows that people have developed awareness and the ability to expect.
b. People look critically at power holders. They want to make democracy better.
c. They come up with expressions and complaints. d. They value their democratic rights.
Question. “Democratic government is legitimate government.” Support the statement with arguments.
or
Why is democratic government known as legitimate government?
Ans : a. A democratic government is called legitimate government because it is people’s own government.
b. It maybe slow, less efficient and not very responsive and clean, but it is people’s government.
c. There is an overwhelming support for the idea of democracy all over the world. People of South Asia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Nepal have no doubt about the suitability of democracy for their own country.
d. People wish to be ruled by representatives elected by them. Democracy’s ability to generate its own support makes it more legitimate.
Question. “Democracy accommodates social diversities”. Support the statement with examples.
Ans : “Democracy accommodates social diversities”:
a. Democracies develop a procedure to conduct their competition. This reduces the possibility of these tensions becoming explosive or violent.
b. 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.
c. Ability to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts is thus a definite plus point of democratic regimes.
d. Example: Belgium has successfully negotiated differences among its ethnic population. This reduces the possibility of tensions.
Question. A democratic government is efficient and effective.’ Analyse the statement.
Ans. 1. A democratic government is mainly a government of people
2. A democratic government works for the betterment and welfare of the people.
3. A democratic government promotes equality of status and opportunity.
4. A democratic government gives freedom of thought, expression and belief.
Question. Mention a few factors that determine the economic growth of a country?
Ans. 1. Population
2. Size
3. Natural Resources
4. Relationship with other countries
5. Global situation
6. Geographic position
Question. Explain any three common features of democracies.
Ans. 1. In a democratic government, the general elections are held to elect a new government.
2. All the citizens of the country, of and above a certain age, have the right to vote.
3. Political parties are an essential part of democracy.
4. Rule of law:Law is supreme and all the citizens are equal in the eyes of law. No one is above the law.
Question. What outcomes can one reasonably expect of democracies?
Ans. 1. accountable and legitimate government
2. minimised economic inequalities
3. equal protection to oppressed classes and women
Question. How are democratic governments better than the other forms of governments? Compare.
Ans. 1. Democracy promotes equality among citizens
2. Democracy enhances dignity of individuals
3. Democracy improves the quality of decision-making
4. Democracy develops competitive attitude
5. Democracy evolves mechanisms to resolve conflicts
Question. Explain four ways in which democracies have been able to reduce inequality and poverty.
Ans. 1. It ensures political equality by giving equal voting rights to every citizen,
2. It provides a suitable environment for group activism which leads to equal opportunity to raise the concerns of poor people.
3. It supports the redistributive mechanism for transferring economic benefits on the basis of requirement of any section of society.
4. It protects the rights of every citizen without discrimination on the basis of economic status ensuring social equality.
Question. ‘Democracy accommodates social diversities.’ Support the statement with examples.
Ans. 1. Democracy develops competitive attitude.This reduces the possibility of conflicts and social tensions.
2. Democracy evolves mechanisms to negotiate
3. Democracy ensures that the government should not be made by the majority but it should have the representation of minority as well
FIVE MARKS QUESTIONS
Question. How are the democratic governments better than the other forms of governments? Compare.
or
“Democracy is a better form of government than any other form of government.” Analyse the statement with arguments.
or
Why do we feel that democracy is a better form of government than any other form? Explain.
Ans : The democratic governments are better than other forms of governments because:
a. Democratic governments have formal Constitution, while it is not the case in other form of governments.
b. They hold regular elections, while it is not the case in other form of governments.
c. They have political parties, whereas there is no such thing in other form of governments.
d. They guarantee rights to citizens, while it is not the case in the other form of governments.
e. Such governments allow room to correct mistakes, while it is not there in the other form of government.
f. Such government accommodates social diversities, while no such thing is there in other form of government.
Question. How is democracy accountable and responsible to the needs and expectations of the citizens? Analyse.
Ans : Democracy is accountable and responsive to the needs and expectations of the citizens because:
a. In a democracy, people have the right to choose their representatives and the people will have control over them.
b. Citizens have the right to participate in decision- making that affects them all. This ensures that the working of the government is transparent.
c. Everybody expects the government to be attentive to the needs and expectations of the people.
d. It is expected that the democratic government develops mechanisms for citizens to hold the government accountable.
e. The opposition parties can also question and criticize the government policies. They keep a check on the ruling party and make sure that it does not misuse the power.
Question. “An ideal government would not only keep itself away from corruption but also make fighting corruption and black money a top priority.” Justify the statement by highlighting the values attached to it.
Ans : The three ideal values of a government are legitimacy, responsiveness and accountability. An ideal government would not only keep itself away from corruption but also make fighting corruption and black money a top priority.
This can be justified as follows:
a. Legitimacy: A government elected by the people is expected to work for their welfare. Corruption and black money are sources of social evils like poverty, inflation and poor political ethics.
b. Responsiveness: A government is run by the representatives who have the mandates of the people of their constituencies, Such evil practices will demotivate the people to re-elect their representatives,
c. Accountability: A government is accountable for the management of the polity and its resources. Corruption and black money hinder the optimum allocation of resources.
Question. “Some people think that democracy produces a less effective government.” Analyse the statement.
Ans : It is true that some people think that democracy produces a less effective government because:
a. Non-democratic rulers do not have to bother about deliberation in assemblies or worry about majorities and public opinion.
b. They can be very quick and efficient in decision- making and implementation.
c. But democracy is based on the idea of deliberation and negotiation. So, some delay is bound to take place.
d. Most democracies fall short of elections that provide a fair chance to everyone.
e. Democratic governments do not have a very good record when it comes to sharing information with citizens.
f. Democracies often frustrate the needs of the people and often ignore the demands of a majority of its population.
Question. “Democracies lead to a peaceful and harmonious life among citizens.” Justify this statement.
Ans : a. It will be a fair expectation that democracy should produce a harmonious social life. Democracy usually develop a procedure to conduct their competition. This reduces the possibility of these tensions becoming explosive or violent.
b. No society can fully and permanently resolve conflicts among different groups. But we can certainly learn to respect these differences and we can also evolve mechanism to negotiate the differences. Democracy is best suited to produce’ this outcome.
c. Non-democratic government often turn a blind eye to or suppress internal social differences. Ability to handle social differences, divisions and conflicts is thus a definite plus point of democratic government.
d. It is necessary to understand that democracy is not simply rule by majority opinion. The majority always needs to work with the minority so that governments function to represent the general view.
e. It is also necessary that rule by majority does not become rule by majority community in terms of religion or race or linguistic group. Rule by majority means that in case of every decision or in case of every election, different persons and groups may and can form a majority. Democracy remains democracy only as long as every citizen has a chance of being in majority at some point of time.
Question. “Democracy is more effective than its other alternatives.” Justify the statement.
Ans : Democracy is more effective than its other alternatives:
a. Democracy promotes equality among citizens.
b. It enhances the dignity of the individual.
c. It also improves the quality of decision¬making.
d. It provides a method to resolve conflicts.
e. It gives room to correct mistakes.
f. Democratic government is a legitimate government.
g. Democracy’s ability to generate its own support is itself an outcome that cannot be ignored.
Question. “Democracy has failed to reduce economic inequality and poverty.” Do you agree? Give arguments in support of your answer.
Ans : In actual life, democracies do not appear to be reducing inequalities.
a. The poor constitute a large proportion of our voters and no party likes to lose their votes, yet democratically elected governments have not addressed the question of poverty as one would have expected them to.
b. The people in several poor countries are now dependent on the rich countries even for food supplies.
Argument in support:
a. It enhances the dignity of the individuals.
b. It improves the quality of decision-making.
c. It provides a method to resolve conflicts.
Question. Evidence shows that in practice, many democracies did not fulfill the expectations of producing economic development in the country. Validate the statement with the help of relevant example.
Ans : a. If we consider all democracies and all dictatorships for the fifty years between 1950 and 2000, dictatorships have slightly higher rate of economic growth.
b. Economic development depends on several factors : country’s population size, global situation, cooperation from other countries, economic priorities adopted by the country, etc.
c. However, the difference in the rates of economic development between less developed countries with dictatorships and democracies is negligible.
d. Overall, it cannot be said that democracy is a guarantee of economic development. But we can expect democracy not to lag behind dictatorships in this respect.
e. With such a 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. For example: North Korea has higher rate of economic growth than India.
SOURCE BASED QUESTIONS
Question. Read the following passage and answer the questions at the end.
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
(a) What are there that democracy should provide?
Ans. People will have the right to choose their rulers and people will have control over the rulers
(b) Why should people participate in decision-making?
Ans. Government should be responsible to the people and pay attention to the needs and expectations of the people.
(c) What is the basic outcomes of democracy?
Ans. Accountable, Responsive and Legitimate government
