Q1. [3] deep thorough-understanding
In a country where one ethnic community consistently wins every election due to its numerical majority and uses that power to exclude other communities from government, is this a healthy democracy? Explain why or why not, using the conditions democracy must fulfil to accommodate social diversity.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:21 · grounding rag
Model Answer
No, this is not a healthy democracy. According to the textbook, democracy must fulfil two essential conditions to accommodate social diversity:
- Majority must work with minority — the majority opinion must represent the general view, not just one group's interest.
- Rule by majority must not become rule by a majority community — based on religion, race, or ethnicity. Every citizen must have a chance of being in the majority at some point. If a group is permanently barred from power due to birth or ethnicity, democratic rule ceases to be accommodative for them.
In this case, one ethnic community permanently dominates, violating both conditions. This resembles Sri Lanka's example, where majority community rule led to conflict rather than harmony.
Source: Chapter 5, Accommodation of Social Diversity
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Explanation
- The examiner expects you to directly name both conditions from the textbook — many students vaguely say "majority should not dominate" without stating both points clearly.
- Mentioning Sri Lanka as the textbook example earns credit and shows you've read the chapter.
- Conclude with a clear judgment: this is NOT healthy democracy, and link it to the two conditions. Don't just describe the situation — evaluate it.
- 3 marks = roughly 3 distinct points: verdict + condition 1 + condition 2 (with Sri Lanka as a bonus).