A cikin kusan dukkan nazarin ci gaba, ana ɗaukar dimokuraɗiyya a matsayin sharaɗin farko na ci gaba, ko na tattalin arziƙi ne ko na ci gaban fasaha da kimiyya. Mancur Olsen (Jami'ar Maryland), masanin tattalin arziƙi sananne a duniya, ya gabatar a cikin littafinsa mai lambar yabo mai suna ‘Power and Prosperity’ (2000) cewa dimokuraɗiyya gabaɗaya tana bunƙasa da ci gaba idan aka kwatanta da sauran tsarin mulki. Olson ya bayar da hujjar cewa a ƙarƙashin rashin doka da oda akwai hujjar yin sata da lalata kawai, yayin da mai mulkin kama-karya yana da dalilin ƙarfafa wani matakin nasarar tattalin arziƙi, domin zai yi tsammanin zai daɗe a kan mulki har ya karɓi rabonsa daga cikinta. A cikin dimokuraɗiyya kuwa, ya lura cewa kare 'yan ƙasa da dukiyarsu yana kai ga wadata mai yawa, domin ana iya cire shugabanni ta hanyar akwatin zaɓe. Olson ya ga a sauyawa zuwa dimokuraɗiyya irin tsaba na wayewa, wanda ke shimfiɗa hanya zuwa wadata, wanda kuma ke inganta hujjojin mulki nagari ta hanyar daidaita shi sosai da burin al'umma.

In almost all studies of development, democracy is considered a prerequisite for progress, be it economic or technological and scientific advancement. Mancur Olsen (University of Maryland) the world renowned economist presented in his award winning book ‘Power and Prosperity’ (2000) that democracies generally develop and progress relative to other systems of governance. Olson argued that under anarchy there is an incentive only to steal and destroy, whilst a dictator has an incentive to encourage a degree of economic success, since he will expect to be in power long enough to take a share of it. In democracies he observes that the protection of one’s citizens and property leads to greater prosperity as leaders could be removed at the ballot box. Olson saw in the move to democracy the seeds of civilization, paving the way for prosperity, which improves incentives for good government by more closely aligning it with the wishes of the population.

Wasu bincike sun ma sun mayar da dimokuradiyya sharadin samun nasarar tattalin arziki. Evan Rodrik, masani a fannin ilimin siyasa a Jami'ar Illinois, ya bayar da hujjar cewa "dimokuradiyya a matsayin 'ma'aikatar cibiyoyi' tana taimakawa wajen gina sauran cibiyoyi, kuma dimokuradiyya ita ce kadai sharadin cibiya mai dacewa don samun nasara." (2) Duk da cewa babu wata ma'anar dimokuradiyya da duniya ta amince da ita baki daya, akwai ka'idoji guda biyu da duk wata ma'anar dimokuradiyya ke bukatar su. Ka'ida ta farko ita ce duk mambobin al'umma suna da daidaitaccen damar samun mulki, ta biyu kuma ita ce duk mambobin suna jin dadin 'yanci da hakkokin da duniya ta amince da su.

Other research has even made democracy a precondition for economic success. Evan Rodrik political science expert at the University of Illinois argued that “democracy as the ‘meta institution’ helps build other institutions and democracy is the only appropriate institutional conditionally for success.” (2) Even though there is no universally accepted definition of democracy there are two principles that any definition of democracy is required to have. The first principle is that all members of the society have equal access to power and the second that all members enjoy universally recognised freedoms and liberties.

Wani kallo mai sauri ga al'ummomin da ke ci gaba da goyon bayan irin wannan ra'ayi, da kuma waɗanda ke ci gaba da shiga harkokin ƙasashen duniya da sunan dimokuraɗiyya, ya nuna cewa irin wannan hujja ba ta da tushe. Ma'ana, yawancin ƙasashen da suka ci gaba sun samu ci gabansu ne ta hanyar manufofin da ba na dimokuraɗiyya ba, kuma akwai hujjar cewa rashin dimokuraɗiyya na taimakawa wajen ci gaba. Lokacin da aka fara gabatar da zaɓe a Yamma, an iyakance shi ga ƙaramin rukuni na maza masu mallakar ƙasa da dukiya, inda aka rarraba kuri'u ba daidai ba bisa ma'auni da ya dogara da dukiya, ilimi da shekaru. A Amurka kuwa, an ba maza baƙaƙen fata haƙƙin zaɓe ne kawai a cikin Dokar Haƙƙin Zaɓe ta 1965, bayan harkar kare haƙƙin jama'a. Duk da cewa an ba su damar yin zaɓe a 1870 ta hanyar gyara na goma sha biyar ga kundin tsarin mulki, wanda ya hana hana wani zaɓe saboda launin fata ko kala, jihohin Kudu sun hana su wannan haƙƙi ta hanyar amfani da harajin kada ƙuri'a da sharuɗɗan mallakar dukiya daga gwamnatin tsakiya.

A cursory glance at the nations who continue to advocate such a view and who continue to intervene around the world in the name of democracy illustrates that such an argument holds no weight. In fact much of the developed world developed through antidemocratic polices and there is an argument that the absence of democracy aids development. When voting was first introduced in the West it was confined to a very small minority of land and property-owning men with an unequal number of votes apportioned according to a scale based on property, educational achievement and age. In the US, black males were only given voting rights in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 after the civil rights movement. Although they were permitted to vote in 1870 by the fifteenth amendment to the constitution which would not deny vote to anyone on account of race and colour, Southern sates were disfranchised through the use of poll tax and property conditions by central government.

Faransa a shekara ta 1830 ta ba da haƙƙin zaɓe ga waɗanda suka haura shekara 30 kuma suka biya harajin kai tsaye na franc 300, wanda ya kai kusan kashi 0.02% na yawan mutanen da ke cikin ƙasar, wato miliyan 32. A shekara ta 1848 zaɓen maza ya zama na kowa, kuma sai a lokacin Yaƙin Duniya na Biyu ne Faransa ta ba mata damar yin zaɓe, bayan ta riga ta ci gaba da masana'antu sosai. Japan ta samu zaɓe ga kowa bayan ta kai kololuwar ƙarfin sojanta, kuma ko a lokacin sharaɗi ne Amurka ta sanya mata, don rarraba iko daga tsohon tsarin mulki. Amurka ta ga ya dace ta ba Japan cikakken haƙƙin zaɓe a shekara ta 1952, amma ta ji cewa an buƙaci wasu shekaru 13 kafin a ba 'yan ƙasarta irin wannan haƙƙi! A shekara ta 1800, wadda ake ɗauka a matsayin kololuwar ƙarfin mulkin mallakar Birtaniya, kashi 3% kawai na al'ummar Birtaniya ne ke da haƙƙin zaɓe. Masu zaɓe waɗanda suka mallaki manyan filaye ne kawai, a cikin gundumomi daban-daban da aka kafa tun zamanin tsakiya, za su iya zaɓar 'yan majalisar Commons. Wannan tsari ya hana haƙƙin zaɓe ga 'yan kasuwa, masu masana'antu, da ma'aikata masu sana'a waɗanda ba su mallaki ƙasa ba. Yankunan da suka yi arziƙi shekaru ɗari da yawa kafin lokacin suna da wakilai fiye da kima a Majalisar, yayin da sabbin biranen da suka bunƙasa ba su da wakilci kwata-kwata. Wasu kujerun majalisa kusan mallakin mutane ɗaiɗai ne. Zuwa shekara ta 1867, kashi 13% na al'umma ne ke iya yin zaɓe. Sai a shekara ta 1928 (wato shekara 61 bayan haka) ne maza da mata suka sami daidaiton haƙƙin zaɓe. Dimokuraɗiyya tabbas ta zo ne bayan ci gaba, kuma ba ta taka wata rawa ba wajen tashin Birtaniya.