Deyarli barcha rivojlanish tadqiqotlarida demokratiya iqtisodiy yoki texnologik va ilmiy taraqqiyot uchun zaruriy shart sifatida qaraladi. Mancur Olson (Merilend universiteti), dunyoga mashhur iqtisodchi, mukofotga sazovor bo‘lgan "Hokimiyat va farovonlik" (2000) kitobida demokratik davlatlar boshqaruvning boshqa tizimlariga nisbatan odatda rivojlanib, taraqqiy etishini ko‘rsatgan. Olson anarxiya sharoitida faqat o‘g‘irlash va vayron qilishga rag‘bat borligini, diktatorning esa iqtisodiy yutuqlarni rag‘batlantirishdan manfaatdor ekanini ta’kidlagan, chunki u hokimiyatda uzoq qolishini va undan o‘z ulushini olishini kutadi. Demokratiyalarda esa fuqarolar va mulkning himoyasi katta farovonlikka olib kelishini, chunki rahbarlarni saylov qutisi orqali lavozimidan chetlatish mumkinligini kuzatgan. Olson demokratiyaga o‘tishda tsivilizatsiyaning urug‘larini ko‘rgan, farovonlik yo‘lini ochadigan, aholi istaklariga yaqinroq moslashtirish orqali yaxshi boshqaruv uchun rag‘batlarni yaxshilaydigan jarayonni ko‘rgan.

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.

Boshqa tadqiqotlar hatto demokratiyani iqtisodiy muvaffaqiyatning shartiga aylantirgan. Illinoys universitetining siyosatshunos mutaxassisi Evan Rodrik shunday ta'kidlagan: “Demokratiya boshqa institutlarni barpo etishga yordam beradigan ‘meta-institut’ sifatida, va demokratiya muvaffaqiyat uchun yagona mos institutsional shartdir.” (2) Demokratiyaning umumiy qabul qilingan ta'rifi bo'lmasa-da, har qanday ta'rif ega bo'lishi kerak bo'lgan ikkita tamoyil bor. Birinchi tamoyil – jamiyatning barcha a'zolari hokimiyatga teng kirish imkoniyatiga ega bo'lishi, ikkinchisi – barcha a'zolar umumiy tan olingan erkinliklar va huquqlardan foydalanishi.

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.

Ushbu fikrni ilgari surishda davom etayotgan davlatlarga va dunyo bo‘ylab demokratiya nomi bilan aralashuvda davom etayotgan davlatlarga bir nazar tashlasak, bunday dalil hech qanday vaznga ega emasligi ayon bo‘ladi. Aslida rivojlangan dunyoning katta qismi antidemokratik siyosatlar orqali rivojlangan va demokratiyaning yo‘qligi taraqqiyotga yordam beradi, degan fikr ham bor. G‘arbda ovoz berish birinchi marta joriy etilganda, u yer va mulk egasi bo‘lgan erkaklarning juda kichik bir ozchiligi bilan cheklangan edi. Ovozlar esa mulk, ma’lumot darajasi va yoshga asoslangan shkala bo‘yicha teng bo‘lmagan miqdorda taqsimlangan edi. AQShda qora tanli erkaklarga ovoz berish huquqi fuqarolik huquqlari harakatidan keyin, 1965-yildagi Ovoz berish huquqi to‘g‘risidagi qonunda berildi. Holbuki, 1870-yilda konstitutsiyaning o‘n beshinchi tuzatishi bilan ular irqi va rangi sababli hech kimdan ovoz berish huquqini rad etmaydigan tarzda ovoz berishga ruxsat etilgan edi. Biroq Janubiy shtatlar saylov solig‘i va mulkiy shartlardan foydalanish orqali markaziy hukumat tomonidan saylov huquqidan mahrum etildi.

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.

Fransiyada 1830 yilga kelib ovoz berish huquqi faqat 30 yoshdan katta bo‘lgan va to‘g‘ridan-to‘g‘ri soliqlar sifatida 300 frank to‘lagan kishilarga berilgan edi, bu 32 million aholining taxminan 0,02 foizini tashkil etardi. 1848 yilda erkaklar uchun umumiy saylov huquqi joriy etildi, ayollarga esa ovoz berish huquqi faqat Ikkinchi jahon urushi davrida, mamlakat sanoatlashganidan ancha keyin berildi. Yaponiya umumiy saylov huquqiga harbiy cho‘qqisiga erishganidan keyin erishdi va hatto bu AQSh tomonidan unga qo‘yilgan shart edi, maqsad hokimiyatni dastlabki tuzumdan uzoqlashtirish edi. AQSh Yaponiyaga 1952 yilga kelib to‘liq saylov huquqlarini berishni lozim topdi, ammo o‘z fuqarolariga xuddi shu huquqlarni berish uchun yana 13 yil kerak deb hisobladi! 1800 yilda, Britaniyaning mustamlakachilik ustunligining cho‘qqisi deb hisoblangan davrda, Britaniya aholisining atigi 3 foizi ovoz berish huquqiga ega edi. Faqat o‘zlariga yirik yer maydonlari tegishli bo‘lgan saylovchilar o‘rta asrlarda tashkil etilgan okruglar majmuasida Avvamlar palatasiga a’zolarni saylay olardi. Bu tizim yer egasi bo‘lmagan savdogarlar, ishlab chiqaruvchilar va malakali ishchilarni ovoz berish huquqidan mahrum qilardi. Yuzlab yillar avval gullab-yashnagan hududlar parlamentda haddan tashqari ko‘p vakillikka ega edi, yangi shahar markazlarining esa umuman vakili yo‘q edi. Ba’zi parlament o‘rinlari amalda alohida shaxslarning mulki hisoblanardi. 1867 yilga kelib aholining 13 foizi ovoz bera olardi. Erkaklar va ayollarga teng saylov huquqi berilishi uchun yana 61 yil, ya’ni 1928 yilgacha kutishga to‘g‘ri keldi. Demokratiya, albatta, rivojlanishdan keyin paydo bo‘ldi va Britaniyaning yuksalishida hech qanday rol o‘ynamadi.