Acharya Prashant addresses the question of why democracies seem to be failing against the COVID-19 pandemic compared to authoritarian systems like China's. He begins by affirming that democracy is undoubtedly the best among all political systems conceived by humanity so far. However, he clarifies that the success of a democracy is contingent upon certain conditions being met. He explains that while democracy grants power to the common people to elect their leaders, this power comes with a profound responsibility. Citing the adage that rights and duties are two sides of the same coin, he asserts that for a democracy to function effectively, both the government and the citizens must strive to elevate their level of consciousness, mind, and knowledge to make sound decisions. If the populace in a democracy is unconscious, the system descends into anarchy, marked by internal conflicts, factionalism, and a waste of national energy, a situation he observes in India. The speaker outlines two fundamental prerequisites for a successful democracy: the populace must be educated and informed about worldly affairs, and simultaneously, they must be conscious and aware of their inner world. This self-awareness includes understanding one's own tendencies like jealousy, fear, greed, and sectarianism, which enables them to make decisions that are original and authentic, rather than being swayed by various influences. Without this inner clarity, an individual is not a true individual but a 'mob' of influences, causing democracy to degenerate into mobocracy. He clarifies that mobocracy is not just about physical crowds but also about individuals whose minds are a crowd of external influences, rendering their opinions not truly their own. Acharya Prashant argues that freedom is not cheap; it must be earned through effort and discipline. In many democracies, people have been granted freedom without paying this price. The consequence is that everyone feels entitled to do and say as they please, without a corresponding sense of duty. This has led to the spread of misinformation and a lack of discipline, which became evident during the pandemic. He states that when an unconscious populace elects its leaders, the leaders themselves will be unconscious, and their poor decisions will ultimately harm the people. This, he concludes, is the very weakness that allows the Chinese media to mock the state of democracies today.