The ideal political system of a country is not necessarily dependent on the level of economic development. Development can be defined as the economic wellbeing and standard of living of a country. The term ‘ideal political system’ can have multiple facets but I believe that it is a system that cares about minority rights and creates a system that benefits all members of society. I will mention why a totalitarian system is not beneficial for developing countries as well as mentioning key political systems such as communism and whether they can be classified as ‘ideal’ for any country, no matter their level of economic development. 

A country's ideal political system may depend on its level of economic development as developing countries can be considered to need a leader that will be willing to negotiate with and accept aid from other countries. Yet most importantly, they must be willing to implement policies that foster growth and development. This means that a totalitarian regime is not an ideal political system for developing countries. It is far from ideal for all countries no matter their level of development, but developing countries may struggle the most as the leader, possibly a dictator, may be selfish and ignore the needs of the people as well as the poor economic state of the country. There are currently 52 countries in the world classified as under a dictatorship with the majority developing countries. Thus, a more liberal political system such as democracy is more ideal for developing countries. This not only means the population can express their concerns but there is also a chance for independent organisations to help people and alleviate poverty. People may also be more content with their voices being heard and looking at history there may be a decrease in violence against minority groups. This increase in wellbeing leads to further productivity, an increase in output causing growth and thus more development. 

However, the ideal political system of a country can be seen as not dependant on the level of development as democracy is also greatly beneficial to a developed country and a dictatorship/totalitarian regime is not as much. Democracy is the ‘will of the people’ and with citizens having a voice in society they are able to propose policies to progress society and they are likely to be happier, increasing their overall wellbeing. Democracies can also build relationships with other countries through foreign aid and trade deals, increasing the development of the country and well-being of the world as a whole. They can also maintain the development of the country by striking agreements on world issues such as the Paris Agreement, solidifying the reputation of the country globally. 

Communism cannot compete with democracy, and thus is an example of a political system that is not ideal for any developed or developing country. Inequality may be seen as reduced due to wages being set as equal for all and prices set by the government to an affordable price. However, in the past, such as under the communist rule of Stalin, high ranking members of the Communist Party had more privileges and a better life than other ordinary people. This shows how development may not occur in a communist state as inequality would still persist with people stuck in the poverty loop. Furthermore, as the free market is abolished, this means that the officials lack information on the correct prices to set goods thus they economy may be at risk of collapsing. With a lack of incentive from the small proportion of skilled workers such as doctors, bankers and teachers, due to them receiving the same pay as unskilled labourers, they may flee the country. This is at the detriment to society as there is a decline in professional services and may lead to poor growth and development. Certain aspects of communism as universal free healthcare, free education and social care could be perceived as beneficial to society but this does not mean that the entire political system can be deemed as ideal as people lack freedom and are persecuted for standing against the regime. Certain countries, especially democracies, have achieved a hybrid market economy where they use free healthcare and certain businesses are nationalised, with the UK being a prime example.   

Moreover, there are examples of highly developed countries which are currently forms of  dictatorships, such as Russia. It is a widely held view that development would improve much faster if dictatorial countries had instead a more democratic systems. Yet Russia is an example of a country that is flourishing even greater than some relatively strong democratic economies in the world, whilst being under dictatorial regime. These leaders and their predecessors have taken their countries from poverty to prosperity and continue to help grow their economies. The development in Russia has stemmed from the natural resources and the fact that they have ignored sanctions imposed on them by the western countries. 

 Whilst some political systems can create high levels of development, there are elements of the political system that could hinder development meaning they are not ‘ideal’. Lack of freedom of speech, consumer rights are suppressed and possible violence against innocent people are aspects of a dictatorship which suppress the wellbeing of people and prevent any development. Evidently, there are only certain political systems that are ‘ideal’ for both developing and developed countries. Although it can be argued that without these features, the countries may have benefited from further development. Yet it is difficult to assess whether another political system such as democracy would have been better as each country is different and has had its own journey to economic development so comparison between China and another democratic country is not quite valid. 

Overall, the ideal political system of a country is not necessarily dependent on the level of economic development as there are certain systems such as communism and dictatorships that are far from ideal no matter the level of development of the country as the negatives outweigh the positives. Despite the majority of systems being seen as ‘ideal’ for developed countries, most political systems are not ideal for a developing country, yet it greatly depends upon the leader and the stability of the country. Some democracies have failed to create development and some dictatorships have succeeded in creating development, but it is all about the people. Some people are happy to comply with a regime as long as they are economically well off but some value their freedom more leading to different systems qualifying as ideal.