Some present-day democracies, like the UK, USA, or Spain had restricted, property-based voting rights in the 19th century. Arguably, a limited, incrementally expanding franchise helped foster rule of law in what were then very poor, profoundly unequal societies. Universal suffrage, while nominally fairer, has lead to demagoguery (or worse) in countries with uneducated masses. Would the 3rd world have been more stable, and possibly have developed more rapidly if voting rights were restricted to say, secondary school-graduates, or those renting multi-room apartments?