This was written a month or so ago for the last issue of Montage. Next issue should be out soon.
George W. Bush prescribed democracy and capitalism as the cure to all the world’s ills. Now capitalism has crashed and democracy has some explaining to do. Democracy literally means people (demos) rule (kratos). Rule by the people. The definition varies, but two core elements (as per Wikipedia) are that people have access to power and universally recognized freedoms and liberties. It means that people have access to the levers of power and the freedom to do something with them. Democracy, however, has been advertised as peace, prosperity and Baywatch all in one – delivered via an anonymous vote. And then we wonder why we end up electing the same feudal lords and ignoring our imported Constitutions. It’s because we’ve mistaken means for an end. Democracy is not a fish, it’s a fishing rod. If you try to eat a fishing rod you get splinters in your mouth. If you educate and empower yourself you can get more fish.
Democracy isn’t voting. Voting is how you choose representatives, but the people aren’t then supposed to eat their lunch packet and go home. In a democracy the people don’t just periodically choose, they rule. That means they need to stay involved in the political process through their elected representatives, the press, civil society, social networking and – if needs be – the street.
Yet in much of the Global South, democracy just means electing the same colour or feudal family that your family did and then going home. These people don’t have power, they just have a vote. The real power lies with the man handing out the lunch packets.
The result is a feudal system where people elect their lords and expect government jobs and support in return. The urban elites which could access power in other ways don’t vote at all, so you’re left with masses of voters with no access and elites with no votes. Neither group has real power, and neither rules.
Southern democracy has also failed because people lack the freedom to do much beyond vote. In the name of terrorism or growth free media and speech are largely restricted. This to public acclaim, from Sri Lanka to Singapore. Since democracy is advertised as being peace and prosperity, it becomes acceptable to take this shortcuts. Indeed, free speech and other fundamental rights often get in the way. Of course, this misses the point. The point is self-rule, not any particular result, and freedom is essential for people to rule themselves.
So what we’re left with is a situation where democracy is doomed to fail not because of what it is but because of how it’s understood. The people that understand don’t vote and the people that vote don’t understand.
The way out is to promote democracy not as a way to get richer, safer or more like the west but as a simple means to self-rule. And that means more than voting. People need to start demanding better after-sales service from their government as well. People need to channel their complaints about government into organizations and the will to run for office themselves. The elites need to start actually voting, and the masses need to start actually participating. If the elites think the masses are stupid they should educate them. If the masses think the elites are elitist they should talk to them on the same level.
Democracy is getting a bad reputation in the Global South because we’ve used it like lipstick on a pig. Inky fingers on dirty hands. Democracy is not peace and prosperity, and neither is promised. Democracy is self-rule, by the people. Any promises we make to are to each other. The question isn’t whether you want more money or more safety, though those things will come. The fundamental question is, do you want to rule?
You are right. Democracy is fragile flower, it takes a long time to root and needs some maturity in the population if it is to succeed.
With wealth, a transition to democracy is possible and will be demanded: see the examples of S. Korea and Taiwan. Singapore was always democratic, but was ruled with an iron fist, this has been loosened a lot over the last couple of decades.
More on the subject here:
http://jestforkicks.blogspot.com/2008/12/is-truly-representative-democracy.html
well…. the fact remains that the majority of Sri Lankans are just fine with the way things are going at the moment.
we’re winning the war, the rich/poor devide is not as bad as venezuela for example and we’re not living in gut wrenching poverty like the Phillipines or Bangladesh,
so i guess the people have spoken, the masses have… they like the way things are going,
as for the murder of LW and other human rights violations… the people seem fine with it, they tolerate it….
so this is a very good democracy in action i guess, if the people don’t use the power that they have nobody but the people can be blamed, beleive me there have been tremendous uprisings in countries going through worse shit… so if our people are passive/happy, then so be it…. the people have decided!
you can’t force a person to be politically active can you… you can do your bit but… hey, the people have to make the final call…..
I don’t think capitalism had crashed, not at least the “economic system of perfect liberty’ Adam Smith explains. What crashed was a Paris Hilton style economy, a done nothing economy, for so many years. It is not a fault of capitalism, when some cheat on the report card. If 40% of a economy is just numbers on papers, then it is not an real economy. It is a magic trick.
Democracy always does not do the right thing. In fact, it often does utterly wrong things. Example, gay marriage ban in California. So we cannot say, democracy is not in perfect action in Sri Lanka, because we are not doing right things.
Why democracy when you get everything for free. We born for free, in a government hospital, vaccinate for free, go to school for free, go to university for free, and even get a government job for free and get a pension for free too. So it is not like you really have to worry. Well, at least if EVERYONE pay taxes at the end of the year, like they do in US, people may grow an interest to civic duties.
We sure do not understand the meaning or the use of democracy. It was just planted on us. Not like we were philosophically mature enough to build it by ourselves. But as a tiny country, faced three undemocratic uprising in short history, one happed to be with the world most effective terrorist organization, we are doing pretty dam well. Just think if this happen in any other third world country, army may have already taken over.
I also had a bitter taste about Sri Lankan democracy back then, but now I leaning more and more about rest of the world, specially the way American democracy runs, we are not so bad for current circumstances. Not that it can be better. It can be far far better.
i don’t think people actually realize how much better life could be if democracy was actually ‘put in action’. That works fine for the powerful they just advertise to convince the masses that they are better off putti9ng up with things, oppress them in a way. And they pay off the elites with tax holidays and business breaks that keep their mouth shut also.
But the real power potentially lies in the masses. And i think technology can be used in a revolutionary way to aid this. I’m thinking real time online public voting on resolutions passed in the parliament etc. Actually participating in the running of the country rather than just deciding who will run it for the next 5 or so years. The system of democracy right now has vast inefficiencies and it’s about time the world improved upon it using the resources at our disposal.
The people that understand don’t vote and the people that vote don’t understand. That’s my motto
I’m all for this. I think democracy needs an upgrade.
I’m certainly not for this. Get real. People barely understand the rights and responsibilities they have right now. You want them deciding on complex Parliamentary bills?
I’m not just talking about Sri Lankans here mind you. Various ill-conceived ballot initiatives over the years have made it virtually impossible for the state of California to work out a rational budget. And let’s not even start on gay marriage.
Switzerland is famous for its direct democracy. But hardly anyone even bothers to vote at their periodic referenda. And that’s really the best-case scenario. It may be far worse if they did.
Let’s not confuse technological advancement with enlightenment. You think we need even more populism, more majoritarianism than we have now? That’s what this will get you. Legislation by mob. Thanks but no thanks.
That’s what people said about giving the ‘mob’ the vote in the first place.
Personally I think that eventually it’ll come to benevolent artificial intelligence which takes votes as one input, along with economic data, environmental data, social network information, etc.
Well that’s just my point. In a properly functioning representative democracy, legislation is influenced by a diversity of inputs much like your artificial intelligence. Under direct democracy, the votes become the only input.
If the goal here is to check the power of politicians, I’m in total agreement with that. But there are more effective ways to so. And we must surely leave some space for leadership. For doing the right thing, even if it’s unpopular.
With regard to the bills being passed, what about legislated public comment periods similar to what the Environmental Review/development process in countries like the US/UK require. Availability of information would be key but the more people get wired and the easier it is to get information like the bills to be passed, people might (with some prodding) be more inclined to get involved in the process.