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Is democracy really the best way to go? Can we be truly democratic if only the rich really influence democratic politics? How can we best support and extend our democracies? |
7.2 Conclusions on Democracy (Statement
38)
Democracy is a key value because
a)
its
liberating effect on individuals, making us happier,
b)
its
practical effect of improving the lot of the whole population not just an
elite;
Rule
of law involves representatives of the affected people. (Requirements refined over history, still
need to spread globally. Scared – eg of
social collapse- or selfish rulers still don’t want the rule of law –
Major
issue in democracy is the quality of the decision making.
The
major point is to have decisions made for the benefit of the people as a whole
rather than the benefit of the rulers.
History shows that path often has lead to social collapse (Diamond,
Communism, Dictatorships).
Hence
we have elected representatives, supposedly acting on our behalf. (Historically this works.)
We
need to ensure that they are working in our interests. (Because we acknowledge the evolutionary
tendencies of altruism and selfishness).
Hence
we have corruption commissions, separation of powers, independent audits,
independent statistics.
We
need to ensure that the programs are effective.
(Because we acknowledge uncertainty, complexity, changes in technology,
culture, and recognize modern science and management methods).
Hence
we have rules of openness, transparency, FOI.
Hence
we need freedom of expression and communication
Hence
critical element is informed voting, by an informed electorate.
Hence
we need education, to be informed.
Acknowledge different degrees of concern etc in brain development.
Hence
we need accurate reporting – journalism, in all media.
The best democracies:
● are
based on a written constitution, which includes provisions for resolving
disputes about the interpretation or implementation of the constitution and
includes provisions for changing the constitution by a universal vote;
● have
universal or almost universal suffrage – anyone should be allowed to vote –
perhaps even criminals, and voting should be fairly easy, and done in secret;
● allow
almost anyone to stand for election – the government of the day should not have
the power to exclude many candidates, and perhaps should not exclude anyone,
even criminals, leaving the choice to the voters;
● conduct
elections independently of the government, allowing candidates (or their
representatives) to scrutinize the process of collecting and counting votes;
●
● have
independent police and independent judiciary (the rule of law), equality before
the law, freedom of opinion and expression, openness and transparency in
government.
Power corrupts.
History shows that unconstrained regimes invariably lead to corruption
and abuse of the many to favour the “elite” in power. The “elite” may be determined by membership
of a family, clan, tribe or nation (common in Africa and the Middle East); or
by control over drug cartels (central America and south east Asia); or by beliefs
(Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox Christian in Europe, Sunni or Shi’ite Muslim
in the Middle East), or by caste (Brahmin vs Dalit in India); or by race (Han
vs the rest in China); or by wealth or control over resources (common in Europe
and the Americas)
Freedom of expression has an immense liberating
effect on individuals, especially those previously constrained from saying what
they think because of religion repression, totalitarian political oppression,
or commercial suppression of corporate criticism. It also promotes greater prosperity by
encouraging criticism of inefficient and corrupt practices. It is essential to the philosophical,
scientific and historical methods which involve publication and peer
review. It frees our inner thoughts, our
souls, from pretending to conform to unreal or harmful religious beliefs and
practices. It allows artists to provide
us with greater stimulation, enjoyment and insight. Freedom of expression promotes prosperity and
joy.
The rule of law includes a written constitution
supported by the people, some form of a bill or charter of rights, written laws
(that generally are not retrospective) as legislation passed by the elected
government, an independent police force, an independent judiciary, a humane and
independent prison system, rights of appeal, open and transparent trials, and
adequate legal representation for the accused.
Equality before the law is obviously, and
justifiably just: there are no grounds for one person or group to be deemed
better or more privileged than another in legal matters.
Accountability is implemented by transparency,
open government, freedom of information, elected representative government,
free and fair elections, open question time in parliament, the separation of
powers (legislative, judicial and administrative), independent corruption
commissions,
Accountability
promotes greater efficiency and effectiveness.
Accountability mitigates against – but doesn’t
prevent – an inequitable allocation of resources due to the natural human
tendencies towards, selfishness, nepotism, cronyism and sectarianism. Ignorance in the electorate, ideological
biases in the whole community, unwitting and deliberate distortions of the
truth by the government, ignorant and biased reporting by the media, and the
sheer complexity and size of modern government, can all cover up misuse of
resources, using taxes to transfer wealth from the poor to the rich, to
subsidize and protect business at the expense of the consumer (without
compensating increasing in employment).
History has shown national democracies are more
successful than dictatorships or totalitarian regimes, with respect to economic
prosperity, equality and human happiness.
History also shows that democratically run business corporations don’t
last: managers must be able to manage, but must be compelled to do so within
humane guidelines.
But even national democracies have
limitations. As Churchill said, it is
the worst sort of government, except for all the others. To compensate for its limitations we must
raise the general education level so that voters select better politicians and
care about long term outcomes and strategic matters. We must also continually refine the
democratic structures to improve freedom, equity, the rule of law and accountability,
by encouraging civil society.
Rule of law involves representatives of the
affected people. (Requirements refined
over history, still need to spread globally.
Scared – eg of social collapse- or selfish rulers still don’t want the
rule of law –
Major issue in democracy is the quality of the
decision making.
·
The
major point is to have decisions made for the benefit of the people as a whole
rather than the benefit of the rulers.
History shows that path often has lead to social collapse.
·
Hence
we have elected representatives, supposedly acting on our behalf.
·
Because
we acknowledge the evolutionary tendencies of both altruism and selfishness, we
need to design our institutions ensure that our representatives are working in
our interests;
·
Hence
we need the separation of powers (independent judiciary and independent police
forces, separate from the legislature and the administrative functions of
government), and we also need independent corruption commissions, independent
audits and independent statistics.
Because we acknowledge uncertainty, complexity,
changes in technology, culture, and recognize modern science and management
methods, we need to ensure that that government polices and programs are
effective.
·
Hence
we have rules of openness and transparency, freedom of expression and
communication, and freedom of information laws, so government actions can be
review, by affected individuals and organizations, academics, non-government
organizations and the general public.
·
This
process is similar to the peer review process which is central to the
scientific method.
A critical element of any democracy is informed
voting, by an informed electorate.
·
We
need education to provide an understanding of the structure and process of
government, the issues that societies face, and the techniques of persuasion
that all politicians use.
·
We
need accurate reporting of government and politicians activities, which
requires good journalism, broadcast via all media.
A critical part of our liberal democracies is
the tolerance we bear to minorities and those who disagree with us. But we ccannot allow our liberalism to
allow fanatical minority groups to impose undemocratic regimes on powerless
individuals. We must have one law for
all.