The Flaw of Democracy
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The Concept of Democracy
Firstly, it is important to discuss the concept of democracy; a complex and difficult concept to decipher. The term ‘democracy’ is well-known to have originated from the Greek polis state, Athens, in the 5th BC, formed from the words: demos (people) and kratos (power) meaning the ‘rule of the people’. However, Plato detested democracy believing it was the ‘rule of doxa’ (opinion) over philosophia (knowledge) even though it had already excluded the voices of women and slaves. Aristotle, Plato’s student departed from such an extreme view and concluded that ‘democracy’ is a necessary condition for a good condition but far from sufficient. It was suggested that democracy would take form in its ability to encompass collectively:
a principle/doctrine of government
a set of institutional arrangements/constitutional devices
a ‘type of behaviour’
Modern-day democracy has since evolved, and it is defined by its laudable attempts to incorporate simple and enlightening concepts, values and practices categorised below:
Role of the inhabitants
There is an active encouragement of voluntary political participation in the role of the state, but it is not compulsory.
Official doctrines
There is a tolerance of diverse doctrines as long as behaviour does not directly threaten public order or the safety of the state.
Typical social structure
A large middle class is essential. Wealth should be distributed so that extremes of wealth are not in the hands of a few and does not allow for extremes of poverty.
Typical institutions of government
Institutions of government (the parliament, the assembly, all elective…) debate in public and in a multi-party system.
Type of economy
In theory, it is a capitalist economy, but it is decidedly or unconsciously a mixed economy.
Attitudes to law
Laws are made by the representative assembly or parliament of which citizens believe in and abide to.
Attitudes to knowledge
Knowledge must be spread and remote from censorship through the growth of newspapers. However, this effective aspect of democracy depends on people having access to reasonably accurate information.
These features do not always go together making the practicality of democracy a contested concept which carries different social, moral or political agenda.
Assaults on democracy
In the US, democracy is on a decline because of a polarised electorate, lack of firm and moral leadership and the current pandemic shining light onto and exacerbating the flaws of electoral systems. The effects of these problematic factors had begun to rapidly culminate arguably since the 2016 election of the soon-to-be impeached former President Donald Trump. It reached its peak when the violent and shocking capitol riots truly unnerved the rest of the world. The main culprit for such an unforgettable event would be because of an increasingly digitised world allowing former President Trump to spread unreliable and over-exaggerated news. However, the reaction from technology companies is quite debatable for example, Twitter has permanently suspended Donald Trump’s account, contradicting ‘attitudes to knowledge’ and therefore undermining aspects of democracy such as free speech and the ideals of an open internet. The CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has also admitted that the ban was ‘right’ but also ‘dangerous’. Trump’s excessive use of social media has also successfully trapped his supporters in a ‘Trump bubble’ (a bubble devoted to Trump’s words) which will create a legacy of polarised voters in the future as many Republican voters (speculated to be at least half) believe the election was rigged. The modern-day nation that represents democracy could not be more divided.
Within the EU, further COVID-19 disruption can be seen with the conflict regarding the distribution of recovery funds as increasingly autocratic countries such as Hungary and Poland have vetoed against activating the €750bn recovery plan, preventing start of an injection of €1.8tn total package for the EU’s economy. This is because a condition attached to the recovery plan was to ensure countries will uphold democratic values. The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán has passed a ‘coronavirus legislation’ through a two-thirds majority, allowing him near-limitless power to rule by decree. Additionally, Hungary has become the first country within the EU to authorise the use of Sinopharm, the Chinese vaccine that is yet to show credible Phase 3 trial data, undermining the EU’s strict drug trials restrictions. It appears that Hungary has obtained a new-found ally within Asia outside of the Western bloc as China has praised Hungary for being ‘efficient’. In Poland, the Law and Justice (PiS) government has taken control of the previously independent National Council of Judiciary and appointed the nation’s judges thought to be the party’s loyalists. This explains why the massive riots over the country’s anti-abortion legislation have been ignored, prohibiting the ‘role of the inhabitants’ and changing ‘attitudes to law’. An erosion of democracy has been achieved due to an imbalance of power between the judiciary and the executive branches.
Across Asia, the world’s largest populated democracy is also under threat. India, home to 1.366bn of the world’s population, is embroiled with the farmers’ protests against new agriculture laws which deregulates the market but leaves farmers at great risks of being forced to sell their lands, losing their livelihoods and plunging them further into poverty. The government has reacted to this by trying to limit the spread of ideals through blocking mobile internet at sites of farmers’ protest and by mobilising police force into protest camps. This has led to violent clashes on the grounds of New Delhi’s Red Fort, a symbol of India’s power, sovereignty and independence where one protestor has died and 80 police officers were injured. Although India is clearly rejecting ‘the role of inhabitants’, it is also abiding by another concept of democracy- striving for a more ‘capitalist economy’. As India begins to develop, it will have to be careful in terms of balancing the social demands as a democracy but also pushing forward with a more open economy.
Throughout the world’s democratic regimes, all forms of governments are desperate to gain control and power at the expense of sacrificing the values which uphold democracy. It varies from selfish and personal gains to a genuine belief in the welfare of the country or sometimes even a mixture of both. As mentioned above, the flaw of democracy is that it is a fluid concept with contradicting values and principles which is not always suited for the specific democratic country. Plato believed that history is cyclical and that monarchy degenerates into tyranny, tyranny provokes democratic revolt but he wrongly assumes democracy proves to be anarchic and therefore tyrannical or monarchical rule is restored. Alternatively, perhaps it is the flaws of democracy that adds value to democracy. With will, political skill and luck to preserve a country through time, it is believed world leaders can learn from these flaws to guide them back onto the right track but it will not be easy.
by Ke Thie Kiew