What’s With “Democracy”, Really?
My previous article about “democracy” seemed to have interested some friends. I thought it would not be fair to criticize without putting my own opinion out there. So here I am.
Growing up in China, I did not spend my young age participating in heated debates of political issues. In school, we were made to memorize terms and ideas, but, looking back now, I think more valuable education came in other ways. It is a kind of education that is like the air we breathe, it’s everywhere. It is in how a Chinese character is written, it is in how to cook a dish properly, it is in the way we spontaneously relate to family members and friends. Everyday life provides Chinese the philosophical education about how our world works — the human society and the nature are not that different.
Policies are no more than tools to serve a goal or purpose. As American scholar Donella H. Meadows observed in her timely game changing classic “Thinking in Systems” (2008) — “The least obvious part of the system, its function or purpose, is often the most crucial determinant of the system’s behavior.”
I was reminded of Taoist wisdom that, when we fail at being pure-minded, we resort to ethics; when we fail at being ethical, we resort to manners. There is a hierarchy to things. When talking about politics, I often find us talking about the less important things. Unfortunately, most of the journalism out there do focus on eye-catching labels, juicy and tasty aspects of the facts, or seemingly objective numbers. This kind of influence drive our thoughts and discussions towards the sentimentalistic and more superficial layer. It is hard to become aware how far we are from the really important things when talking about politics. When thinking is less than effective, the discussion and decision making that follow cannot be that good.
The ideal of “democracy” and a system built attempting to realize this ideal are often confused. The voting system in the west, is a system built trying to align with the ideal of “democracy”. This system, let’s be honest, is only a compromised result of power struggle between different groups of people in the society, across a certain historical periods. This system must evolve and adapt, like all systems do. The surprising thing is how many people in the west have held the belief that having the voting system as it is is a sign of having “democracy”, having realizing the democracy ideal itself.
For this reason, I want to make it clear that I do not believe, just because a country do not have a voting system in the western style, this country is not democratic. I believe the democracy ideal can be attempted in many different ways, adapted to the local culture and the particular historical situation. I believe all countries on earth are on their own path to this ideal. And because their paths are so different, it is not fair to put them in a competition of some sort. Needless to say, the countries with more resources can invest much more time and energy in improving their political constitutions, while some other countries are still busying themselves saving their people from starvation, or struggling to provide education and health care for all residents. Judging the weaker countries is definitely not a democratic behavior. It would be difficult to make any sensible suggestion without first spending considerable time getting to know the history and culture of that country.
When I think about “democracy”, an ancient Chinese proverb always comes to mind — “As water can float a boat, so can it swallow the boat”, or in Chinese “水能载舟，亦能覆舟”. I believe this metaphor demonstrates very well the relationship between the leading party and the people.
It is said that the ancient Chinese society had much more fluid vertical movement across the hierarchy than most western countries, thanks to the centralized examination system. When the French visited China one century ago they were so fond of it that they copied it, and built their whole national research network (CNRS) after its model. Since many centuries, studying and excelling in one of those exams organized by the government has been one sure way to elevate one’s social class in China.
I grew up hearing stories of poor and hard working scholars coming from all classes from ancient China. A common theme is the fox fairy stories. Usually they disguised as mysterious and charming girls who appeared in the middle of the night while the poor young man studied alone, offering magical help and companionship. This must have been the dream of many lonesome scholars. The poor scholar imagery abounds in movies, TV series, poems, anecdotes, video games… Even today, when the country is still not rich enough to make all schools free, many Chinese are so obsessed with the ideal that “education should be free” that they would ignore the copyright law and share scanned studying materials in online forums, which I benefited from. In the west, books have been extremely expensive and only available to the privileged, until a couple of centuries ago when cheaper books were invented and mass-produced books became available to the general public in the United States. This were considered a form of “democratization of education” in the west.
Water is an imagery loved by the Chinese. Things move naturally and nothing is casted in stone. The society, like nature, has its own chaotic order, and this order must be respected through a degree of fluidity. With this spirit, in an ideal world, the people are supposed to trust their ruler, and the ruler is supposed to let the opinions and sentiments of all classes come through the layers, and make adjustments for all people. I think this mechanism works well, as long as the leader is wise and always remember the dualistic nature of the people, just like the water. The current situation in China is very complexed, born from a particularly challenging historical period. There is much to improve, but I think generally the government is trying its best and doing a decent job.
Going back to the water and boat image, I believe to effectively realize the democracy ideal, it is important to establish social respect for order. We have to understand who are the ones running the boat, and who are the ones playing the wave.
A question always comes to mind when I heard about the voting system in the west: why is there no credential required for people to take decision for the future of their country? If we need drivers’ license to drive a vehicle on the road, why wouldn’t we need some form of education and test before letting people vote? Is running a country any easier than running a vehicle? If it’s too dangerous for drivers to “learn as they do”, why is it not too dangerous for voters to try their hands on ruling a whole country?
With all the above said, I have to admit that I do not think I myself am well-informed enough to make decisions about ruling the country — any country I have lived in. So if I was asked to vote in any western country I would feel very stressed (in reality this would not happen as my nationality is Chinese). I have chosen to help make the world a better place in other ways — like painting and writing, and I am dedicating my whole life to educate myself.
Another issue that bothers me a lot when reading about politics is that “democracy” seems to be applied only within each country, but not across the national borders. Countries who do not have the same system like in the west are considered inferior, and people from these countries are subjected to “reeducation” without being listened to.
In a video art I saw at documenta 14 in Kassel in 2017, the national flags of different countries are burnt one after another. The message was that true democracy means the abolishment of “country”.
Will this happen? Probably not in my life time. While I think this is very extreme, I believe we have a lot to gain if all countries move towards that direction. After living in so many different countries, I really think it would benefit all of us if we open up our mind and truly learn to each other. Diversity is so important and our differences inspire us to grow! It is very hard, there will be a lot of unexpected difficulty, but that is the way to go.
