The Paradox of Democracy
Towards a Wiser Future (Part One)
Government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Abraham Lincoln famously defined democracy as government of the people, By The People, for the people, yet a government By The People, comprising of the entire population will struggle to make decisions, to say the least!
Thus all forms of democracy are confounded by one primary challenge.
How to provide “government of the people, By The People” across populations that run from thousands to billions of citizens.
That challenge leads to a paradoxical dilemma.
Any democratic system of government is undermined by the same mechanisms that provide it democratic legitimacy.
There is no perfect democracy. Every democracy is a precarious balancing act, designed to maximise its claim to democratic legitimacy while limiting the adverse side effects of that design.
The fall of electoral democracy
All major modern democracies solve the challenge of providing a legitimate democratic government via indirect government, where a tiny portion of the population is elected to represent The People and govern on their behalf. But this approach of using elected representatives leads to the severe and adverse side effects of Power.
Whenever power rests with a few, be they individual’s or parliaments, the attentions and privileges of power negatively affect the ability of that person to rule in the public interest, despite intentions and institutions like the Constitution.
This corroding of personalities and principles due to power is a non-negotiable side effect that can only be limited.
Modern democracies limit this side effect by requiring the election of these representatives every few years through “free and fair elections”. Although re-electing politicians every few years to represent our interests worked for a time, in recent decades this has become increasingly ineffective due to the sophistication of the lobby system and powerful vested interests. Our political structures with their party systems, career politicians, preference whisperers and backroom deals of quid pro quo are an easy target for those who can afford influence. In democracies around the world, the needs of the many are overlooked for the wishes of the few.
What if we all voted?
With the advent of the internet, there is an increasingly popular view that we should shift our political framework from indirect government by The People, to direct government, enabling citizens to participate actively in government through websites and apps that allow citizens to vote on issues as they arise. Although this limits the side effects of power as responsibility is spread so thinly no one individual or group can abuse it, an equally difficult challenge arises, the time demands of responsible citizenship.
Making wise decisions requires the consideration of many perspectives, conflicting evidence, context and understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each choice. Not unexpectedly, most of us don’t have the time or willingness to spend the time required for quality decision making. Instead, decisions will be predominantly made on public opinion.
The cost of public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of people’s initial response when asked about a specific issue. Most people don’t have thorough knowledge of an issue, so their opinion is formed through personal experience or that of their community, along with media impressions, from films to newspapers.
Direct democracy’s vulnerability arises as most people have no more than an opinion on complex issues in today’s world, given the lack of time and depth of knowledge required. This poor understanding of issues allows vested interests like corporations, lobby groups and mass media to manipulate public opinion and voting habits easily. Outcomes will predominantly serve the best advertisers rather than the common interest, much like today’s election campaigns. We’ll have populist decisions, rather than wise ones.
Since the first elected parliaments emerged hundreds of years ago, our world has been profoundly transformed by dramatic changes in media, technology, culture and globalisation. Across the entire political spectrum, recognition is growing that the institutions developed to limit the side effects of electoral government no longer work.
Yet as the delicate balance of our democracy tips towards oligarchy, an ancient democratic method is regaining currency and proving you don’t have to be wealthy, famous or well connected to contribute to healthy government and wise decision making.
