The different democracies of individuals and groups
I have started travelling by Mumbai local trains again after more than a decade. Nothing much has changed since then. The trains and stations are much more crowded, yes. But the new generation of travelers looks and behaves pretty much like the old generation. I had hoped that there would be improvements. The only good change is that most people are busy with their mobile phones.Last month in a particularly crowded train, I got in to a compartment where a group of middle aged businessmen had set up residence. Conversing at the top of their voices, they had made an already uncomfortable journey even more uncomfortable for their fellow travelers. It is not that they were oblivious of the discomfort being caused. The people most inconvenienced standing near to them were making their displeasure obvious and a few individuals even asked them to tone it down. But these guys were in a large group, and retorted back — its a democracy, and if you don’t like it, just cover your ears, or something to that effect. Obviously, they had their own view of what democracy means, and very simply put, it equates to “Majority Wins!”
I had a similar experience at a domestic airport a few years back. There was a big group of people traveling on the same flight. They were also seemingly oblivious to their fellow travelers (outside their group). The chaos was mind-blowing. There was a group leader in a couple of boarding queues to manage the group, negotiate extra luggage, get the best seats, stall for time if some members were yet to arrive, shuffle people across queues etc. It was frustrating to stand in a queue for half an hour and then find out that the guy two places ahead of you is a place holder for 7 or 8 families to check-in. Why not get everybody to stand in the queue so that others could take an informed decision on which queue to stand in? The fun didn’t end at boarding. The in-flight cacophony was mind blowing as well. Getting into the plane. Getting into your seat. Finding space for hand luggage. Getting something to eat. Everything was a chore. Well, what can you say? I guess the individuals outside the group should consider themselves lucky that they were allowed to get into the flight and make the journey. It would take a courageous individual to protest. After all, “Majority Wins!”
The worrying part is that these groups truly believed that there was nothing wrong in what they were doing. The groups consisted of educated and successful people — those whose needs in life were taken care of. And yet, they had nothing telling them that other individuals’ reasonable rights and comfort were not to be trampled by the group’s size-derived power.
One has to wonder what we all think democracy means. The basic premise of a democracy is that every individual is important. Every individual has the right to be heard and to cast a vote based on his individual opinion. In a democracy, the majority does not trample or coerce the rights of individuals. Democracy cannot be reduced to mere mobocracy. I shudder to think of the implications of a society where no one remembers or understands why it is so important for the rights of every individual be respected and protected.
Of course, more than a democracy, it is our social values that are at question here. We in India, pride ourselves that we are culturally very tolerant and democratic. And yet, these very traits seem to be absent in our regular daily social behavior.
Of course, we are a complex country and people, and we can simultaneously be ultra-caring, hospitable and empathetic to strangers in certain specific situations e.g. if there is a crisis. I just hope that the later tendency is not irreversibly overpowered. We will all end up on the losing side. There can always be a bigger group. But the best societies are those where even individuals are big, not small.
