Democracy

A government by the people, of the people and for the people; does not exist.

If you read the thoughts of the Greek philosophers, they all thought Democracy was the worst form of governance. Because… What they meant by democracy was wildly different from what we have been made to believe it is. 

Democracy to them meant giving people the right to vote on each and every decision. Giving power to the poor to determine what to do with the wealth of the rich would make sure that all the poor will distribute their wealth and leave everyone poor. Another variant of this argument is often used to defend Capitalism. If one is not allowed to hoard money, there would be no incentive to make any. 

The Magna Carta is often cited as the beginning of modern democracy. It was the document that declared that the King was not above the law. In reality, it was meant to provide power to the wealthy in England.

The American Constitution was also written with similar thoughts in mind. “All men are created equal (so long as they are landowners…)”. If we were to turn back time and ask the Founders what was the most egregious mistake in the document, this omission is what they would cite.

The founding of the United States was so skewed, that the Bill of Rights had to be introduced through an amendment. 

Democracy meant asking for consensus on every issue. This would mean everyone is allowed to participate in every decision. Even the most liberal readers of this blog would be squirming at the thought. While this might seem rather odd and impractical let me illustrate why this is important.

The form of government that all countries that call themselves Democracies follow is the Representative form of government.

In this form of government, false promises are made, and agendas are brandished during an “election season”. Once the representatives have been voted into power they do what the fuck ever they like. 

Democracy as practised today is how we lose power, not take it!

Say, legislation about making education free for all was being voted upon. Would the “people” have any power over how the representative voted? Even if 90% of the people want the representative to vote ‘yes’, the representative is free to vote ‘no’. This is what dictatorship looks like. 

The media and news cycles exist to distract you from this fact.

If there are 4 years between the vote and the next election, there is enough time to distract the populace and change the news cycle completely by the time the next elections arrive. 

Consequentially, we have a political class that is full of scoundrels only good at winning elections. One is a little more considerate towards the scoundrels who tend to echo one’s beliefs. BJP is full of scoundrels, and so is Congress. Neither side is any better but that is the choice you are forced to make. 

Democrats are supposed to be liberal, business-unfriendly and climate-friendly; but Biden went ahead and gave permission for oil exploration in Alaska. The Republicans are the ones who are considered to be in bed with the oil lobby. For all the abuse heaped at Trump, apparently, Biden is the better liar. 

In effect, democracy has become the game of choosing the better liar.