Democracy

Does it matter that the recent Nigerian elections were apparently a shambles? Are Fatah or Hamas the real palestinean leaders? Are Maliki and Karzai 'puppet presidents'? Should we care? Is democracy the best form of government? Or is democracy (as Winston Churchill said) "the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried"!

I have several problems with (even non corrupt) democracy as a form of government:

• The people are not always right! Just because everyone has a choice, doesn't mean they know the right thing to do or even what's best for them. Ignorance, folly, and propaganda mean that a truly democratic majority vote does not necessarily equal "right". Wise leaders must be able, when needed, to temper or even defy the will of the people for the good of the country. With some issues (for example national security) the government will have access to private information and may have to make unpopular decisions. Controversial decisions may be in the best interest of the country (eg. GM crops, road pricing or nuclear energy) but would not be supported in a vote.
• Democracy must be flawed in order to even work. No country has a fully democratic system as giving all people a choice on every decision would be practically unworkable. Stable democracy as we know it requires the vast majority of decisions to be taken by elected representatives and civil servants. This can lead to apathy and poor voter turnout. However, this may be a good thing! (see my first point)
• Democratically elected politicians have to please the voters. Joe Public is generally pro-local-economy and pro-government-spending but anti-taxes and anti-foreigners. He will generally vote for the politician who shares (or pretends to share) his particular bias. This delivers lousy government - like in Northern Ireland where this has led to single issue politics, neglecting other important issues and the country suffers.
• The majority vote may lead to discrimination towards minorities. This is especially true if the minority group is underrepresented in government and can occur in urban vs. rural, public vs. private sector, as well as with racial/tribal/geographical inequalities (common in African democracies).
• Democratic governments often only think in the short term. They might look for popular "quick fixes" which will get votes at the expense of long term development. For example, taking out a massive loan in order to cut taxes and increase public spending would be popular now but unfair on future governments.
• National democracy cannot handle international issues like global environment, free trade, international crises, etc.
• Even democracy has been tainted by celebrity (Example: Arnold Swarchenegger). Increased media attention in modern politics leads to more dumbing down and candidates who think that being on TV is, by itself, an achievement. The media has its own biases and can influence who wins an election. People are influenced by media to vote for the more charismatic candidate rather than the best candidate. Example: London mayor. Thanks to a free press, even the government gets drawn into "spinning" stories. This also means that our elected political leaders are forced to react to the issues that the unelected press moguls choose to pursue rather than following a pro-active agenda.
• The candidate with the most money usually wins the election and those without access to such funding are either excluded from the process or forced to compromise with wealthy backers in order to secure financial support.
  (In a party system)
• The voter cannot vote for or against a particular issue but only for a party or candidate and is therefore forced to support all or none of their policies.
• In a system with more than two parties, a party which represents less than a majority of the electorate can gain power.

Things I do like about democracy:

• In a stable and peaceful society, it works.
• It keeps the people happy because they generally believe that they have a voice and are encouraged to participate.
• Separate branches of government check and balance each other in constructive debate.
• Minority groups have a right and the ability to shape policy.
• Bad leaders can be (and are) voted out of power.
• It preserves and promotes civil liberties including freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, etc.

I do believe in democracy but also that forcing democracy upon people is undemocratic. In theory, I think that rule by an enlightened and benevolent dictator would be a better system, but I know that power corrupts and this would be impossible to create or maintain. So until we come up with something better I agree with Mr Churchill!