What is Democracy?

What is Democracy?

The word democracy has its roots in the Greek words for “rule” and “people”. Thus, simply, it means a form of government of the people, by the people. However, it would be naïve to assume that it is that simple. Democracy itself is an abstract theory - an idea. Whenever it has been implemented in a society, the end result usually ends up being very different from the desired outcome.

In the literal sense, a true democracy can never exist. This is because in any given population, there are too many decisions to be made and too many logistical issues to deal with to allow everyone in the population to have an input. The more people that there are involved in the decision making process, the less likely a group will have an effective and efficient government.

Therefore, the type of democracy that has yielded the best results is not a direct democracy, it is a representative democracy. This is a system of government in which the people elect other people to represent them and their interests. These elected officials in turn make decisions on their behalf.

So why would there even need to be a government in a population that rules itself? Isn’t the population already making decisions for themselves? One can glean some insight into this question by reading the following quote by James Madison: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

Many of the people who founded the system of government in the United States realized that human nature is inherently selfish, and people will pursue their own interests – sometimes even at the expense of others. A government can provide protections against these individuals or groups. One way in which a democracy can do this is by guaranteeing certain rights. By ensuring basic freedoms of the press, religion, association, and speech, the government could prevent any oppression.

Another method of self-protection that democracies use is the reliance on the rule of law. This means that the elected representatives (who are held accountable by the people) write laws to protect the populace, and those laws are clear and fair. This prevents any abuses of power because it does not allow elected officials to wield unchecked and arbitrary power over the people. If at any time in a democracy a constituency becomes dissatisfied with their representative, they can get rid of them. Another vital process of a democracy is a system of free, fair, and competitive elections.

Finally, a democratic government can provide public goods; these are things like national defense, environmental protection, and public education. These things would aid in strengthening the country or populace, but wouldn’t necessarily be provided by wise and benevolent members of society.

As one can see, democracy is just another human social construct to control and manipulate the actions of the members of a society. Like all governments, it is a system that uses violence and the threat of violence to control its people. However, unlike other systems of government, democracy allows for the people who are being controlled to have a say in the process and affect the outcome.

The source of conflict

This post is a rebuttal to "What's Going On?" dated July 14th, 2006

People killing other people is bad. Violence against fellow human beings is senseless in the sense that we all do experience the same human condition -- we all feel the same range of emotions, care about our friends and family, and strive for the best lives we can have. By attacking, hurting, and killing people who are very much like us, we commit the ultimate sin against ourselves.

However, I do not believe that violence is senseless or irrational. I believe that at its core, violence is born of rational and calculated decision-making. It can take on a life of its own, spiraling out of control, but most violence begins with logical thought.

This logical thought can be conscious or sub-conscious but it shares the same biological root: the need to survive. This can be instinctual, or it can a be complex and highly developed decision making process that weighs economic benefits with the costs.

The history of violence begins way before human beings ever appeared on the planet. Animals, plants, and other organisms have been competing for scarce resources for millions of years. It may not have been conscious, but every population of organisms must compete with other organisms in the ecosystem for resources like food, water, and territory. Violence is a way to control resources, and those organisms that used it effectively and were able to instill fear in their opponents established dominance in their environment.

Once human civilizations began to emerge, armed conflict soon followed. Empires grew through violence, but it was a way for the leaders of the groups to acquire more resources and establish dominance over their competition. The difference this time was that the violence was intra-species. Having learned through agriculture and technology to completely dominate all other animal competitors to the food and water supply, we inevitably started competing with each other for territories and resources.

The argument that violence stems from differences in culture fails to take this into account. Culture is the vehicle through which groups of humans beings band together. It provides an identity as well as a sense of belonging. It creates the idea of an exclusive "we" or "us". Different cultures emerge as a function of proximity and geography -- isolation and a lack of interaction or information create islands of identity. Violence occurs when these islands interact, and one of the groups attempts to control the other in order to control the land or resources.

Violence is a method to gain control, or power. Power is the control of people and resources. Violence and conflict exist because all resources are scarce and the best way to ensure one's survival and the survival of one's group is through the control of these resources.