If we accept Winston Churchill’s best argument against
democracy as having a five minute conversation with the average voter – and to
be fair we must – what else is there? Given that he is also credited as saying democracy
is the worst form of Government except for all those others that have been
tried, is there an alternative? Outside of small, homogenous communities, families
and, small cooperatives, full-on democracy only works – like the law – by the
consent of the governed. And that consent and consensus seems to be wearing
thin of late.
Can mass democracy ever really function well if we accept
that most of us are incompetent to cast an informed ballot? And by most, I
really do mean the overwhelming majority of voters who hold opinions formed by
others if they hold any opinions at all. This vast majority understands little
and cares even less, generally, about the economy, education, defence, energy
and pretty much everything else that we task governments with arranging. Most
of us are too indolent to research the best mobile phone deal, or bank account,
or diet, even, preferring instead to be led by the more thoughtful among us. It's lazy, plain and simple, but it is all too human.
Which is, of course how we ended up with our system of ‘representative
democracy’, of which the EU is an extreme example. In the UK most people vote
for a party with little scrutiny, little recognition even, of the individuals
they elect to represent them. But at least many of us do know who our local MP is. How
many would recognise their MEP if they bumped into them in Brussels? As with
anything, a definition can be stretched. So far less than 100% of those eligible
to vote narrowly return somebody, unknown to most, standing on a platform few
understand, yet they still call that democracy?
Far from rule by majority consent we often end up with individuals
who only really represent the views of a more motivated minority.
Isn’t this almost the opposite of democracy and hasn’t this become abundantly
clear over Brexit? It is little wonder that the fine minds of Parliament were
so unprepared to be defied and are now so reluctant to yield. Is it time, then,
to officially announce the death of democracy, whose name has been commandeered
to simply mean ‘whatever my important friends and I want’?
So, what is left? I'd respect a party which would say
directly to the voters. "We are not here to fix YOUR problems. Everything
you want from the state must be paid for by somebody. And nobody is compelled
to care about your family but yourself”. Of course, we would want to foster an
environment where people do look out for each other but not one where an army
of others need to graft to keep you in the circumstance to which you feel
entitled. Not one where noisy rabbles are allowed to fix the political
direction. Not one where tiny minorities get to roar like lions, demanding to
be fed.
Ten gets tough...
Which is why the latest ‘leak’ from Number 10 is such a
welcome blast of fresh air. Parliament is doing its best to shut down the
Johnson government, but it seems that, finally, our leadership is stepping up
and doing what people really want. Brexit was never about the economy, or immigration,
or any of the causes pressed into service to denounce it. It was about national
self-determination. THIS is what we voted for. Democracy is dead – long live
democracy!
