The Democratic form of political system has been portrayed as the Utopian form of Governance that any civilized society can achieve. Yes, it in its real essence states the novelty of an informed society progressive and in tune with the need and call of the common man. India had its first taste of democracy,even while it was under the Colonial rule of Imperial British Crown, when the young intellectuals elite of India started to visit and experience the society existent in the supposedly Enlightened and Renaissance driven West,from the early 19th century.
The Parliamentarian systems of Europe, though nominally under monarchy were found to be blissfully pro-public. The first leaders of India, right from the formation of Indian National Congress in 1885 were of an unanimous mindset, to bring about such a pro-people and of the people governance in India.
The tested effectiveness of democracy in European progressive states was a living proof for the Indian leaders to rely upon. Major contributors to the effectiveness of this argument were the examples of French and American Revolutions of late 1700s. The people were inspired by the willful public might portrayed in those epic sacrifices for Right to Liberty and Freedom.
The Congress leaders, especially the Extremist wing, time and again believed and reasserted the fact that such revolution must happen in our country. There amidst the risen Nationalism of our country, we witnessed the rise of a Great leader. A 5 and a half foot man with the vein of the nation within his grasp. Shortly after arrival from South Africa,he travelled across the various territories of India,just to get the pulse of the nation. Even while marching alongside the Congress leaders, he never politically campaigned. I must say,that the little men this country produces have by far been singularly significant and their strength lies in their character. Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,. called Mahatma Gandhi out of reverence, campaigned for the betterment of people, but history tells us that, during the Quit India Movement, he was pressurized to ask for Complete Independence. Mahatma Gandhi writes himself,in his memoirs, that he believed that our country was NOT ready to be an Independent Republic yet.
The democracy loosely forged along the 3000 odd kilometer length and breadth of this nation has been more of a gargantuan failing machine,exactly walking on the path Gandhi predicted us to walk.
I must here discuss the reasons for such a dismal regressive degeneration of our democracy. Firstly, the ideals and the examples taken were of the smaller European nations and the United States of America. First let me discuss the case of European states, the democratic machinery worked in Europe because of the limited geo-political influence of each nation state. Simply put, when a man or a group of chosen men control and govern other men, it is more efficiently done when the size of the volume being controlled and governed is limited. Every European state satisfies this aspect. One may here ask,what of America which is geographically and population wise pretty large. The answer for this remains that the USA that we know of was initially comprised of 13 European Colonies, which until the Declaration of Independence and formation of The United States of America were run on the basis of Anarcho-Capitalism and Individualistic Anarchism. The American colonies,thus, developed and gradually matured in a span of a century,being assisted by economic and such prosperity into a state capable enough to handle Democracy. And thus,by the time, American War of Independence took place, American colonies were a responsible people,capable of making informed decisions.
Now the key aspect of the efficiency of a democracy lies with the ability of people to make informed decisions and choices, irrespective of any external or internal influences or biases. That if properly understood remains to be a concept yet to be realised, and it is imperative to achieve that to optimal levels before one counts themselves ready to take the task of being responsible society. This is exactly the point where Indian leaders went wrong,and Gandhiji made a fairly informed prediction,of India not being ready to handle the democratic "independence". The reason for this was just widespread illiteracy, lack of information,lack of sense of purpose. They knew they wanted independence from British yoke,but not many had clue what to do with the gained independence. Economy was in shambles, population was rising as well as the issues to deal with. And the extensive bureaucratic machinery largely comprising of the first independent generation was walking the path of extreme degeneration with rise in Herculean levels of corruption.
We tried to imbibe far too much from the West and their culture. Though the perfect form of society is one where individuals are allowed their Right to exercise freedom, the achievement of our democracy so far has been largely stagnant,if not regressive. What our leaders failed to comprehend is while imbibing the values of West which propagate the freedom of man, we should have also considered our preparedness, our identity, our nativity to actually understand and work out things. Democracy as it is existent in India,where every other person can start a political party, the extensive legislative structure, unlimited terms in power, lack of proper eligibility criteria for being chosen as leaders, reservations based on the divisions which plague our society,patriarchal structure of political system - all this and more has resulted in our Governance System to fail dismally.
To quote rightly the effect of democracy, taken from a delightful essay by Hans-Hermann Hoppe, democracy shall only produce "congressmen, presidents, and Supreme Court judges who do not and cannot acquire their positions accidentally, reach their position because of their proficiency as morally uninhibited demagogues. Moreover, even outside the orbit of government, within civil society, individuals will increasingly rise to the top of economic and financial success, not on account of their productive or entrepreneurial talents or even their superior defensive political talents, but rather because of their superior skills as unscrupulous political entrepreneurs and lobbyists. Thus, the Constitution virtually assures that exclusively dangerous men will rise to the pinnacle of government power and that moral behavior and ethical standards will tend to decline and deteriorate over all."
And the way things are run in democracy by our leaders is beautifully explained as follows :- "Legislators cannot impose their will on their hapless subjects without the cooperation of the president as the head of the executive branch of government, and the president* in turn will use his position and the resources at his disposal to influence legislators and legislation. And although the Supreme Court may disagree with particular acts of Congress or the president, Supreme Court judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate and remain dependent on them for funding. As an integral part of the institution of government, they have no interest in limiting but every interest in expanding the government's, and hence their own, power."
And a statement is on the rounds these days, "blame the times,as these are bad times and well,if everyone does that,why not me?" And he further explains the reason why such a pitiful situation has arisen where being morally and ethically sound doesn't really help you. It is safe enough to blame the system, as system is flawed. In Hans-Hermann Hoppe's words,"in every society, more "have-nots" of everything worth having exist than "haves," and the politically talented who have little or no inhibition against taking property and lording it over others will have a clear advantage over those with such scruples. That is, open political competition favors aggressive, hence dangerous, rather than defensive, hence harmless, political talents and will thus lead to the cultivation and perfection of the peculiar skills of demagoguery, deception, lying, opportunism, corruption, and bribery. Therefore, entrance into and success within government will become increasingly impossible for anyone hampered by moral scruples against lying and stealing."
The academic article from which the excerpts have been borrowed speaks of the issues facing democracy and its proponents. And the quoted words of the article clearly reflect the present dismal shamble of our own country and its "Democratic" nature.
The question that is left behind here at the end of this piece is how are we going to go beyond the drawbacks of democracy and address the concerns raised?
© Karthik Adithya Singaraju
*The article by Hans-Hermann Hoppe was written in the American Context,and hence the reference to the President and the Senate. We must assume in Indian context,analogy can be extended to our Cabinet Ministers and the Members of Parliament and Legislative Assembly.
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