Saturday, February 16, 2019
Q#8: What are the flaws of representative democracy?
Flaw #1: The people elect their representatives by casting their votes on a symbol, usually that of a political party. This is based on two assumptions viz. political parties are inevitable in a Democracy and that the common people/illiterates need a symbol to facilitate their voting. The second assumption presumes that the common people cannot judge the candidates on their own, thus underestimating the average voter's wisdom.
Flaw #2: The political parties have thrived on this dependency of Democracy on them and have also found the method of voting on a symbol, convenient to woo the voters and develop 'vote-banks'. Vote banks are largely responsible for perpetuating the polarization of the society on caste, class, communal and racial lines.
Flaw #3: The voter is not forced to individually evaluate the candidate he or she is going to vote for. Following the herd and voting on a symbol without knowing the candidate has become the norm. This enables election campaigns based on glam and rhetoric to become all powerful.
Flaw #4: The candidates need not rely on their individual merits for getting votes. There is always the party symbol and the party leaders to bank upon at the time of elections.
Flaw #5: Political success is determined by skills of dubious nature like capacity for background manipulations. Honesty and true merit do not make much electoral sense in a party-based political system.
Flaw #6: The stability of the government depends on the ruling party/alliance holding together its members. Dissent based on rational argument is discouraged. Issuing a whip to the members at the time of voting in the elected house is the most blatant evidence for this.
Flaw #7: The elected representative need not apply himself to solving the problems of the people of his constituency to retain their goodwill; of more importance is whether he is able to please the superiors in the party and be in tune with the party-line of thinking.
Every one of these flaws is rectified in a party-less system of governance.
Flaw #2: The political parties have thrived on this dependency of Democracy on them and have also found the method of voting on a symbol, convenient to woo the voters and develop 'vote-banks'. Vote banks are largely responsible for perpetuating the polarization of the society on caste, class, communal and racial lines.
Flaw #3: The voter is not forced to individually evaluate the candidate he or she is going to vote for. Following the herd and voting on a symbol without knowing the candidate has become the norm. This enables election campaigns based on glam and rhetoric to become all powerful.
Flaw #4: The candidates need not rely on their individual merits for getting votes. There is always the party symbol and the party leaders to bank upon at the time of elections.
Flaw #5: Political success is determined by skills of dubious nature like capacity for background manipulations. Honesty and true merit do not make much electoral sense in a party-based political system.
Flaw #6: The stability of the government depends on the ruling party/alliance holding together its members. Dissent based on rational argument is discouraged. Issuing a whip to the members at the time of voting in the elected house is the most blatant evidence for this.
Flaw #7: The elected representative need not apply himself to solving the problems of the people of his constituency to retain their goodwill; of more importance is whether he is able to please the superiors in the party and be in tune with the party-line of thinking.
Every one of these flaws is rectified in a party-less system of governance.
