Democracy As a Fabled Generally Agreed Upon[i]
18.10.2015
If there are fables generally upon, democracy is one. It intoxicates many like such terms as ‘nation of gods’ ‘flying house’, ‘mountain of gold’ which are mere conjectures of the mind. As we grow spiteful of our annoying expression of democratic culture, I have chosen to digress from Ebonyi comedy called project despite temptations to do so.
This is a sad moment for the first family of Ebonyi State which is bereaved of their dear mother. If I were to have my way to condolence register I would have written: ‘Blessed are you mama, you are the womb that bore a governor, the breast he suck. RIP!’
At moment like this, it is natural for fishermen to cancel fishing and let dragnet rest. But as we mediate on the dirge, we can think aloud to where no thought has gone before. Besides, some political developments can set one thinking. Even Babangida had found Buhari too old to be in governance after toppling his government in 1985. For Buhari to come back after 30 years is enough insult on democracy and for him to appoint into ministerial positions those who had served as ministers in 1978 is the highest joke of the millenium.
Ideally, democracy derives from the two Greek words, demos meaning ‘people’ and cratia meaning ‘rule’. In the famous classical definition offered by Abraham Lincoln democracy is seen as “government of the people, by the people and for the people”. Such a definition makes democracy the best inclusive system of ruling a society.
But if democracy is what it claims to be, then I have not seen it around neither do I believe nor will be able to be persuaded that people knowingly and willing govern against themselves and destroy the future of their societies. However, if Donald Rumsfeld logic has taught us anything, it is that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
The Greek city state of Athens is usually singled out as the most shining example of democracy in European antiquity. But we have to explain out clearly that the Athenians never pretended that by democracy they meant rule by all. Emphasis was on many as contrasted with few. The term demos had its evolution. Originally it refers to people of the countryside, the common (Latin plebs), as opposed to polites, a member of the city (polis), a “citizens,” a freeman (Latin civis). Gradually demos came to refer to the entire population.
But curios enough, in the peak period of Athenian democracy in the time of Pericles {495-429BC}, the demos had in practice became synonymous with polites and demokratia, rule by the people, which in reality meant rule by the “citizens,” that is by the adult male members of the polis- community. Excluded were women, children, every other person from outside the city, aliens, slaves and all the adult males who had been convicted of crime.
Furthermore, the polis, which was considered the natural content of Athenian democracy, was expected to be moderate in size. Ideally, the total number of adult males citizens would be 5, 040 (1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7). The reason for this was that in a democracy the citizens had to be few to be easy to assemble and they had to know one another. Again, in a larger population it would be impossible for the people to participate directly in the process of decision making as it would be impossible for offices to go round. The very concept of polis and “citizen” therefore excluded the majority of the Athenians from participating in a rule that was supposed to be by the people.
Whereas the Athenians restricted the concept of demos, modern democracies claim that they have made the concept inclusive and therefore that the rule is actually by the people. Most of us were taught the Lincoln’s rhythmical definition of democracy in the primary school. Yet, not even Western democracy in practice has ever been what it claims to be- rule by the people.
Athenians democracy, with all its limitations was nearer to the ideal than modern democracies. Political theorists accept that democracy defined as government by the people is but an ideal that may never exist in reality. “If we take the term in its strict meaning,” writes Rousseau, “no true democracy has ever existed nor ever will… Were there such a thing as a nation of Gods, it would be a democracy. So perfect a form of government is not suited to mere men.”
It is true that Dahl like most theorists of democracy while asserting that no ideal democracy has ever existed nor will exist still insists that “to deny the term democracy to any regime not fully democratic in ideal sense would be equivalent to saying that no democratic regime has ever existed. Language so purified is inconsistent with usage in other domains of ideal value, such as justice, beauty, love and virtue.”
Yet Dahl ought to understand that while perfect love is an ideal beyond the reach of normal human beings, it is dishonest to call ‘egoism’ love with the excuse that ideal love does not exist in this world. Defenders of the so-called democracies know that the system is a fable. Democracy has bogus claims. It claims to uphold belief in autonomy or self-determination for individuals and groups which they belong. Such usage has made it a tool of propaganda. Closer examination will be helpful.
First, political party is a prominent institution of modern democracy. Political party as against ties of kinship and friends in ancient societies has been recognized as an association that takes care of the group of citizens. But in reality, political parties are elitist clubs that pursue only the interests of those who provide the huge finances needed to run them. They are hijacked by entrepreneurs who see the entire nations and even the whole world as business firms or markets. Since modern democracies are run by the rich, modern democracies are in effect, plutocracies. They pay politicians to do the job for them but the main power brokers are in some cases never in government.
Secondly, democracy supposes to be the one through which the elected representatives make decision binding on all. But is that really so? Most decisions by which modern democracy are governed are made outside the legislative houses and the latter are usually used when necessary to give them some form of legitimacy. The representatives are not elected by the people. Those who compete for elective positions are sponsored by political parties. The parties select their candidates following their own criteria which people do not participate in drawing up. Hence, when they get to the throne of legislation, the promotion and maintenance of the interest of those who brought them to political limelight will not only be primary but could propel them to fight over and over again as such democratic-wrestlemania will also promote their political submission to their boss and bring more reward. That is one of the reasons for the continuous fighting in Nigerian legislative chambers.
Equality of all citizens before the law is also illusory. The truth is that the only laws before which all human beings are equal are natural and divine laws. Even in the case of divine law, all human beings are equal so long as no human beings arrogate to themselves the exclusive rights of interpreting and enforcing the law. As regards laws of the state, treatment of citizens has always been discriminatory in world history.
The greatest gift of democracy is freedom to say what you what and willingness to face the consequence of your freedom. Press freedom is an illusion too. Can the press be really free when major media organizations of today are usually not objective and are mere business associations which have to apply to the principles of the market economy, sometimes organ of propaganda and manipulation? They mainly report the things that they are paid to report while others irrespective of its degree of newsworthiness would never reach the ears of the news-hungry audience. Can there be press freedom when the idea of closed-door meeting is a global political practice?
If you have followed through this excursus, the only way to retain your happiness is never to hope in democracy more so when the adjectival noun ‘Nigeria’ or worst still ‘Ebonyi’ is used to qualify it.
[i] Published October 18, 2015
