part(2) Principles for a Free Society DOMCRACY

[William M. Finley]

PART(2) Principles for a Free Society DEMOCRACY

Who are the people?

The obvious answer is everyone in a society. The ideal therefore would

be that decisions should require the agreement of everyone. However

this would be extremely difficult to achieve, would be very time con-

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suming, and would give a great deal of veto power to one person.

Liberal democracy usually adopts the principle of majority rule, that the

people are best represented by the votes of a majority, 50% plus one. In

liberal democracies certain major decisions may require supermajorities

(such as two thirds). However there is a recognition that simple majorities

could be oppressive to minorities, so some form of protection for

minority rights usually exists. Liberal democracy has sometimes been

described as ‘majority rule and minority rights.’

Government of the people

The second question involves “of the people”: over what should the

people rule? Which decisions should be taken by the people as individuals,

families, firms and associations, and which should be decided by the

state collectively? If all decisions would be democratically decided by the

collective, then there would be no freedom. Society would be under a

totalitarian regime which ruled everything. It would be a ‘totalitarian

democracy,’ to use J. D. Talmon’s phrase. In a liberal democracy, the role

of the state is limited, with most decisions being left to the private realm.

So liberal democracy believes in limited government. The majority

should not be allowed to decide whatever it wishes. Liberal democracy

therefore opposes unlimited rule by government, even so-called democratic

ones.

Government by the people

The third question is on “by the people”: how should the people rule?

Some argue that the people should rule directly. This could be done in

a referendum, or a general meeting, or in a form of participatory

democracy. In theory it would be possible to provide every citizen with

a computer in which they could register their vote on every issue and

the majority of voters could decide government policy. However, the

state should exist to serve the people. The people do not exist to serve

the state. In a direct democracy, people would have to spend their

whole lives researching, debating and voting on every collective decision.

They would have no time to make decisions about their own lives.

Therefore in a liberal democracy, the voters elect representatives to a

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legislature (and sometimes the executive) to make decisions on their

behalf. These representatives should have the time, ability and character

to consider collective decisions, debate the merits and demerits of particular

actions, and make a decision on behalf of the interests of the

people as a whole.

Accountability of these representatives is achieved through regular elections.

If the representatives neglect the interests of the people they can

be removed from office. The goal is to obtain a balance between representative

and responsible government: representative of the interests and

opinions of all the people, and responsible to consider the long term

consequences of government actions in a spirit of calm and reasoned

debate. Liberal democracy is sometimes described as representative

democracy, or indirect democracy. In some liberal democracies referendums

may be held when changing the nature of the constitutional system,

or the basic rules under which the people are governed.

Government for the people

The fourth and final question is: how to decide what is “for the people?”

How does one identify the interests of the people? Everyone’s interests

should be considered in making decisions, although not all can be satisfied.

However the goal should be to identify those interests which are

general for the population, for example peace and prosperity, and not

to adopt policies which favour particular groups in society. One problem

is that groups will promote their own particular or ‘special interests’,

which all deserve consideration. However policies should reflect a

wider or general or ‘public interest’. Representative democracy allows

that all groups should have the opportunity to express their interests

and opinions, but decisions should not simply be a reflection of these

special interests. Another problem is how to identify interests when

views may be based on emotions and passions. A considered and

thoughtful identification of the general interest is required. So in a liberal

democracy interest groups are encouraged to present their interests

and opinions, but they should not themselves be the decision makers.

That should be left to elected representatives who are accountable to

the people as voters.