PART(5) Principle for a Free Society DEMOCRACY

[William M. Finley]

PART(5) Principle for a Free Society DEMOCRACY

By Nigel Ashford

Stability and legitimacy

Political systems require stability, with the ability to make decisions

over the long run. Stability is best achieved through legitimacy, the

authority to make decisions, or ‘the right to rule’. The state needs the

acceptance of its rule by the people, even when they disagree with a

particular decision, and especially acceptance by those out of power.

The people do not need to consent to every decision, but to how decisions

are taken, the process, not the result. Liberal democracy is more

likely to provide legitimacy then any other system because power is

exercised with the consent of the people. Everyone has the opportunity

to present their opinions and interests, to participate in the process,

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and seek to obtain power. Consent is provided by regular and open elections.

Democracy is more stable than any other regime because it has

legitimacy in the eyes of the people.

Characteristics of liberal democracy

Democracy involves more than one person, one vote. It requires certain

characteristics to be a functioning democracy.

Almost everyone should have the vote, universal suffrage. If one is to

ensure that the interests of everyone are at least considered, then everyone

is entitled to the vote. Any exceptions must be justified with strong

arguments, for example children.

There must be free, open and periodic elections. The elections must

be free in that voters should be able to exercise their vote without undue

pressures. This is why the ballot is usually secret. It must be open, in

that anyone should have the opportunity to be a candidate for election

and to present their appeals to the voters. It should be periodic. There

should be elections every 3-5 years, to provide a balance between ensuring

responsiveness, so not too long a period between elections, and

responsibility, so that the results of government actions should have the

opportunity to be revealed to the people before they exercise their verdict

on the performance of the government.

There must be a choice of parties. Despite the claims of some communist

and African countries, there cannot be a one-party democracy.

If parties are to be made responsive to the wishes of the voters and

tyranny avoided, then it is essential that the voters should have the

opportunity to remove the parties in office and replace them with

another party. A choice of parties also ensures that the weaknesses of

all the parties are discussed and available to the public before exercising

the vote. There is a central role for constructive opposition.

There must be freedom of speech and association. Everyone should

have the opportunity to express their views. How else are the representatives

to be able to decide what is in the interests of the people? Anyone

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should have the opportunity to combine with others to forward

their opinions and interests, so there must be freedom to form

parties and interest groups.

There must be checks and balances. To avoid the danger of majority

or minority tyranny, power should not be concentrated into the hands

of any one individual or institution. Therefore in a liberal democracy,

checks and balances are in place to prevent the concentration of power,

especially in the executive. The legislature must make the executive

accountable for its actions. Legislatures are usually bicameral, with two

chambers chosen in different manners. The judiciary should be independent

of the executive. There should be strong local government.

There must be a constitution which sets out the rules and procedures

of government. Usually this is done in a single document, but every

system is based on a mixture of written rules and implicit understandings

or conventions. There should be the rule of law, and not the rule of

men, so that everyone could know the rules by which they are governed.

Liberal democracies usually avoid having too detailed a constitution,

which is inflexible, nor one that prescribes policies, which can become

dated.

Representative and responsible government

Liberal democracies are imperfect because they seek to balance representation

and responsibility, to be responsive to the wishes and interests of

the voters while ensuring good decisions with positive long term consequences.

Inevitably that balance will never be fully achieved. However

there is no other political system which shares these two objectives. The

price of democracy is eternal effort to ensure both representative and

responsible government.

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Reading

A.H. Birch, The Concepts and Theories of Modern Democracy, London,

Routledge, 1987.

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, The Federalist Papers,

New York, New American Library, 1989 (1787), Number 10.

John Locke, A Second Treatise on Government, Cambridge, Cambridge

University Press, 1960 (1690), chapters 7-10.

Diane Ravitch & Abigail Thernstrom, A Democracy Reader, New York

Harper Collins, 1989.

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, New York, Fontana,

1968 (1840), Volume 1, Part 2.

Questions for thought

1. Should elected politicians pursue policies supported by the majority

of the people, as reflected in opinion polls, regardless of what

they think is right for the country?

2. How do we prevent the tyranny of the majority?

3. Should we ever have referendums, and if so, when?