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Philosophical Basis for
"Democracy Regained"
Democracy is the rule of all the people by the people as a whole. No one group of the population has the right to be 'more equal' than another. When Abraham Lincoln said government is 'for all the people' he implied that no one may be excluded from participating in making laws, and no minority may be oppressed by laws made by the majority.
The latter ideal is the more difficult to put into effect. Present-day democracy has the attitude, 'We had most votes; we win, you lose.' The true democrat must ensure that minorities are able to participate in government, to make a society truly self-governing.
When we talk of democracy we think of the form of government under which we live. But do we live in a democratic society? Most of us do not feel we are real participants in the government of our daily lives. We have given control of the political aspect of our lives to our 'elected representatives', so that we can get on with our lives. From time to time we exercise our right to control our political life, but in reality our society has relinquished its democratic right to be ruled by the people 'as a whole'.
The saddest, but in the light of the present state of our democratic system, irrefutable, definition of Democracy, is this: Democracy is the freedom of every person to become an oligarch (i.e. one of a few in control), and in so doing deny others the right to govern themselves.
The symbolic feature of Democracy is the right and freedom to to put a cross on a piece of paper, after careful, independent thought, in secret, and without fear of reprisal. Answer the following question with a YES or NO:
Do I live in a truly Democratic society. YES / NO
Now, apply the Democratic Principle to the parts of your life that are closer to daily existence. Do you feel you have effective democratic control over matters affecting your local community? Is your workplace, factory, office, school, genuinely democratic? Or is it more like a dictatorship, an oligarchy, or a bureaucracy? Does your church life fit the democratic ideal? Is your home life democratic?
If your answer is NO, then the next question to ask is, 'How can I make my life truly Democratic?' For an answer, read on! If your answer is NO, then you are part of a 'majority in power' in some aspect of your daily life, and to be truly democratic you should ask the question, 'How can I ensure that powerless minorities are able to participate in self-government?' For an answer, read on!
Democracy is freedom, but not freedom to over rule. It is the right to make real choices - all the time, and in all aspects of one's life. The Scottish poet, John Barbour, in his epic poem, 'The Bruce', written over 600 years ago, expressed a fundamental truth in this way:
Ah! Freedom is an excellent thing!
Freedom allows people to have a choice:
Freedom gives complete solace to people:
They are at ease when living in freedom!
A great heart can never be at ease,
Nor anything else give pleasure
If Freedom fail: for free choice
Is yearned for over all other things.
Nor is he, that has always lived in freedom,
Able to truly know the condition,
The bitterness, or the wretched misfortune,
That is coupled to shameful oppression.
But if he had experienced it,
Then he should understand it thoroughly,
And should think to value Freedom more highly
Than all the gold that is in the world.
A! Fredome is a noble thyng!
Fredome mays man to haiff liking;
Fredome all solace to man giffis:
He levys at es that frely levys!
A noble hart may haiff nane es,
Na ellys nocht that may him ples
Gyff Fredome failyhe; for fre liking
Is yharnyt our all othir thyng.
Na he, that ay has levyt fre,
May nocht knaw weill the propyrte,
The angyr, na the wrechyt dome,
That is couplyt to foul thyrldome.
Bot gyff he had assayit it,
Than all perquer he suld it wyt,
And suld think Fredome mair to prys
Than all the gold in warld that is.
'If Freedom fail!' Do you feel you are losing control of your ability to make worthwhile choices in your political life? Doyou have an uncomfortable feeling that Democracy is failing you? Do you yearn for a truly democratic system of government? It matters nought that we have a 'good' life if we have to lose that valued possession - the freedom to make choices about how our society function
