Democracy is inconvenient for governments

It is in the interest of every government to increase its own powers at the cost of curtailing yours. But, in a democracy, it is up to you to decide, if the government can do that.

Democracy is inherently flawed, in that, it is not in the interest of whoever comes to power democratically, to allow a democracy to thrive. Once you have voted a government into power, your own direct power as a voter ends until the next election. Until the next election, your power can only be indirectly implemented through the democratic institutions.

So then what makes a democracy tick?

A strong and vibrant opposition, an independent judiciary and independent press are the institutions that are essential to the meaningful functioning of a democracy.

Why is a strong opposition important? Doesn’t it simply make the passing and implementation of laws more inefficient? What is the role of the opposition in the smooth functioning of a democracy?

Think of Uber and Ola. The are both competing against each other trying to balance keeping their drivers and customers happy while maximizing profits.

Now each of them wants to increase their market share, so they start offering discounts and running their business at a loss. At a loss? What? Why?

Let’s allow this to play out. Both companies keep running at a loss, until one of them runs out of money. Then that company has to shut down. So the other prevails, and has access to the entire market. Customers and drivers no longer have a choice, so they must all use the company that prevailed. The company now, no longer need to care about their employee or customer satisfaction and can merrily focus on maximizing profits. Customers lose their power, unless they force the companies to compete by patronizing them both. Availing of greater discount, is not always in the customer’s long term interest.

Balance of Power

The same is true with government. Unless we as people encourage dissent and a strong opposition, we will lose our power. Even when the government is doing everything we want it to, it is in our own personal long term interest to keep it on its toes. It is in our interest to make sure the opposition is sufficiently strong. It is in our interest to never let any one party get too strong.

Because the moment one party gets stronger than some threshold level, it can start dismantling the institutions of democracy, and therefore taking away the power of the voters. The courts, the press and the opposition can only be strong if the people want them to be strong, because the only interest they serve, is of the people.

How do you know when one party is too strong?

It’s good for one party to have a solid majority for effective decision making. But any democratic leader must be accountable to its bosses, the voters. But how do individual voters demand accountability of powerful ministers?

Through the institution of the independent press. That is why the independent press is so essential to the survival of a democracy. When a leader stops engaging with the press and gets away with it, their party has become too strong for the long term health of democracy.

When a party has such a high majority, that without courting any opposition votes it can change laws, then government has become too strong for a healthy democracy.

When a party can choose to dismiss and disregard opposition views without compromise or even a respectful hearing, and still pass the laws it desires, the power of the people is seriously weakened.

If government is abusing central agencies to intimidate and brow beat opposition politicians, then it is misusing our tax money to diminish our power.

What if I agree with the strong ruling party?

When we show too much support for any one party, we give them the power to destroy the institutions of democracy, the very institutions from which we the people get our power.

Our only power over the government, once we have elected it, can be exercised through these institutions. If we allow a government to erode or destroy these institutions, we allow it to destroy our power.

“So what,” you may ask, “as long as I like what the government is doing?”

And therein lies the rub: as long as i like what the government is doing.

It’s not easy to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

It doesn’t matter who is at the helm. Once the institutions of democracy are destroyed, they cannot quickly or easily be rebuilt. It is not in the interest of any government to rebuild them.

So suppose you are happy with today’s leader and trust them enough to let go of your power. The point is, once you have relinquished your power, you have lost your it for good, or at least, for a very long time. You have not just handed it over to the current government, but to decades of governments to come.

When you vote, think about just how much power you want the ruling party to have, and how comfortable you are giving up your own powers for the foreseeable future.

Vote long term

The greater the majority of the ruling party, the weaker your own voice. A strong opposition makes for a healthy democracy, in the same way that competition is vital to the functioning of a free market.

If you get too devoted to one brand or political party, you only give up your own power to choose or speak.

As a voter, the best way for you to contribute to the democratic health of your country is to be loyal to yourself, and strive to preserve your own power in the long term, no matter which party comes to power.