Democracy Essay.doc

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Democracy

Outline:

• Introduction

• History

• Democracy or Despotism?

• Misconception of Equality

• Flaunt of Democracy• Alternatives: Monarchy, Aristocracy, and olity!

• "onclusion

Essay:

#D$mo%ratia&, no' %no'n to the 'orld as #Democracy& is a form of (overnment, or the #rule of

the people&! )he most important question that arise out from this is a simple one, is the

(overnment #*y the people& is also a (overnment #for the people&? A clear analo(y e+ists here,

that calls democracy #rule of the people, *y the people, for the people&! hat is not so clear,

ho'ever, is that if this form of (overnment is the #*est& for a country in particular, or the 'orldat lar(e! For this, one shall not only (lance at the hum*le *e(innin(s of the much cele*rated

mechanism of democracy, *ut perhaps, ta%e into consideration the definitions of Aristotle-s

vie's on the *est form of (overnment, and lato-s immortal 'ords . #democracy passes into

despotism&! /ne may 'onder if there is a misconception of equality that is *ein( used a(ainst the

people in a masquerade of (ood (overnance! May*e, this flaunt of democracy of the modern

'orld not only acts to promote itself, *ut serves as a shroud on the alternatives to democracy0

monarchy, aristocracy, and in Aristotle-s 'ords, olity!

In the city states of Ancient 1reece, Athens pro(ressed much in its social, political, and cultural

field! It 'as a nurturin( (round for the queen of sciences, philosophy! 2ocrates, lato andAristotle 'ere not mere names and fi(ures in the history of the development of philosophy in

(eneral, and the upliftin( of life in particular! lato and Aristotle 'ere critical of democracy, and

'or%ed much to *etter understand this stran(e phenomenon! hile in Athens, in the Master-s

time, population never e+ceeded 34,444, there e+isted a different form of democracy, than 'hat

e+ists in the contemporary 'orld! It 'as a direct democracy, 'here all people could participate in

openly held de*ates and forums, affectin( their lives! 5ut here, equality 'as not the equality of

today! Here, slaves and 'omen did not have any political ri(ht! )he philosophers strived for an

educated class to *ecome the #philosopher6%in(s&! /ne man one vote 'as not the philosophy of

the day and the educated lot of the 1ree%s understood that equality in front of 1od, and equality

in terms of a*ilities 'ere t'o separate notions in the sphere of human life! 2o Aristotle studied ahundred and si+ty constitutions, and divided the form of (overnment in three different parts0'hat he called, the (ood constitutions! Monarchy 'as the form of (overnment 'here a sin(le

monarch 'or%ed for the *etterment of the 'hole0 Aristocracy, 'here the privile(ed class, the

no*ility strived to uplift the populace at lar(e0 and, olity, 'here the people ruled for the people!

)he Master did not finish here0 he had in his mind the three anti6theses of these forms of

(overnment! hen the Monarch re(arded his o'n amusements hi(her than those of the rest of

his people, it 'as no lon(er a (ood form of (overnment, *ut a *ad constitution, a )yranny!

2imilarly, aristocrats 'ere not aristocrats *ut /li(archs in an oli(archy 'hen they preferred their

o'n tastes over the rest of the community0 and a rule *y the people turned into a rule *y the mo*

'hen it strived for its o'n *etterment leavin( the society at lar(e on its o'n, it 'as 'hat he

called, democracy! It 'as perhaps the influence of his (reat teacher 'hich 'as seen here! A mo*

rule can either lead to anarchy or despotism!



lato remar%ed thus0 #Democracy passes into despotism!& /ne may 'onder ho' from the hei(ht

of li*erty can come the deepest forms of repression! )oo much po'er in the hands of

democratically elected individuals can yield draconian results! 7a8i 1ermany stood firm *ehind

its Fuhrer! 2oon enou(h, opposition 'as eliminated and the country steered in one direction and

one direction only0 destruction of the )hird 9eich and the social catastrophe that lin(ered due to

the 1reat ar! It is lon( understood that #o'er corrupts, and a*solute po'er corrupts

a*solutely!& A democracy that empo'ers the rulin( class is in a process of self6destruction! )his

self6destruction is not in isolation, *ut li%e a suicide *om*er in the midst of a calm and tranquil(atherin(, a chaos that tears the social fa*ric of the 'hole society! Is history on an a(reement

'ith lato and have a lesson for the civili8ation? /r does it disre(ard the 'ords of the (reat

teacher as mere philosophical rhetoric? Any democracy that is #too democratic& in its 'or%in(

has proven lato to *e ri(ht in his ud(ment! Moderation *et'een polity and aristocracy, that

tends to *rin( closer these t'o anti6theses of each other from their e+tremes, mi(ht *e the

ans'er! Even 'ith the despotic nature of democracy, it tends to survive on its rhetoric of an

e(alitarian society! Does the slo(an of #all men are equal& apply to everythin(? Everyone has a

mind, *ut not everyone is an Einstein! ;et us analy8e!

hen 'e tal% of the ancient civili8ations of the past, the E(yptians, A8tecs, Mayans, "hinese,1ree%s and the 9omans, 'e tal% of not the (eneral population! It is not an avera(e Athenian that

attracts our attention to the cradle of civili8ation, nor the mere E(yptian la*or that depicts the

marvels of the Ancient E(yptian architecture, *ut the very fe' that *elon(ed to the upper

echelons of their societies! 7ot everyone had the calculatin( mind of Imhotep in Ancient E(ypt,

nor did everyone come up to the standard of the dialectical de*ates of 2ocrates! )hen 'here is the

equality that our democracy tal%s a*out? It is pro*a*ly the love of po'er that has mana(ed to

t'ist the meanin( of equality of man%ind *efore 1od, the covenants and credo of the reli(ion0 to

the equality of one man and one vote, the e+pression and rhetoric of democracy! It is a 'ell

%no'n fact that for democracies to e+cel, the population at lar(e must *e a'are of the 'or%in( of

their (overnment, the ideas and manifestoes of their representatives, and the impacts of theirdecisions on the society! Ho' 'ill the population achieve this a'areness? )he ans'er lies in

education! ithout a'areness, no one %no's 'hen olity turns into Democracy, and 'hen

democracy yields to despotism! /nly 'hen the smooth transition is over, is 'hen the masses

understand their helpless position in the (overnment! It is *y no nature of thin(s that an illiterate

person-s decision lies on the same level of understandin( as is one that of the educated, no*le,

and elite of the same society! In the contemporary 'orld, this has turned out to *e a ta*oo, *ut

one must ponder over the idea, if the same illiterate person is not qualified to run a *usiness or *e

the elector of the advisory *ody of one, ho' can he *e the ud(e and elector of those 'ho (overn

the 'hole society? Ho' can men of %no'led(e and understandin( *ecome equal to men of

i(norance and ine+perience? )hey certainly cannot< As the youn( are not the ud(e of the hi(hestmatters, so the lo'er stratum of the society must not *e the electors of a (overnment at lar(e!

)his misconception of the *asic idea of equality has (iven 'ay to flaunt of democracy!

It is said that, #Democracy has *ecome the Holy 1rail of estern culture!& )here is no ar(ument

'hether it has, or not! It certainly does occupy the over'helmin( maority of our ne's channels

and our decisions! hether it is used as a prete+t to invade a country, or to promote the soarin(

Ea(le of the 'orld, democracy has held its (round firm and stron( throu(h the effective use of

media as its propa(anda instrument, and *y suppressin( opposition! ill Durant in his *oo%,

#)he leasures of hilosophy& e+plain that #'e are anarchists *y nature and citi8ens *y

su((estion!& hy is the 'orld after democracy? Is it 'or%a*le? It certainly mi(ht *e, in themoderate form 'ith an educated lot of voters! hat do countries in today-s 'orld follo'?

"onstitutional Monarchy, olity, and the 'orst form of (overnment, for the most illiterate part of

the 'orld, democracy! )he =nited >in(dom, 5el(ium, Denmar%, 2'eden and 7or'ay, all have



e+tremely hi(h levels of literacy, and a constitutional monarchy! =nited 2tates of America, India

and 2'it8erland 'ith not so relatively hi(h forms of literacy tend to follo' moderate democracy,

'hile the least of them in literacy, countries li%e a%istan tend to fall for the e+treme form of

democracy! It has certainly *ecome the Holy 1rail of the )hird orld countries, 'ho have

fallen a victim to this *randish of democracy! 2uppression of #undemocratic& forces in these

countries and a delusive version of the 'orst form of (overnment, as the *est form of

(overnment lead to despotic corrupt rule of the people! Dynastic parties mi(ht turn the mo* rule

into an oli(archy and the state *ecomes a vicious circle of immorality and e+ploitation *y the people, in the name of the people! )he states start to fall apart, and a collapse is inevita*le!

/ne must then fi(ure out the *est form of (overnment! hy do the educated class of the 'orld so

open to constitutional monarchies? And not the e+treme forms of democracy? hy do the

aristocrats find their ust rule 'ithout much opposition 'hen they 'or% for the *etterment of the

'hole? It is perhaps an irony, that the *est form of (overnment is one 'here there are some men

'ho are equal and some #more equal than others&! here some are the philosopher

administrators, as in the case of "onfucianism of "hina, and 'here others are those 'ho,

althou(h not *ound to it, are in the 'or%in( class of the society! eople 'ho understand the

comple+ities of the state and (overnment can *etter ud(e as to 'ho shall *e at the seat of po'er!In a democracy, 'here it has *ecome a field of allurin( the people on an equal *asis of their

inequality, it is a (ame of po'er! It is ri(htly pointed, to the contrary of the 'or%in( of a

democracy, *y lato . #)hose 'ho do not see% po'er, are fit to hold it!& It is then perhaps

evident, that those of us, 'ho ta%e pleasure in (overnin( the rest of us, must not *e the ones 'ho

(overn us! It is a truism that this is 'hat happens in the contemporary uneducated 'orld, *ut that

is a democracy 'or%in( on its e+treme, 'hat happens in the developed 'orld is either a

constitutional monarchy, or a moderate democracy, on the lines of the olity of Aristotle!

Althou(h, aristocracy lost its case lon( a(o, it still remains a (ood form of the (overnment, and

'hen the people understand this, perhaps an aristocrat (overnment 'ill not *e confused and

compared 'ith an autocratic re(ime! 2hould 'e *and'a(on and follo' in the footsteps of thosecountries that enoy immensely hi(h rates of literacy and delude ourselves 'ith an inept form of

democracy, a *ad form of constitution? /r should 'e educate our self, and select one of the three

(ood forms of (overnment, as pointed *y Aristotle, 'hich remain to this day, as true, as they

'ere in Ancient 1reece? A moderate democracy mi(ht *e the ans'er, *ut that is not on the *asis

of the meanin( of equality that 'e understand today! erhaps, 'hen aristocrats have helped uplift

the lo'er stratums of society to a more respecta*le level, a moderate democracy mi(ht prove

more fruitful! 5ut an oli(archy cannot and 'ill not do that! 7or 'ill a (overnment left on its o'n

(o to'ards moderation!!, it 'ill lead to that despotic form of polity that Aristotle called,

democracy!

2o if #D$mo%ratia& in reality is, #the rule of the people, *y the people, for the people& then

perhaps throu(h educated voter class, and proper chec%s and *alances it mi(ht turn out to *e a

form of (overnment that 'ill not only ta%e into consideration the interests of its o'n *ut the

society at lar(e! For that, education is a requirement! hether 'e 'ant a monarch, an aristocrat,

or a democrat, 'e 'ant a ust individual that see%s to uplift the society and culture, and not fall a

victim to despotism! hether moderate democracy is the true ans'er to the *est form of

(overnment or not, 'hether a politician 'or%s for the state or not, the educated and enli(htened,

and they alone, can ud(e *etter! =niversal suffra(e is not the ans'er in the name of equality for

the human race that has no *asis of e(alitarianism! A philosopher, scientist, or an e+pert can

never *e equal in their ud(ment or thou(ht to their very *rothers 'ho are on a lo'er level ofeducation and %no'led(e to them! )hey are certainly equal, in the sense of *ein( a mem*er of

the same species, equal perhaps as men in front of 1od, *ut not equal in the delusion of



democracy! hen the 'orld understands this inequality and come to terms 'ith it, only then

may*e it 'ill 'itness the *est form of (overnment!

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Democracy Essay.doc