Oligarchic Democracy By T.S. Khanna, June 2, 2014.

Foundation for Better Government

June 2, 2014.

Oligarchic Democracy

By T.S. Khanna, June 2, 2014

Legitimacy and stability of government is a matter of belief of the people.  Before the establishment of formal government, religions performed as governments for social controls.  For centuries, the belief in caste system gave legitimacy and stability to Hindu leaders.  Other religions assigned divinity with unquestionable powers for their leaders.

Autocratic governments made people believe that “King can do no wrong”.  Later,  “All men are created equal…” disturbed the previous beliefs and gave rise to democracy (self-rule).

With experience, more people are losing confidence in the present form of democracy for several reasons:

• Representative democracy encourages divisiveness in the society;
• At every election social cleavages get sharpened and hardened;
• Constitutional rights minimize the chances of compromise among diverse groups;
• Democratic operations are too slow to serve fast expanding public needs;
• Corruption, inflation, and budget remain out of control;
• No provision for regulating immigration or population expansion to remove poverty and improve quality of life.

It seems that the solution lies in creating the supremacy of Oligarchic Democracy:

• Establish a non-partisan Supreme Council, not exceeding fifteen members, to be elected by Congress/Parliament on a six year term,one third retiring every two years;
• Abolish  Senate/Upper House and transfer all its powers and responsibilities to the Supreme Council;
• Transfer the President/Vice-President’s offices to the President/Vice-President of the Supreme Council elected on a two-year term by the Council, eliminating the need for Presidential elections;
• All laws and constitutional amendments may be enacted by the Supreme Council.  House of Rep/Lower House may serve as an advisory body to the Supreme Council.