Entropy in Democracy, By T.S. Khanna, August 6,2014

                                                Foundation for Better Government

August 6, 2014

Entropy in Democracy

T.S. Khanna, August 6, 2014

Entropy of a system is the measure of disorder dissipating energy without productive application.

The system of democratic government is based on certain assumptions re human behavior and social cohesion within the society.  To the extent the actual human behavior does not conform to the assumptions, there is disorder in the system causing entropy.

To understand the disorder, we need to revisit the assumptions re the behavior of citizens and politicians.

Citizens are assumed to be responsible for fully comprehending political issues and, as “part rulers”, make a rational, moral, and independent judgment to promote the common good.

Elected officials are assumed to represent and integrate the local interests for promoting the common good and the national interests.

However, in fact, neither citizens’ nor political leaders’ behavior conforms to the assumptions.  In professionally managed and heavily funded campaigns, public image of candidates is created to manipulate the gullible voters who do not have the time, aptitude, or even the sense of obligation for a full comprehension of political issues to make an independent rational judgment for the benefit of the whole society.  Only promotion of the very personal interests draws the citizens to politics, for all else it is apathy.

Elected officials are usually beholden to the non-compromising private interests.

The idea here is not to blame the human behavior but to urge the political “Pundits” to modify the democratic system to bring it in synch with the human behavior for better performance and minimal entropy.