American Democracy: Some Observations By T.S. Khanna, January 30, 2017.

 

Foundation For Better Government,

American Democracy: Some Observations

T.S. Khanna, January 30,2017

Human mind is full of illusions but human knowledge is limited by tangible physical realities and experiences.  All through history, most political systems have been adopted under pressure when illusionary vision of the victors overpowered the vision of realities.  Subjectivity, created as a reaction at the times of crisis, shaped the political system adopted at the time.  Articulation of illusionary values, both in politics and religion, has a strong emotional appeal.

American Democratic System was also created by a strong reaction to the crisis of the time.  To the Founders of the Nation, people at large seemed angels compared to King George III.  Gandhi-Nehru also had a vision that India, free of foreign rule, would be free of corruption.  The Founders of the USA designed representative democracy.  Further, to prevent abuse of power, they divided governmental power into three branches for checks and balances.  Although a system created under the force of illusionary vision cannot assure certainty of its desired functions and results, American Democratic System worked well for the new nation as long as the traditional norms and customs of relatively homogeneous population did not experience significant factional conflicts.

Much as the American Constitution provides a great intellectual inheritance, the expanding and overpowering vision of realities is a great challenge to it now.  Accommodation of the demands of diversity, advancing technology, and world politics are confronting the nation with unprecedented challenges. 

It seems:

1.     American Democratic system is the best form of government but is no longer sustainable unless the timely changes can be made to meet the changing challenges.

2.     American Democracy was designed to accommodate diversity but it is failing because diverse segments do not comprehend or refuse to accommodate the common good (public interest) in preference to the pursuit of their respective self interests.  This attitude is facilitated by representative democracy.

3.     American Democracy, in its present form, not only tolerates but accommodates corruption and gives it legitimacy: political donations, special interest lobbies, etc.

4.     Under the name of freedom and individual liberty more and more people abdicate their moral obligations and personal responsibilities.  Representative democracy, along with the judicial system, gives them an escape and encourages disintegration of the society.  It sets up centrifugal forces disintegrating the society in the absence of any counteracting centripetal forces.  Look at the creation of sanctuary cities where even elected city officials do not want to cooperate with the Federal Government in rounding up illegal and criminal aliens.  They do not have any conscience or feel any moral obligation to protect and promote public interest (national Interest) and yet they flourish under the present system.

5.     American Democracy leads to political economy, moving away from sound economic principles of competition in quality and quantity of production and free market of supply and demand.  Uncontrolled unions and their practice to go on strike gives them power to hijack the economy.  It artificially raises the labor costs, not sustainable in open competition.  Fixing of minimum wage instantly causes inflation and offsets the intended benefit to the worker.  It also causes more unemployment sending more people to the welfare.  The economy keeps growing deeper in deficit financing.  The best way to raise the standard of living of the low wage workers would be to enhance the purchasing power of the  dollar by producing more goods more efficiently.

6.     Democratic system is wealth producing only as Capitalistic Democratic System (economic democracy).  Socialist Democracy is wealth consuming, incapable of sustaining economic independence (economic autocracy by government).  Yet one-person-one-vote system is a sure road to Socialist Democratic System.  Democracy creates certain problems that cannot be resolved by the present form of democracy.

7.     American Democratic System does not encourage or ensure that best of society’s talent is placed in elected public positions.  As a result, the American society is unable to make use of the available potential.  In fact, demagogues flourish better under the present system.

8.     In American Democracy, overemphasis on equality, toleration and political correctness has faded the distinction and nuances between good and bad and right and wrong.  It encourages the philosophy of relativism and destabilizes the society.  The original intent was for equality of opportunity and equality of treatment under the law.

9.     In American Democracy, people tend to equate freedom with indiscipline and irresponsible loose tongue, polluting decency and clear thinking in the society.  Look at the protests against President Trump’s election; more than sixty congress members refused to attend President Trump’s inauguration and accept him as the President.  They violate the very first principle of democracy that politicking is over with election and all must accept the elected person.  Yet no accountability is required for their attitude and behavior.  The present system facilitates disintegrating behavior.

10.  American Democracy has produced a culture of complaints and protests in which everyone is facilitated to fight for his/her rights without any requirement for attendant obligations.  This culture is rendering more and more citizens ungovernable.

11.  American Democracy has nurtured a new concept of individual liberty.  It is not a self-earned economic independence.  It is through entitlement programs.  Such liberty means the ordering of social and economic conditions by governmental authority, at the taxpayers’ expense.

12.  The intended checks and balance mechanism creates logjams and deadlocks in many crucial governmental activities.  There is no accountability requirement.  Governmental energy and power are dissipated by infighting activities.

13.  There is continuous constitutional confusion in government as well as in the courts due to various interpretations of the language in the Constitution. Under the judicial review tradition, the judiciary decides the constitutionality of the law.  This practice is contrary to the fundamental principle of democracy: “supremacy of the will of the people”, which is represented by the President and the Congress. 

These are only a few observations.  It is clear that unless the called for changes in American Democracy are made it cannot be sustainable. 

It may be an opportune moment to mention here that in developing countries, with fast growing population and poverty, measures for economic growth and population control must be given precedence over democratic process when in conflict.  Otherwise, democracy may not survive in those countries.

Unless the most needed changes are made in democratic systems, history may present democracy as only a short interval in the continuum of dictatorship.