Derived from two Greek words—dēmos, meaning ‘people’, and kratos, meaning ‘rule’—democracy probably is one of the most used words in the modern human history. It is not just politicians who mention it; when children are given opportunity to choose the date of an upcoming exam, they demand a democratic election; when people have to decide what to eat for dinner, they call for a fair vote instead of fighting against each other; even North Korea formally names itself as Democratic People's Republic of Korea while everyone knows that DPRK is perhaps the least democratic country on Earth. Furthermore, when talking about political systems around the world, we unconsciously regard democracy as a golden standard which represents both stability and equality while considering others—such as communism of China, theocracy of Iran, and absolute monarchy of the Kingdom of Eswatini—as outliers. In other words, democracy these days is inscribed deep in our unconscious minds as something fair, desirable, and guaranteed. In this post, I would like to debunk two most common myths of democracy by asking the following questions: Is democracy something we can take for granted? Is it something fair and desirable?
Let’s first make this clear. Democracy is an intentional human creation like religion. It is a mind game and a belief system which is trusted and supported by the majority—though not everyone. Unlike our frequent misconception, democracy neither coexisted with us constantly nor was considered righteous all the time. Even less than fifty years ago, many countries like South Korea fought rigorously against their authoritarian leaders to achieve democracy. Even right in this moment, people in countries like Hong Kong voluntarily sacrifice their lives and continue struggling because for them, democracy was an untouchable luxury for a very long time and now they are determined to grasp it. Because it is a product of our need, small cracks in the believers’ faith will immediately lead to the fall of democracy as many religious and political systems like Zoroastrianism and the Soviet Union did in the past. It is just like Truman Show: although elaborate lies have been constructed layer by layer throughout a very long period of time, a tiny suspicion and a slight sense of distrust can let everything go. When people begin to doubt the very fundamentals of democracy as the recent rise of populism around the world and the Capitol Hill debacle of the United States signifies, this vulnerable belief system will begin its free fall anytime. Therefore, the answer for my first question is quite clear: it is impossible to take them all Chrissy for granted since it is a mere but cherished creation of human mind.
Then, let’s now examine whether or not democracy is truly fair and desirable by verifying the two most enchanted principles of democracy—one man one vote and separation of power. I will be honest. One man one vote is impossible. Voters living in a state with small population naturally holds larger power compared to those living in a densely populated state. For example, imagine that the state Alex lives in has 500,000 population while mine has 100,000 population. When our states can each send two senators to the Congress and both Alex and I voted for this election, my vote inevitably holds larger power compared to that of Alex. Even though people somehow managed to allocate equal amount of power to every single vote, it cannot consequently be delivered to intergovernmental organizations like the European Union, United Nations, and North Atlantic Trade Organization. Separation of power is also impossible. Strictly separating the branches of government can never be realized because most of the functions of governments are connected with one another: executive can appoint someone in other branches, judiciary in principle has to stand alone but usually is interconnected with politicians, and legislative can deter the actions made by other branches by severals means including the power to veto. Regardless of the reason why this happens—it may happen to achieve a greater good but it also can occur due to corruption, no one knows—one thing sure is that complete separation of power is a utopian concept.
Democracy is such a well-known concept for us who live through the 21st century. We encounter that word very often in our lives and we also use it every single day but without contemplating its essence. My contemplation on democracy is still ongoing. What about yours?