7.0.3 Democratic Obligations - Overview

Version 1.3 December 2016                                                        (Previous Version)

History shows that our wellbeing has generally increased as we improve our democracy.

It also shows that democracy alone has limited effectiveness.  Excessive nationalist zeal and the “tyranny of the majority� has often resulted in oppression of minorities, typically based on racial, linguistic, religious, ethnic or historical differences, and oppression of foreigners, such as refugees.  Enforcing the union or integration of separate groups may not be the best solution.  To avoid oppression or enforced assimilation we promote tolerance, and support different religions, cultural practices and traditions that do no harm, while defending our liberal pluralist democracies.

The key ingredients of democracy are universal human rights, which must unequivocally provide protection for minorities, freedom of expression and association, the rule of law, a commitment to equality before the law and elected representative government.  The “gold standard� for electing a democratic government requires free media and an independent, transparent electoral system.  The rule of law involves the separation of powers into the legislature (which makes the laws), the executive (which must comply with as well as implement the law) and an independent judiciary who decide if a law is broken, resolve disputes between parties, and disputes about the constitution.  Members of the legislature, executive, judiciary, police and army must also be subject to the law.

Formal structures vary widely across all democracies.  Americans may be surprised to learn that the USA’s democracy is not the best or only model.  In various nations, parliament or congress is elected directly on a first past the post, preferential voting or proportional representation system.  In some nations the Prime Minister, elected by parliament, is the effective leader; in others, the elected President is the effective leader, and sometimes appoints a Prime Minister.  Communist China would be more democratic if party membership were freely available, and party members could freely debate issues and transparently elect representatives who appoint the Politburo. 

History shows prosperity and personal fulfillment increase when the government is secular, not favouring or supporting any of the variants of traditional religion.  Policies in a democracy must be justified rationally without appeal to the supernatural or specific religious texts.  On the other hand we must accept that many promote values such as truth and justice based on their religious beliefs.

There are substantial risks in democracies.  Modern governments face complex financial, economic, social and environmental issues.  The truth is often difficult to discern in complex situations.  Corruption and cronyism waste resources and steal jobs and resources from those in greater need.  Complacency in the electorate – in the media and civil society – reduces government oversight and encourages corruption and waste.  Civil unrest, caused by external events, such as natural disasters, financial crises or internal political discord, can lead to revolution.  There is a major risk that our elected leaders will fail to address the critical global issues we face.

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Democratic government, as imperfect and fragile as it is, is more likely to enhance our well-being and promote our core values than any other form of government.