Democracy has been hailed as one of the greatest advancements in societal structure to date, but is it possible for a nation who chooses to implement an elective government to thrive in an era dictated by the sociopolitical factors we see today? My short answer would be yes; after all we as Americans have an excellent example lying in our own proverbial backyard.
This, however, does not mean that I find it suffice to say that democracy is a flawless, or even good, form of government. It is perhaps more plagued with issues that it does not contain the means to solve than any other.
I do not intend to offer better forms of government because, given the current enacted systems, it may very well be the best. I merely wish to discredit the distorted, often American, idea that democracy is without its many pitfalls. Most of which stem from the overwhelming ignorance assumed by its leader: the people.
Let me initiate my argument by outlining a portion the Clinton administration. Most Americans at the time of the occurrence were aware of President Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Most of these same Americans condemned these actions but did not find them to warrant impeachment. What Americans of the time did find impeachable was obstruction of justice and perjury, both of which Clinton was also guilty of. So how was the 42 President of the United States able to avoid impeachment despite credible evidence of issues that were found highly distasteful among his citizens; simple distraction that played well to human intuition. The Clinton administration focused public eye on the sex scandal while discretely implanting the idea that other instances brought to view were merely attacks made by those highly troubled by it.
This brilliant maneuver is not a low some occurrence in the history of our nation, but rather highlights a good portion modern politics. When you live in a nation where 1 in 7 citizens struggle to decipher even rudimentary text (National Assessment of Adult Literacy. (2003, January 1). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://nces.ed.gov/naal/) it becomes obvious why political incumbents would seek to blatantly manipulate public perception. Despite this most Americans find it a rational progression in human rights to further extend suffrage. This level of cognitive dissonance creates a paradox: the democratic a nation becomes, the less efficiently it performs as a democracy.
The above picture pulled from the National Center for Education Statistics marks the growth, or lack there of, of citizen literacy from the years 1992-2003.
This is not only a product of a lack in mental competence, but also a logical solution to the issues imposed on most those within larger political landscapes. It is not rational for the average voter to take the time to learn more about the issues of his country because his vote is unlikely to make a difference in the outcome. This lack of incentive perpetuates the issue, and with each coming generation the gap is further marginalized. The threat that stems from the individual in larger elective governments ultimately impacts the nation as a whole.
And often times it does so on a scale greater than the citizens realize.
Millions of dollars are spent every year to fund political campaigns to often mislead and ultimately win the votes of the people. In 2014 over 1.6 billion dollars was spent in campaign funds (2014 House and Senate Campaign Finance. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://www.fec.gov/disclosurehs/hsnational.d). About five times that was spent on the presidential elections 6 years prior (U.S. Election Will Cost $5.3 Billion, Center for Responsive Politics Predicts. (2008, October 22). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/10/us-election-will-cost-53-billi/). It has become quite apparent that money is a permanent facet in modern democracy. This means that not only do autocracies provide a better platform to produce money, but also they waste less money on manipulating their governments. It is the price America pays for attempting to protect human rights.
The graph above highlights the increasing amount of advertisements used by political parties as elections approach.
Democracy by nature immortalizes ignorance, and ignorance to this ignorance is promoted when a government’s outreach extends outside that of the local. It is vital to our nation’s survival that the average citizen is not aware of most of the mechanisms fueling it. It is much easier for a leader to make supportable, important decisions when the electorate is blind to his actual motivations. Most times, at least in our history, this system favors us. America has been fortunate in electing a majority of competent and skilled leaders who at the very least desire power and prosperity for our nation.
The issue with this is that large democracy seeks the stance of its people when those people are unaware of the full picture. A nation cannot expect to accurately represent the opinion of its citizens when the citizens are not provided with sufficient information to draw one. Thomas Jefferson sought to solve the issue with public education, which is a noble and logical solution. But America as every other nation manipulates the view of its people. This, however, comes with an inadvertent harm to the via biased public school information. In hopes of creating a more cohesive society the jingoist information we provide our children might strengthen their love for America, but it simultaneously restricts their understanding of incoming political issues.
Proponents of democracy argue that it promotes more freedom among its people than autocratic states. This is true in that the citizens are empowered to change the way in which they are governed, but undermined by the fact that these same citizens do not understand the way in which they are governed. It is most likely true that democracies benefit from higher levels of freedom than other forms of government, but this can explained by the admired characteristics associated with the system rather than the actual system itself. Furthermore, it is hard to accredit freedom to blind obedience.
The picture above demonstrates an iconic piece of American propaganda.
In theory democracy is an excellent form of governance. In practice, much like communism, it expresses shortcomings anticipated and some unexpected.