Gustible - under the rubric of [$_SELF]

Since I was very young, I have always understood democracy to be “good” – and other forms of government to be “bad”, or “unfair”, or “pre-judiced” – this even though I grew up in the highly pre-judiced, unbalanced, and un-democratic world of Apartheid South Africa.

So – democracy then: it seems as if though the word itself has assumed a meaning and connotation that goes beyond the implementation and literal meaning of the word: in the Western world (and apparently in a large part of the East) the term “democracy” is used to signify a positive, “good for the population” kind of approach to government.

Communist, socialist, military, imperial governments – all like to describe themselves as democratic. The word democracy nowadays means : “that which the government holds to be in the best interest of the populace”.

My understanding of democracy has always been centered on the idea that the population of a given country – those who elect a government – has some mystical common understanding of what is “good” for them, of what would be in their best interest. And that this collective wisdom would lead the group as a whole to elect governmental representatives who would selflessly represent the best interests of the population in the affairs of state(s). This seems to imply that there exists some kind of continuous feedback loop between the social hive-mind, and the individuals executing the wishes of the populace. It also means that, for democracy to work, the wishes of the hive-mind necessarily equates to that of the elected representatives.

Wishful, naive thinking indeed.

I question the validity of extrapolating the wishes of the hive from the results of casting ballots, based on unchecked, uncontrolled “campaign” promises – promises no-one will ever be held accountable for.

I question the existence of a hive mind.

I question the arbitrary definition of the group that is allowed to choose governmental representatives. This definition is typically based on age, and on the period of residence within a geographical area, the boundaries of which are often based on arguments that have been settled by means of economic and military wars.

I question the ability of individuals to make informed decisions that affect the entire group.

I question the ability of individuals to discern the needs of the group.

I hope to work towards SOME kind of alternative here – although criticism certainly does NOT require one to present an alternative, devising an alternative may be interesting.