At least one man who believes in democracy is AGAINST ELECTIONS.
That man is Belgian historian, David Van Reybrouck. According to him, the voting system is broken.
Elections, he says, are the fossil fuel of politics. Once upon a time they gave a huge boost to democracy but now they cause colossal problems.
Brexit is an example.
In Brexit, a drastic decision was taken through a primitive procedure - a one-round referendum that is based on a simple majority. Thus was the fate of a country, of an entire continent, changed - just 'by the single swing of such a blunt axe, wielded by disenchanted and poorly informed citizens'.
In Reybrouck's view, democracy is not the problem. The problem is voting. Democracy has been reduced to elections. Indeed, it has become synonymous with elections.
When western countries call for democracy in countries ravaged by conflict, what they really mean is that these countries must hold elections.
BUT election can have all kinds of outcomes including violence, ethnic tensions, criminality and corruption. Elections do not automatically foster democracy but may instead prevent or destroy it, a fact that, in Reybrouck's view, is often conveniently forgotten in the single-minded focus on elections.
In short, elections actually undermine the democratic process.
Unlike in the past where people followed the political theatre on radio, television or the internet, today they can respond to it from second to second and mobilise others.
Social media gives people a voice but "the nature of this new political involvement makes the electoral system creak at the joints all the more".
Politics has become a soap opera with commercial and social media creating an atmosphere of perpetual mudslinging, and the most popular politicians are those who can bend the media to their will.
Democracy, as Reybrouck says, flourishes by allowing a diversity of voices to be heard and in order to keep democracy alive, it must not be reduced to voting alone.
Elections and referendums have become dangerously outmoded tools if they are not enriched with more sensible forms of citizens’ participation, he says.
Reybrouck thinks sortition is the remedy. Sortition is democracy by lottery. It works this way. You draw from the pool of names of every eligible voter, a certain number of names, and these people whose names are drawn become your legislators! With this method, there is no election fever.
Sortition was the main system for choosing political officials in ancient Athens. The Athenians considered sortition to be an especially democratic way of choosing certain decision-makers.
Singapore has a better solution than sortition.
That solution is our NMP Scheme. In this scheme, well qualified men and women in their respective fields and contributions are nominated as MPs to represent and speak on behalf of specific groups of people or interests. They are the diverse voices that allow democracy to flourish.
When you can see that democracy is not about election, that democracy is not synonymous with election, but that it is about having a diversity of voices flourishing, then you will see that far from being undemocratic, the NMP Scheme enhances the democratic process.
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