Democracies, Republics, Monarchies, Law and all that stuff
May 27 '06
The Bottom Line Every country is different - We should all remember that while introducing so called “democracy” to the world.
The notion of democracy is one of the “in things” of this decade.
But is it the right thing?
Arguably yes and no!
Countries such as India, France, Germany, Spain, Holland, Australia, Canada, USA and many others all refer to themselves as democracies – yet all practice significantly different versions.
Then there are Monarchies, Kingdoms and nations run by religious law and by Native Custom. There are even a few countries run by so called dictators – some benevolent, others tyrannical.
The one thing that is required, no matter what the system, is the agreement of the people. Admitted change in some of these systems can only be brought about by a bullet – but change occurs nevertheless – and pretty soon after that person in perceived power is no longer tolerated by the masses.
History teaches that was the case in medieval England, in Egypt with the Pharaohs and any where else.
It is really just a question of how peaceful that process can be!
Most of the greatest espousers of democracy are in the so called western world. Yet none of these countries run to the beat of the same drum. Some have directly elected leaders who assume some varying level of power, others have ceremonial leaders with no power, still others use constitutions as the basis of all law, and others again informally elect significant persons to make the major decisions.
But that is only the start!
No matter what the system there are significant variations in its application. Some countries elect their representatives directly – person to person – while others elect a group that in turn elects the representative.
Your scribe contends there is no such thing as a “best system”, or the “right system”.
There is, however, the best system for an individual country.
This is simply because countries, and more importantly the people within them, are different. Not necessarily better or worse – just different. Every country has its own culture and aspirations.
The most basic of the tenets of democracy are probably a reasonable goal to aim for – however to be sustainable that goal has to evolve and this is where the variation in application comes to the for. And why not!
The existing countries that can loosely be called democracies almost all evolved over hundreds of years. That process lead to the significant variations in application and that is no bad thing. On the contrary some cultures will allow some power to a leader while others will not. Some cultures will allow election of non politicians such as Police Chiefs and Judges while that is anathema to many others. Some cultures insist on directly electing their representatives while others prefer to elect a relatively small group to choose that representative.
This is all “democratic” but those, and many other, differences in application are paramount as for a democracy to succeed the basics have to have the support of not just the majority but the vast majority.
The country I know best is naturally Australia so that is a good example that I understand shows the reality of the above process.
Australia started theoretically as a British colony but in essence was simply a dumping ground for convicts – today known as criminals so in reality Australia was really a British prison.
Within two years it was abundantly clear to all that this was a disaster and most of the criminals (the minor ones) were set free. They were hardly likely to appreciate authority and demanded a “fair go” and to be left alone. The British were quick to realise the situation confronting them and without wars or insurrection of consequence handed over to the minor criminals, and by know their children, control of the country – a mere fifty years after the “first fleet”.
That set up a culture – that being that no single person is in charge, that religion and politics don’t mix, that Judiciary and politics must be separate and that representatives can only be directly elected. Every individual is entitled to a “fair go” and there are no classes. From that basic culture a constitution was written that included aspects mostly of French, British and US experience but only aspects – hence Australia is a unique country following or beholden to no other. There is no boss – the Queen of Australia is, and always has been, an unpaid ceremonial position with absolutely no power, The Governor General can force an election particularly if the Government is in stalemate and the Prime Minister, or any other Minister, can never act alone except for minor matters such as authorising payments as dictated by law (Delegations Act). About half the Australian population wish to remove the Queen but almost no one wants to change the system – and all recognise the Queen is not part of that system.
It’s a fair bet the Queen (or her successor) will go, sooner or later, and then Australia will be tagged a “Republic” – but the system won’t change so in that sense Australia will be a unique republic.
A certain “uniqueness” is the reality of practically every country.
We should all remember that while introducing democracy to the world.
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