Democracy is
a form of government, a way of life, a goal or an ideal, and a political
philosophy. The term also, connotes a country that has a democratic form of government.
The word democracy means rule by the people. United States President, Abraham
Lincoln described such self-government as “Government of the
people, by the people, for the people”.
In a democracy, the people might directly or indirectly participate in government.
Under circumstances, where the mobilization of the people take place in a
designated setting for discourse on community development, the democratic
practice is termed: pure democracy, which in other terms referred to as direct
democracy. This practice was characteristic of the Greek City – State of
Athens, and a modern practice in the New England town meeting.
In recent
consideration of the term democracy, a large frame of picture is formed of representative
democracy. Geographical delineation, technological advancement, population
growth and their attendant effects do not conveniently permit all the citizens to
meet as a group to form their laws and take decisions. This has eventually
given room for representation at local, regional and national structures in the
execution of roles and responsibilities of the majority of the citizens. An
assembly of representatives may be called a council, a legislature, a
parliament or a Congress, the latter been the prevailing situation in the
United States of America. When their freely elected representatives in the
composition of the government legitimately represent the people, then we say
the composition of the government is a “ democratic republic” or a “republican
government”.
In
democracies, mostly, voting decisions are based on majority rule – that is more
than half the votes cast. In Ghana, a country that prides itself a democracy as
well, election of the presidency is based on majority rule of 50% + 1 of
the total votes cast. At times, and perhaps, in round off elections, a decision
by plurality also, called simple majority is employed. A candidate with a
plurality receives more votes than any other candidates, but does not necessarily
have a majority of the votes cast. On the contrary, in the United States, a
simple majority of the popular vote alone cannot determine a legitimately
elected president therefore, the Electoral College system
is adopted. Even in some countries including the United States, elections to
legislative bodies are conducted according to proportional representation. Such
representation awards a political party a percentage of seats in the
legislature in proportion to its share of the total vote cast. This kind of
development and its connected advantageous political agenda informed the issue
of “The citizenship question” in the United States' last Census Bureau's
exercise, which same concern, ended up been quashed at the Supreme Court, and
in favor of the advocacy of the Liberal ideological stream
or the extreme left.
Individual
equality and freedom, apparently, underpins the major principle of a democratic
culture. By individual equality and freedom, the citizenry in a democracy should
be entitled to equal protection of their persons, possessions, and rights, and
have equal rights of political participation. They should equally enjoy freedom
from undue interference and domination by government. They should be free
within the framework of the law, to believe, behave and express themselves as
they wish. The ideals of a democratic society must seek to guarantee the
citizenry certain degree of freedoms, including; freedom of religion, of the
press, and of speech. The individual's freedom to associate him or herself with
a group; and to be part of an assembly or a congregation, and social dignity
must under no circumstance be infringed upon. He or she must be protected from
arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and have the freedom to work and live where
and how they choose.
In the
administration of a nation – state, it is undeniably factual, that constitution
of government is indispensable. However, important this remain, some citizenry
within the framework of a democratic tenet believe that the over involvement of
government's role in such sensitive areas as welfare, education, employment,
and housing has the tendency to subjugate the freedom of the people and
consequently, subjected to too much governmental regulations in such areas as
indicated. This is a major threat to this group of political philosophers; The
Liberals and The Conservatives - the latter been the
fervent supporters of more government involvement in the institutions of a
democracy, and acute critics of the former respectively.
The
application of democratic principles in everyday life is no easy a work to talk
of. It must therefore, be recounted that
the themes of controversy and discourse in modern democratic societies is
further enhanced by the emergence of this group of analysts. In Ghana for
instance, freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly are protected by the
1992 Fourth Republican Constitution. In guarding these freedoms therefore, the
judiciary arm of government has tried to balance the interests of individuals
against possible injury and damage to other people and the community. Even in
matured democracies such as the Western democracy, recent attacks on state
institutions and human lives have become real challenges to the onward progress
of their democracies. The January 6th 2021 insurrection of the US
Capitol, the murder of Floyd, the Kenosha shootings and many other such
extremisms and their attendant democratic “protestations” challenge the core of
the very principles and tenets of democratic freedoms in modern times.
In this
respect, the right of free speech does not allow people to falsely damage the
reputations of others. It also, does not allow people to shout “FIRE!” in
a crowd when in fact, there is no need for “FIRE”. In the early 14th,
through the 16th centuries, the cultural
rekindle demanded the Renaissance spread throughout Europe. The
internal drive for Independence and self – sufficiency from monarchical
influence and dictatorial tendencies were reawakened. This brought a massive
shake within the political paradigm and catalyzed the growth of democracy.
The demand for freedom was everywhere and in all spheres of lives. This new
ideological move equally energized the Protestant Reformation,
which emphasized the importance of individual conscience. Catholics and
Protestants defended vehemently, the right to oppose absolute monarchy; the
efforts of Martin Luther - highly commended. They agreed that the political
power of earthly rulers is sourced from the consent of the people as Albert
Einstein rightly puts: “My political ideal is democracy. Everyone should
be respected as an individual, but no one idolized”. The Industrial Revolution
in the 19th century welcomed immense political
reformation of remarkable importance. The working class demanded and received greater
political rights. New laws gave more citizens the right to vote. The freedoms
of speech, the press, assemble and religion were extended and enlarged.
In its
universal context, the democratic tenets have their own value systems that
uphold the integrity of the concept and or philosophy. Underrating these value
systems of democracy, invariably, mars the beauty of the practice and calls for
resentment. In a democracy, respect for human rights is an indispensable matrix
to warrant any favorable outcome. In a democracy, everybody matters so much so
well that the infringement of an individual's right be it a first generation –
civil right, second generation – socio-economic right or third generation –
collective right of solidarity and fraternal reconstruction and realignment are
potential orchestrations to generate insecurity, anarchy and underdevelopment.
Such rights as free movement; speech, association and responsibility to the
state must under no circumstance be compromised.
Again, in a
democracy, elections at all levels must be free and fair. Elections give the
people a chance to choose their leaders and express their opinion on issues.
They are held periodically to ensure that elected officials truly represent the
interests and aspirations of the electorate. The possibility of being voted out
of office helps assure that these officials pay attention to public opinion.
The democratic process is age – bound. Likewise, the United States and many
other Western democracies, in Ghana, a citizen of 18 years and above, who is of
sound mind as described under the 1992 4th Republican Constitution,
qualifies to vote and the process, permits citizens to vote by secret ballot,
free from force or bribery, oppression or the use of incumbency. The process
also, requires, that the election results be protected against rigging,
irregularities or any dishonesty of the sort. In the same spirit as the various
courts of the Judiciary Arm of Government supervised and dispensed election
related cases including even the Supreme Court of the United States in its just
ended presidential and Congressional elections, Ghana's own Presidential and
Parliamentary elections have been brought under the same litmus test, with the
Apex Court still adjudicating the Presidential Election Petition brought before
it by the opposition National Democratic Congress against the Electoral
Commission, and the current President as Respondents – this is the essence of
the Rule of Law.
Decision –
making is of course at the heart of democratic practice. In this vain, majority
rule and minority rights are critically protected under a true democracy by the
enactment of state institutions. In Ghana, like the United States of America,
the Constitution is the guarding document. Decisions by majority rule or
popular acclamation are used to decide policy direction as well as the election
of officers in a democracy. Majority rule is based on the idea that if all
citizens are equal, the judgement of the many will be better than the judgement
of the few. Democracy also, values freely given consent as the basis of
legitimate and effective political power. But it also, believes in the protection
of the minority rights and views in the expression of dissent as might be considered
in proportional voting – cross boundary voting on consensus and pluralism.
Another
essential value system of democracy is the development and activities of
political parties. In fact, rival parties make elections meaningful by giving voters
a choice among candidates, who represent different interests and points of view.
In democratic countries like Ghana, the political party or parties that are out of power serve as the “loyal
opposition”. They criticize the policies and actions of the ruling
party. However, in a dictatorship, criticism is a treasonable offense, typical
instances across the World is Syria, China, Russia and those Communist
ideological cohorts, struggling to embrace the Western democratic culture. Recently,
we heard of the arrest and imprisonment of Russia's main opposition leader Alexei
Navalny, which decision has attracted the United States attention in its
foreign policy directive to have Mr. Navalny released with immediate effect.
Other Western voices in this direction are the United Kingdom, Germany and
France. Myanmar's democracy has also been overthrown through the barrel of the
gun - another instance that puts United States foreign policy under rigorous
test especially under the new administration of President Joe Biden. Ukrainian threatened
invasion by Russia is another test of our global democracy with a strong engagement
of American Foreign Policy. In a true democracy, power is coequally distributed
among the three Arms of Government under the principle of Separation of Powers,
thus, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, where each perform an
oversight responsibility over the other in its principles of Checks and Balance
– paving way for the Rule of Law.
Private
organization is a very essential value of democracy that guards against tyranny
and dictatorship. Individual and private organizations carry on many social and
economic activities that are for the most part, free of government control. For
example, newspaper and magazines are privately owned and managed. Labor Unions
are run by and for the benefit of workers not the state. John Galsworthy says,
“The measure of a democracy is the measure of the freedom of its humblest
citizens”. Democratic governments generally do not interfere with
religious worship. Private schools operate along with public schools. The
people may form groups to influence opinion on public issues and policies. Most
businesses are privately owned and managed.
The Declaration
of Independence in 1776 expressed the belief that “All men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. The declaration
indicates, that the people may change or abolish the government if it
interferes with those rights. It is believed that the greatest hindrance to
individual freedom and equality are political. Freedom could only be preserved
through the change of government from military tyranny or dictatorship or
monarchy to a republic. If this conclusion is true, then we ask: “Is our
Global Democracy Dwindling or Growing?”
It is quite
obvious that the government that governs least, governs best. It is however,
becoming extremely pressing that government regulation of society and the
economy is inevitable to the extent of making personal freedom any more
meaningful; and to promoting equality as well as to improving the welfare of
the citizenry. Some governments today, if not most of them, claim to be
democratic, but many of them lack some essential freedoms usually associated with
democracy. In some countries, for example, in the Middle East, Far East, Asia in
general, Africa and the Americas, the people are not allowed certain basic freedoms,
such as those of speech and of the press or competitive elections.
In my own
country Ghana, our efforts at establishing democratic institutions cannot be marginalized,
but it is notable that the nation is not fully-fledged with self-rule, and this
in no doubt has hampered the democratic processes. Instead, what ought to be
done is to reinvigorate the Ombudsman, develop a culture of tolerance in our
diversity of purpose, and sustain the Rule of Law. It is quite glaring, that
even advanced democracies like the United States of America's has been under
recent attacks, but the tenacity to withstand the odds is evidently inherent in
such democracies.
