First, eliminate career politicians. Extend parliamentary terms to five years and limit MPs to two terms. This allows plenty of time for them to try to implement their advocacy programs and ensure parliament is constantly refreshed with new ideas and policies.
Michael Lyon’s excellent article in P&I contained the suggestion by David Runciman “that contemporary representative democracy is tired, vindictive, paranoid, self-deceiving, clumsy and frequently ineffectual”. He asks: “Why not replace it?” Runciman suggests that pragmatic 21st-century authoritarianism may be an alternative to contemporary democracy.
Do we merely concede that some form of “authoritarian” democracy is the necessary outcome of the present malaise?
Perhaps the following observation provides an alternative to “a 21st century authoritarianism”.
‘Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’
Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947
Churchill’s quote by inference suggests that “Democracy”, like any other form of social or political organisation, is constantly in need of maintenance.
Any moderately diligent political observer is left in no doubt that “Democracy” in the form we imagine it exists has been in serious decline around the world for much of this century.
While the causes are analysed endlessly, there appears little evidence to suggest any conversation is under way to seriously explore how to maintain a system that, in general terms, has served us well. Surely the decline in democracy is at least in part due to the failure to apply necessary maintenance.
To this end, perhaps some ideas that may provoke such a conversation:
First, how do we define “Democracy”?
Do we take the view offered by Tom Nichols, Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College:
“Democracy is meant to be the vehicle by which an informed electorate could choose other people to represent them, come up to speed on important questions, and make decisions on the public’s behalf”. (Foreign Affairs Magazine March/April 2017)
Such a definition suggests that politics must again be reimagined as “Public Service”. Hence the first logical objective would seem to be the elimination of “career politicians”.
A practical starting point to achieving this end could be to extend parliamentary terms to five years and to preclude any politician serving more than two terms. This would provide adequate time for a suitably motivated candidate to attempt to have implemented the programs upon which they campaign for election, and also ensure the constant renewing of parliament with new members, ideas and policies.
- Replace currently appointed “staffers” with qualified tenured public servants to aid in the provision of professional evidence-based advice to parliamentary representative.
- Elections and the basic financing required to maintain political parties to be funded from the public purse. Thus, all political donations would be banned.
- Any lobbyist meeting with a member of parliament, must have such a meeting minuted and placed on the appropriate government website daily.
Such proposals would be but the beginning of a thought-provoking, challenging and complex approach to maintaining a system of “Democracy” that would fit well within the thoughts of Churchill.
No doubt such ideas will be regarded as the fantasies of an idealist, but it may be instructive to recall.
While Keynesian economics dominated post-war societies, the neoliberal philosophies espoused by the Mont Pelerin Society founded in 1947 by Fredrich von Hayek were initially regarded largely as outlier academic theories with little relevance to the real world. That society worked tirelessly promoting their ideas within universities and think tanks until the 1970s, when circumstances, combined with a few strong leaders, enabled their philosophies to be adopted and become dominant in most world societies for more than 4o years.
It was Thomas Henry Huxley who remarked that “it is the fate of a new scientific concept to begin as heresy and end as orthodoxy, and that transformation is not restricted to the ideas of science”. (The Year Book of the Carnegie Institution of Washington for 1969-1970)
Thomas Kuhn’s book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions popularised the term “paradigm shift”. Kuhn (1922–1996) said that paradigm change becomes necessary when the previous paradigm becomes so full of holes and patchwork “fixes” that a complete overhaul is necessary.
With the continuing decline in democracy perhaps it is time to pursue a “new paradigm”, even if it entails analysing what today are regarded as “heresies”.
Peter is a one time finance executive involved in business, and community political groups while living both in Australia and overseas. Retirement years have been spent completing a book writing a history and its influence on the evolution of his family since the 18th century together with exploring and writing about Catholicism’s influence on his own life.
Comments
6 responses to “Reverse the decline in democracy through regular maintenance”
Thanks for this history Neville – especially for those too young to understand the past to this continuing struggle for First Nations rights in this their original homeland. I have read the books of Faith Bandler (and simply note here that her father was Wacvie (Peter) Mussingkon – a Pacific Islander – her mother Australian born but of Indian Scottish background – her empathy for Indigenous Australians impeccable). In my reading earlier to-day trying to determine why Michael McCormack – the Australian Deputy PM – should just a few days ago have thrown his ignorance around in arguing in his ideological fashion against BlackLivesMatter by stating the dog-whistle-to-racists line that AllLivesMatter I came across some interesting facts. His official story is out of the Riverina – in fact that is the name of his seat – and he is based in Wagga Wagga (with such Indigenous luminaries as Joe Williams there). He makes much of promoting an ANZAC Essay competition each April among school children – their reaction to a foreign jingoistically mounted war on the edge of Europe over a hundred years ago. But within his electorate – and just nearby slightly upstream from Narrandera on the (Murrum)Bidgee River lie two sites associated with murder and massacre of local Wiradjuri peoples – Poison Waterholes Creek and Massacre (or Murdering) Island mid-stream in the ‘Bidgee. I can hear the words of another great Australia echoing in my ears- Yassmin Abdel-Magied Lest. We. Forget. Stan Grant wrote about it in his memoir a few years back and former Narrandera HS Principal Noel Beddoes wrote a novel based on the historical facts “The Yalda Crossing” 2012. So it can’t be that Michael McCormack is ignorant of this past in his own electorate – it must surely be that he is being deliberately obtuse – pig-headed one might say – especially given the fact that he is a former journalist/newspaper man – or is that merely hearsay? Earlier to-day, too, I purchased Thomas Mayor’s Finding the Heart of the Nation – the journey towards Voice, Treaty and Truth – the Uluru Statement.
No thanks!
This is the start of creeping communism. It goes this way:
1) Create that Voice – exclude the moderates like Jacinta Price & Warren Mundine
2) Give that Voice Deliberative & Veto Power over all legislation coming from both the House & the Senate.
3) Abolish both the House & the Senate as unnecessary – Bingo ! Structure in place for that Voice to Come Out as a Communist Politburo – with NO checks and balances.
4) That Voice appoints a puppet GG & abolishes the High Court, vesting in itself the right appoint a sub-committee of itself to be that High Court.
5) Communist takeover complete. BLM & ANTIFA merge to be the new Secret & not-so-secret Police.
That whole process must be destroyed – along with that Voice – to maintain Australia as a Conservative Democracy – supporting the 1901 Federation Australia – nothing more, nothing less & nothing else -infusing unquestioned loyalty to God, Queen (or King) and Country in a populist nationalist patriotic sense. Of the sort we had with Sir Robert Menzies.
I have to say you are really off the planet MaryJoy333.
Read any of your comments and you are fuelled with white supremacy, 19th Century yellow peril nonsense, full of hate even if you make out you are Christian, and charged with wild conspiracy theories based on cobbled Biblical fantasies you make up as your evidence. Most of your pseudo arguments are the work of a someone who thinks in the most simplistic ways and only designed to cause racist division.
I suggest others read them too by looking at the stream of these comments on Mary (Joy?) 333’s profile.
I don’t know if you are American or Australian, but you honestly need help. Most of what you say reeks of US conspiracy theories, Trumpism, and the opposite of what any genuine Christian teachings say.
George,
With all due respect,
That observation of that process would have been accepted as self-evident truth – beyond challenge in Australia on Christmas Day m 1965. Only being opposed by the treasonous socialists on the fringes of the ALP and in the Unions after the Great Split in 1955. Even the DLP would have supported them. The 1967 Referendum was only ever intended to count them – and do nothing else, it was NEVER intended to commence a process of a slide into communism.
I am only reflecting accurate history and sociology as it existed in 1965, not the criminally-subverted and bowlderised Marxist perversion of it in 2020.
No you are not, you forget your previous comments are all there to see, and I have read them all. It is very clear as to what your motivation is and it is ugly white supremacist racism, socialist paranoia, and ultra right. You do not fool me one iota.
Here you make comments on an article about First Australians, I wonder why you chose to comment here of all places? Well from what I can glean from your views anyone that does not have white skin is your target. And you produce very feeble conspiracy theories and nonsense you invent from the Bible to justify your xenophobia and prejudice.
You are also promulgating nonsense about socialism, conspiracy theories that make ‘reds under the beds’ and McCarthyism look like child’s play. Anything on the left side of politics you hate and I would say your are an ultra right wing extremist in your views.
You can say ‘with respect’, but I do not respect people like you. You are dangerous, and divisive, and driven by more than one US conspiracy and right wing religious twaddle. You are here to hate all groups that don’t comply with your white man’s prejudice.
You can’t cope with multiculturalism, but you cannot even show respect for our indigenous Australians. Who lived here first?
You fail to even realise that without the West, its propensity to travel extensively out into the world via Western imperialism and colonialism made all of those darker skinned people aware of the very countries that did it. In the course of time those people of other ethnicities were going to travel to the West and some would seek to live there. In any case the anthropological history of the world shows that humans have always moved around the world as a natural phenomenon. There is also irrefutable scientific evidence that we all came from Africa originally, and that there was never an superior Aryan race. There is only one race, it is called the human race. You also forget that it was the West where most of the machines used for travel were invented and improved on. Mainly to develop economically viable and reliable means of transport for people to move around the world. Who invented the big ships for passenger travel? Who invented the jumbo jet?
But of course multiculturalism is the fault of Gough Whitlam and anyone other than someone with white skin.
Bravissimo, George. This woman is a danger to honesty, fairness, kindness – especially to Jesus-like compassion and justice. Who are the moderators here? Why is she in any event not using her own real name?
I just have to nip that sort of stuff in the bud. I don’t even understand how people can get like that. I’m a strong advocate for undoing the injustice that has been done to indigenous Australians, we should proud of them and listen to what they say – that is the major problem since day one. Also listen in the way Bruce Pascoe has pointed out: we could learn far more from the our first Australians about how to respect the land and its life, instead of destroying it.
I once sat one person removed from Bruce Pascoe at a newcastle Writers Fest event – Lyndal Ryan was speaking to her Mapping the Massacres project at Newcastle University. Though I note the project still does not include the Soldiers Point (Port Stephens) massacre site pointed out to me years ago by Worimi Elder Carol Ridgeway. The person between me and Bruce dominated the few moments available to say how much I admired his book Dark Emu – having followed with it after reading Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth. Nevertheless I felt in the presence of genuine goodness. Bruce’s latest collection of memoirish short pieces of writing SALT further informed me of his ethical character – not something I associate with the mad woman on this thread!
I think his intentions are very good. I learned so much from Dark Emu. While indigenous Australians are still recovering from years of trauma which comes in turn from so many years of callous treatment and watching their people murdered one after the other, Bruce taught me through this book that the Aboriginal way of life was based on sharing and community. Something we could greatly learn from as our society becomes more an more selfishly ‘me’ focussed and many feel isolated by its lack of care and support.
Bruce was also great in the SBS series “The First Australians” with Marcia Langton and many others. If only more Australians could see it.
I’ll post a link for it here for anyone interested.
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/program/first-australians
Not this ratbag again. I worked once in a unit alongside Warren – nice enough back in those days but not really a philosopher like some of his colleagues – Lynette Riley, Linda Burney, Chub Hall and Trevor Cook – unable in later years to withstand the blandishments of Tony suppository-of-wisdom Abbott and his second wife’s father – the self-righteous Gerard Henderson.
Hi MaryJoy333 your post took me back to the 1980’s when the same argument was trotted out in the fight against land rights. We didn’t lose our houses then as you predicted and the first nation people are still struggling for their land and to protect their sacred sights.