DEMOCRACY, AN IMPRACTICABLE UTOPIA OR AN ACHIEVABLE CONDITION OF WELFARE?

As if we were in the middle of an Elenctic* Dialogue , we shall define what Democracy really is before diving into further premises and consequently further conclusions.

Democracy (from the Greek word “demos”=”people” + “kratos”= power) is pre-eminently a form of government born in ancient Greece, based on the maximization of liberty , freedom and equality within a community . Democracy is developed on the idea of free election as the authority and the power belong to the people and on the idyllic principle of justice, but it hasn’t always been this way. In Ancient Greece around 508 BC the first Democracy was founded in what were called the city-states* albeit it was much different from the one we know today. We could be defining it a contradictory democracy as the power was in the hands of the citizens but not all the people were actually considered as citizens. Slaves, women and foreigners had no political right; nevertheless the first Athenian Democracy is still considered nowadays to have had a significant contribution to many aspects of modern democracy.

More than half of the countries in the world nowadays, are states of Democracy, or at least that’s how they are categorized. Over 2000 years have passed since Athenian Democracy but self-centeredness and egocentrism seem to lead this world towards hatred. Endangered human rights, neglection of meritocracy, discrimination, abuses and infringements are examples of daily reported cases which occur even in those countries which should be considered as examples of a true democracy.

What does then real democracy consists of and is it achievable?

I am convinced that a key to real democracy is within the idea and efficiency of justice.

“Man’s capacity for Justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary “~ Reinhold Niebuhr.

Justice consists of balance, therefore it is often represented by a scale with no weight on neither side. The famous theologian Reinhold Niebuhr mentioned “man’s capacity “ in his quotation, which I alternatively denominate as “moral obligations”. It is my belief that, as if it was a system of causality, the internal balance within each human soul and mind will be consequently self-converting into a universal balance and therefore into the most efficient form of Justice. I would define “internal balance” as the fulfillment of moral obligations and the apotheosis of virtues, permitting the self-commitment to common welfare, to overwhelm the pride and egoism within us all, which would force inclinations to our scale ,hence inclinations to our society. Here comes the need of legislation, or law-making procedure. I personally believe bricks to symbolize laws; tough and heavy but still necessary to rebalance the scale of justice and reconstruct the society as if it was a building.

Is this balance achievable? Are humans ever going to commit themselves to achieve internal balance and fulfill moral obligations?

I am a true believer of progress, I do trust humanity; we are all born as blank papers which shall be filled with our biographies. The way we are raised in, the influences that affects our childhood and the education that we do receive are the introduction of our story, the preview of our plot, the beginning of our journey. EDUCATION is the foundation of democracy, the bedrock of progress and the key to achieve a general balance. As Gandhi once said: “What is really needed to make democracy function is not knowledge of facts, but right education”. I do interpret education as the acquisition of a consciousness guided by reason ,the acquisition of the acknowledgment that we are all part of a society based upon respect and merit rather than discrimination and privilege.

In my humble opinion we will never achieve that balance, and I believe we should consider true Democracy has an impossible aim; Democracy represents perfection ,therefore what we shall do, is commit ourselves through small achievements and through a prolonged procedure of progress to get as close as possible to what real and true Democracy might represent.

WE WON’T BE THE ACHIEVERS BUT IT IS OUR DUTY TO BE DETERMINED TO CONTINUE THIS PROCESS CALLED DEMOCRACY; IT WILL REMAIN AN UTOPIA BUT THE PROCESS ITSELF WILL BECOME AND ACCUMULATE WELFARE AS IT HEADS TOWARDS PERFECTION.